Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, May 6, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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witticism
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Negative Yes/No QuestionsQuestions that have either "yes" or "no" for an answer are formed using auxiliary verbs at the beginning of the sentence. To make them negative, we add the word "not" after the subject of the sentence. If "not" is contracted with the auxiliary verb, however, then where is the contraction placed? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AeolipileInvented in the first century by Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria, the Hero engine, or aeolipile, is a steam-powered device that illustrates the reactive forces of a gas jet. It usually consists of a mounted spherical vessel equipped with angled nozzles that release steam in opposite directions, causing rotational movement. The world's first steam engine, Hero’s aeolipile was a forerunner of the modern jet engine. Its name derives from a term meaning "ball of Aeolus." Who was Aeolus? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Phoenix Park Murders in Dublin, Ireland (1882)In 1882, Lord Frederick Cavendish, British secretary for Ireland, and Thomas Henry Burke, his undersecretary, were assassinated as they were walking in Dublin's Phoenix Park. They were stabbed to death by members of a radical splinter group of the Fenian movement called the "Invincibles." Two of those arrested turned state's evidence, five were hanged, and three were sentenced to prison. What was the political aftermath of the assassinations? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Moshe Feldenkrais (1904)Feldenkrais was a Russian-born Israeli physicist and engineer who was also an avid soccer player and a judo master. Motivated by a debilitating knee injury of his own, Feldenkrais developed a system to improve body movement and function and reduce pain by increasing self-awareness and re-educating the neuromuscular system. Since its introduction in the 1950s, the Feldenkrais method has gradually gained acceptance. Which statesman did Feldenkrais allegedly teach to stand on his head? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Not every child has an equal talent or an equal ability or equal motivation, but they should have the equal right to develop their talent and their ability and their motivation, to make something of themselves.John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be a different kettle of fish— To be entirely different in scope or description from someone or something that was just being discussed. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Memphis in May (2024)This month-long festival in Memphis, Tennessee, focuses on a different nation's culture each year, with exhibitions, lectures, films, performing arts presentations, and sporting events. The festival opens with the Beale Street Music Festival. The second weekend features a salute to the year's honored country with special exhibits and events showcasing the culture of the country, and the third weekend is an international barbecue competition. The festival ends with the Sunset Symphony playing a concert of music from the featured country and an impressive display of fireworks. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: socketball, socket - On a clothing snap, there is a ball and a socket. More... socket - From Middle English, first as "head of a spear, resembling a plowshare," from an Anglo-Norman French diminutive of French soc, "plowshare." More... acetabulum - The socket of the hip bone, into which the head of the femur fits. More... birn - The socket in a clarinet or other woodwind into which the mouthpiece fits. More... | |