Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, November 30, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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empennage
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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SpeechGrammatical speech refers to how we report something another person said. Depending on how we do this, we sometimes have to inflect the verbs that we use. Speech is usually divided between what two types? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Human BrandingHistorically, human branding—the practice of burning marks or patterns into the skin of a living person—was used to mark slaves and criminals. The ancient Romans branded runaway slaves with the letters FUG, for fugitivus. Until the 1800s, hot irons were used to brand British criminals with letters specific to their crimes. Today, human branding is generally voluntary and is used as body decoration or as an act of initiation to gangs. What religious sect practices human branding? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Battle of Narva (1700)Sweden's power and influence in the Baltic region was growing when the young and inexperienced Charles XII came to the throne in 1697. Seeing their chance to end Swedish domination of the area, Charles's neighbors—Peter I of Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark, and Augustus II of Poland—formed an alliance and attacked. At Narva, the first major battle of the Great Northern War, Charles's army soundly defeated the superior Russian forces. A few years later, Peter returned to Narva. What happened? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mark Twain (1835)Twain was an American author who, as a humorist, narrator, and social observer, is unsurpassed in American literature. Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Twain grew up in a port town on the Mississippi River and eventually became a river pilot. He first won fame with the comic masterpiece "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." His 1885 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been called the first modern American novel. According to Twain, how did he acquire his pen name? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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head the ball— A stupid, foolish, or idiotic person; someone who is crazy or mentally unstable. Primarily heard in Ireland. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Andrew's Day (2023)St. Andrew, the brother of St. Peter, was the first apostle called by Jesus, but he is primarily known today as the patron saint of Scotland. St. Andrew's association with Scotland didn't come about until four centuries after his death, when some of his relics were brought there. Scots continue the custom of wearing a "St. Andrew's cross" on November 30, which consists of blue and white ribbons shaped like the letter X. The tradition for this form of a cross began no earlier than the 13th century. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: mountainsmassif - A compact group of mountains or a mountain range section; it first meant "building block" and the word massive is derived from that. More... Idaho - Shoshone for "light on mountains." More... orogenesis, orogeny - Orogenesis is the formation of mountains (Greek oros) and orogeny is the process by which mountains are formed. More... ultramontane - Means "beyond the mountains." More... | |