Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 26, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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samizdat
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Grammatical PersonGrammatical person refers to the degree of involvement of a participant in an action, event, or circumstance. There are three degrees of grammatical person. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Film NoirFilm noir is a style of film characterized by low-key lighting, bleak urban settings, and corrupt, cynical characters who find themselves entangled in the criminal underworld. This dark genre, which gave rise to the film archetypes of the hardboiled private detective and the femme fatale, was especially popular in Hollywood in the 1940s. Classic examples of film noir include The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep. Who first coined the term film noir, and what does it mean? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Decomposing Whale Explodes on Crowded Taiwan Street (2004)After a sperm whale became beached on the coast of Taiwan, researchers decided to perform an autopsy on the creature to determine its cause of death—later found to have been a collision with a ship. It took three cranes half a day to load the whale onto a truck, during which time gas continued to build up in the decomposing carcass. While passing through Tainan on the way to a wildlife preserve, the whale exploded, spattering onlookers and nearby cars with gore. Where else have whales exploded? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Maria Augusta von Trapp (1905)Born in Austria and orphaned at a young age, Maria Kutschera planned to become a nun in Salzburg. Instead, she met Baron Georg von Trapp while tutoring one of his seven children. They were married in 1927 and had three children together. After financial trouble, the family began to sing professionally, then fled Nazi Europe for the US. Today, the family operates a lodge in Vermont. Maria's 1949 memoir was adapted into The Sound of Music. What became of the family's home in Austria? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Habits in writing as in life are only useful if they are broken as soon as they cease to be advantageous.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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won't budge an inch— Will not move, change, or shift in any way at all. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Uganda Liberation Day (2025)This day marks the events of January 26, 1986, when the military junta controlling Uganda was overthrown by the National Resistance Army following a five-year civil war. On the evening before the celebration, fireworks are exploded over the capital city of Kampala. The next day, a parade involving all branches of the Uganda military is held either at the Kololo Independence grounds or at the Kololo airfield, just outside Kampala. The country's president presides over the occasion. Throughout the country, the general public marks the day with sporting events and hearty feasts. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: skirtbustle - A stuffed pad or cushion worn under the skirt of a woman's dress, it had a synonym of "dress-improver." More... kick pleat - The slit in the back of a skirt or coat that allows more freedom of movement. More... A-line - A dress or skirt shaped like an A, created by Christian Dior. More... skirt - The ice cream at the base of a scoop of ice cream in a cone. More... | |