Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 14, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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tirade
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Degrees of Comparison - AdjectivesAdjectives can be inflected (changed in form) to compare a quality between two nouns—this form is known as the comparative degree. What suffix is added to the end of the adjective to form the comparative degree? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ParaglidingParagliding is a recreational and competitive flying sport that has its roots in parachuting. Unlike parasailing, in which a water-skier wearing a parachute becomes airborne while being towed by a speedboat, paragliding uses a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft. Paragliding took off in the 1970s, and today, the world's best paragliding pilots compete in the Paragliding World Cup and other competitions. What do pilots do to reduce their chances of injury in this extreme sport? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 World's Tallest Vehicular Bridge Formally Dedicated (2004)The Millau Viaduct is the world's highest road bridge, peaking at a height of 1,125 ft (343 m) and stretching across 8,071 ft (2,460 m). Designed by British architect Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, the cable-stayed, multispan steel structure crosses the Tarn River near the town of Millau in southern France. After more than a decade of planning and construction, the bridge was inaugurated by French president Jacques Chirac in 2004. How much did it cost to build? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Tycho Brahe (1546)Kidnapped by his uncle when he was a toddler and raised to be a scholar, Brahe went on to become the most prominent astronomer of the late 16th century. After inheriting his father's and uncle's estates, he built a small observatory and, in 1572, discovered and studied a supernova. Funded by Denmark's King Frederick II, he built a larger observatory and accurately charted the positions of some 777 fixed stars. His observations provided the basis for the laws of planetary motion derived by whom? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What prudent merchant will hazard his fortunes in any new branch of commerce when he knows not but that his plans may be rendered unlawful before they can be executed?James Madison (1751-1836) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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hindsight is (always) 20/20— It is easier to clearly reevaluate past actions or decisions than when they are being made or done; things are clearer or more obvious when they are reflected upon. A reference to the visual acuity of normal eyesight (20/20 vision). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Christkindlesmarkt (2023)Christkindlesmarkt is the biggest and best known of the Christmas markets of Germany. The market in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany, has been held since 1697 in the city's Hauptmarkt ("main market"). More than 100 booths are set up to offer only goods directly related to Christmas, and food booths sell Nuremberg's specialties—Lebkuchen, or gingerbread, and Zwetschgenmannlein, which are little people-shaped confections. The three-week festival is inaugurated with choral singing, the pealing of church bells, and illumination of a creche. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: socialcommunity - It can refer to group of animals or plants living together and was first used to refer to a "body of commons" or a social or political entity. More... party - Latin partitum, "part, side," became party, with the senses "political group" and, in the 18th century, "social gathering." More... mores, anomie - Mores is the Latin plural of mor/mos and means "acquired customs and manners"; social and moral conventions are mores, and the lack of these is anomie. More... sociable, social, society - Sociable, social, society, etc. originate in Latin socius, "companion, fellow," or "colleague." More... | |