Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 13, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Order of AdverbsThere is a general order in which the different categories of adverbs should appear—this is known as the order of adverbs (or the royal order of adverbs). What type of adverb is typically used first in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 SigilsA sigil is a symbol, usually composed of a complex combination of meaningful symbols or geometric figures, that has a specific magical purpose. In medieval ceremonial magic, the term was used to refer to the occult signs that were believed to represent individual angels and demons and which were used by magicians to summon and control these beings. Sigils are also commonly found in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalistic magic and are used by practitioners of what type of magic? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 UN General Assembly Adopts Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007)Over two decades in the making, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was finally adopted in 2007 despite opposition from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US. The non-binding declaration prohibits discrimination against the world's estimated 370 million indigenous people and outlines their rights, among them the rights to culture, identity, language, employment, and education. What were some of the key issues that delayed the drafting and adoption of the declaration? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Milton S. Hershey (1857)After serving as apprentice to a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, confectioner, Hershey opened his own candy store in Philadelphia. By 1886, he was back in Lancaster, where he soon found success making caramels using fresh milk. By 1900, he had sold his caramel business to concentrate on chocolate. In 1903, he built a factory to manufacture five-cent chocolate bars, which became so popular that "Hershey" became virtually synonymous with chocolate in the US. To what causes did Hershey donate his fortune? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 What terrified me will terrify others; and I need only describe the specter which had haunted my midnight pillow.Mary Shelley (1797-1851) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have a say (in something)— To have an active and participatory role in making or influencing a decision about something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon Night Show (2023)The Pendleton Round-Up is one of the best-known rodeos in the West, held since 1910 in the small ranch town of Pendleton, Oregon. Happy Canyon was inaugurated four years later and evolved into the present-day Happy Canyon Pageant, a presentation by Northwest Indian tribes that features a teepee encampment and ceremonial dancing. In between, the rodeo features the standard competitions—bronco riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, and calf and steer roping. Additionally, there are wild horse and stagecoach races and wild-cow milking. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: occupationaptronym - A name that fits a person's nature or occupation, like Jane House for a real estate agent. More... mechanical - Predates "machine" in English and has long had certain separate senses, such as "an art, trade, or occupation: concerned with manual work" and "practical as opposed to theoretical." More... specialization, specialty - Specialization refers to the process of becoming specialized; specialty refers to a special pursuit, occupation, or product. More... study - Based on Latin studium, "painstaking application, zeal" (from studere, "to be zealous"), study's earliest uses are surprising: "affection, friendliness," an "occupation or pursuit," and "a state of reverie or abstraction; state of perplexity." More... | |