Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, December 15, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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abbess
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming Superlative AdverbsSuperlative adverbs are used to describe differences among three or more people or things. We form superlative adverbs by adding the ending "-est" to the base adverb, or by adding what word before the base adverb? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The MatchlockInvented in the 15th century, the matchlock was the first mechanical device for igniting gunpowder and a major advance in small-arms manufacture. It consisted of an S-shaped arm designed to hold a lit match and a trigger that would lower it into a flash pan and ignite the priming powder that would then ignite the main charge. Though slow and rather clumsy, the matchlock allowed users to keep both hands on the weapon and both eyes on the target when firing. What eventually replaced the matchlock? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Gone with the Wind Premieres in Atlanta, Georgia (1939)American writer Margaret Mitchell only published one novel during her lifetime—Gone with the Wind—and it became one of the most popular novels in the history of American publishing. In 1939, an extraordinarily successful film version of the book was released, transferring the romantic, panoramic portrait of the Civil War and Reconstruction periods in Georgia to the big screen. The movie won 10 Academy Awards. Why did the film's leading man, Clark Gable, threaten to boycott the premiere? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jean Paul Getty (1892)The son of an oil millionaire, Getty was an American industrialist who increased his fortune and became the richest man in the world by acquiring oil companies and obtaining rights to a tract of land in Saudi Arabia that yielded great quantities of oil. Married and divorced five times, he was known for such bizarre behavior as installing a payphone in his mansion for guests to use and refusing to pay a ransom for his grandson even after being sent the boy's ear. What happened to the grandson? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Children have a natural antipathy to books--handicraft should be the basis of education. Boys and girls should be taught to use their hands to make something, and they would be less apt to destroy and be mischievous.Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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loaf about— To waste time idly; to spend time doing little or nothing. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Consualia (2024)The infamous rape of the Sabine women occurred at the first Consualia in ancient Rome. Consus is said to have advised Romulus to abduct the Sabine women as wives for his supporters. The sanctuary dedicated to Consus in 272 BCE was located on the Aventine Hill in Rome, and sacrifices were held there during his festival. There were also horse and chariot races in the Circus Maximus, the large arena that lay between the Palatine and Aventine hills. Two festivals were actually held in honor of Consus—one on August 21 and the other on December 15. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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