Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, October 16, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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constellate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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AppositivesAn appositive is a noun that serves to describe or rename another noun (or pronoun) that appears directly before it in a sentence. When an appositive is made up of a noun phrase, what is it called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 StonefishFound in the tropics of the Indian and Pacific oceans and in the Red Sea, the stonefish, Synanceia verrucosa, is the world's most venomous fish. Spines lining its dorsal area release a toxin that causes excruciating pain, local swelling, general paralysis, and, eventually, fatal respiratory paralysis. Using its resemblance to a piece of rock to camouflage itself, the carnivorous fish feeds on small fish, shrimp, and other crustaceans. A stonefish can survive out of water for how long? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 World Food Day (1981)More than 150 countries celebrate World Food Day every year on October 16, the anniversary of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. World Food Day aims to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and to promote cooperation in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. It has been observed since 1981 with different themes each year, such as "United against Hunger" and "The Right to Food." What was the theme of the first World Food Day? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Noah Webster (1758)Webster was an American lexicographer. After serving in the American Revolution, he published The Elementary Spelling Book, or "Blue-Backed Speller," which helped standardize American spelling and sold some 100 million copies. In 1807, he began work on his landmark American Dictionary of the English Language, which included definitions of 70,000 words—of which 12,000 had never appeared in a dictionary before. How many languages did he learn while compiling the dictionary? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A man will tell you that he has worked in a mine for forty years unhurt by an accident as a reason why he should apprehend no danger, though the roof is beginning to sink.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have the heart (to do something)— To be hard hearted, callous, or unsympathetic (enough to do something); to have the emotional resolve (to do something). Usually used in the negative. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 World Food Day (2023)Proclaimed in 1979 by the conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, World Food Day is designed to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and to promote cooperation in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. October 16 is the anniversary of the founding of the FAO in Rome, Italy, in 1945. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: reputationroorback - A false report made to damage the reputation of a political candidate. More... character, reputation - Character is what one is; reputation is what one is thought to be by others. More... denigrate - From Latin de- and nigare, "blacken," it first meant "make black or dark in color," and came to mean "blacken the reputation of." More... | |