Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, March 11, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pollinosis
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Constructing Phrasal VerbsPhrasal verbs are made up of a verb + a preposition or an adverbial particle, and their meaning is uniquely tied to each particular combination. What is a particle? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Synesthesia: Hearing Colors and Tasting SoundsSynesthesia is a condition in which one type of sensory stimulus evokes sensations associated with a different sense, as when hearing a sound stimulates the visualization of a color. Approximately 1 in 2,000 people have the condition, and most of those affected are female. Synesthesia can result in a number of cross-sensory experiences, but it most commonly manifests as a grapheme-color interchange. Which Russian painter, regarded by some as the originator of abstract art, had synesthesia? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Great Blizzard of '88 Begins (1888)The Great Blizzard of '88 was one of the most severe blizzards in US history. Snowfalls of 40 to 50 in (102 to 127 cm) fell in parts of New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and snowdrifts exceeded 50 ft (15 m) in some places. Railroads were shut down, and people were confined to their houses for up to a week. More than 400 people died from the storm and the ensuing cold, including 200 in New York City alone. What infrastructure changes were made in the aftermath of the storm? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Marius Ivanovich Petipa (1822)The principal creator of the modern classical ballet, Petipa was a French-born Russian dancer and choreographer. He received early training from his ballet-master father and was a dancer in France, Belgium, and Spain before joining the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg, where he created several ballets and became chief choreographer in 1869. By his retirement in 1903, he had produced more than 60 ballets for the imperial theatres in St. Petersburg and Moscow, including what performances? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Fashion is the science of appearance, and it inspires one with the desire to seem rather than to be.Henry Fielding (1707-1754) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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I take it— I imagine this is the case; I presume it to be true (that); it is my understanding (that). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Moshoeshoe's Day (2024)Moshoeshoe (c. 1790-1870) was a leader in South Africa who organized a group of tribes to fight the Zulu warlord Shaka. He called his followers the Basotho people, and although they succeeded in fending off the Zulu, they were drawn into war with Europeans who started settling their territory. In 1966, the Basotho nation became the independent kingdom of Lesotho within the British Commonwealth. The Basotho people honor their founder on this day with a wreath-laying ceremony in the capital city of Maseru, along with sporting events and traditional music and dancing. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wakingexpergefacient, expergefaction, expergefactor - A synonym for awakening is expergefacient; expergefaction is waking up and an alarm clock is an expergefactor. More... dysania - The state of having a hard time waking up and getting out of bed in the morning. More... experrection - Waking up or awakening. More... hypnagogic jerks, hypnopompic jerks - Hypnagogic jerks are the spasms that happen right when you fall asleep; hypnopompic jerks happen right when you are waking up. More... | |