Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, May 21, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hanker
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Verbs Used to Make an OfferBecause modal auxiliary verbs can be quite similar in how they are used, it is sometimes unclear when it's more appropriate to use one instead of another. For instance, "can," "may," and "shall" can all be used to offer to do something for someone. Which of these verbs is used as a polite suggestion? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Samuel HopkinsHopkins was an American inventor who was granted the first US patent in 1790—just months after President George Washington signed the new patent statute into law—for an improved process for making potash and pearl ash, substances used in the manufacture of glass, soap, and fertilizer. There was no Patent Office at the time, so his petition was approved by a committee that included the US president, secretary of state, and attorney general. What other US patents were issued that year? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Rajiv Gandhi Is Assassinated (1991)When his brother Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash in 1981, Rajiv Gandhi—then an airline pilot—was drafted into politics by his mother, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. When she was assassinated in 1984, he succeeded her as prime minister. In 1987, he sent peacekeeping forces to Sri Lanka in an unsuccessful attempt to end Tamil-Sinhalese violence. Following allegations of corruption, he resigned as prime minister in 1989. He was assassinated in 1991. How and by whom was he killed? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mary Anning (1799)The daughter of a British cabinetmaker who supplemented his income by selling "curiosities" he recovered from cliffside fossil beds near his home, Mary Anning grew up collecting fossils. When she was just 12 years old, she and her brother discovered the first ichthyosaur skeleton to be correctly identified. As an adult, she continued the dangerous work of scouring the Lyme Regis cliffs for fossils and made a number of significant geological finds. What tongue twister might Anning have inspired? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 One can sometimes do good by being the right person in the wrong place.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have (got) (someone) pegged as (something)— To distinctly regard someone as being a certain type of person. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Chile Battle of Iquique Day (Día de las Glorias Navales) (2024)This national holiday in Chile is often called Día de las Glorias Navales ("The Day of the Glorious Navy"). From 1879 to 1881, the Chilean navy fought an alliance of Peru and Bolivia in the War of the Pacific. The Chilean victory in the Battle of Iquique on May 21, 1879, was a turning point in a war that Chile eventually won decisively. The holiday is celebrated throughout Chile with festivals, military parades, and speeches. Sporting events, including boat and bicycle races, are held in honor of the holiday. Many people dress in traditional costumes as a symbol of national pride. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: madnessire, rage, fury - Ire suggests greater intensity than anger, rage suggests loss of self-control, and fury is destructive rage verging on madness. More... mania - Based on a Greek word meaning "madness," ultimately from an Indo-European root for "mind." More... rage - Traces back to Latin rabia, an alteration of rabies, meaning "fury, madness." More... woodness - Madness or insanity, from Old English wood, "out of one's mind." More... | |