Today's Highlights
| Word of the Day | |||||||
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papilloma
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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MitigatorsMitigators are adverbs or adverbials that modify adjectives and adverbs to reduce their intensity, making them seem less extreme or powerful. What is the difference between mitigators and intensifiers? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Dung BeetlesAs their name suggests, dung beetles feed partly or exclusively on feces. Many dung beetles roll manure into balls—sometimes as large as apples—which they then use as food sources and brooding chambers. They can eat more than their own weight in 24 hours and are considered helpful because they convert manure into substances usable by other organisms. According to estimates, how many millions of dollars do dung beetles save the US cattle industry each year by burying above-ground livestock feces? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 New Amsterdam Incorporated as a City (1653)In 1625, the Dutch West India Company decided to build a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan Island, in close proximity to the fur-rich forests bordering the Hudson River. Named Fort Amsterdam, it became the capital of New Netherland and was incorporated as the city of New Amsterdam a few decades later. In 1664, it was captured by the British and renamed New York. The Dutch retook the city in 1673, and before the British claimed it yet again, it was briefly known by what third name? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ayn Rand (1905)1926, Rand fled post-revolution Russia for the US, which she considered the "country of the individual." She worked for many years as a screenwriter before winning a cult following with two influential novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Her works present her belief in rational self-interest, a philosophy she called "objectivism," and made her an icon of radical libertarianism. What unusual floral arrangement was placed near the casket at Rand's funeral? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is the stillest words which bring the storm. Thoughts that come with doves' footsteps guide the world.Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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you look a little peaked— You look ill, especially as if you might vomit. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Edison Festival of Light (2025)The Edison Festival of Light is held annually in Fort Myers, Florida, for more than three weeks, encompassing Thomas Edison's birthday. Highlights of the festival include concerts, the coronation of the King and Queen of Edisonia, a children's parade, fireworks, exhibits of Edison's various inventions, and exhibits of regional inventors. The Grand Parade of Light—a nighttime procession of more than 100 bands, floats, and marching units—is the festival's grand finale. Edison's winter home and his Florida laboratory are open to the public year-round. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: rayshaft - A ray of light. More... radiate - As an adjective, it means having rays or parts coming out of a center, from Latin radius, "ray, spoke." More... radio wave - Travels like rays of light, so it takes its name from Latin radius, "spoke of a wheel; ray of light." More... sol-fa - The sol-fa syllables are doh, ray, mi, fah, sol, lah, te—for the notes of the major musical scale. More... | |
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