Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, February 26, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Conjunctive AdverbsConjunctive adverbs are a specific type of conjunction. Conjunctions are used to join together words, phrases, or clauses. Conjunctive adverbs are specifically used to connect two independent clauses. What is an independent clause? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Schmidt Sting Pain IndexThe Schmidt Sting Pain Index is a scale that rates the relative pain caused by the stings of nearly 80 species of insects in the Hymenoptera order, which includes wasps, bees, and ants. It is mainly the work of entomologist Justin O. Schmidt, who spent years subjecting himself to the stings, ranking them, and describing some of the experiences in colorful detail. Which insect's sting was described as producing "trembling in the form of a totally uncontrollable urge to shake the affected part"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Buffalo Creek Flood (1972)More than 100 people were killed and thousands more left injured or homeless when a dam in West Virginia's rural Buffalo Creek Valley gave way. It had been built out of sediment left over from coal mining and collapsed after a heavy rainfall, sweeping away two more dams in its path. The collapse unleashed approximately 130 million gallons of black waste water onto the residents of the valley below. A study done 17 years later found that residents still suffered what lasting psychological effect? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Christopher Marlowe (1564)A shoemaker's son, Marlowe attended Cambridge University and then became an actor and dramatist in London. His plays, such as Dr. Faustus and The Jew of Malta, often center on a heroic personality ruined by his own ambition. Most critics hold that the poetic beauty of his language elevates his plays' violence to high art, and many believe that he influenced Shakespeare's work. At 29, he was stabbed to death in a tavern brawl, possibly due to his involvement in what covert activity? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Cruelty was the devil's own trade-mark, and if we saw any one who took pleasure in cruelty we might know who he belonged to ... On the other hand, where we saw people who loved their neighbors, and were kind to man and beast, we might know that was God's mark.Anna Sewell (1820-1878) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make (someone's) jaw drop— To cause someone to pause in astonishment, awe, or disbelief, especially with their mouth left open. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Kuwait Liberation Day (2022)After Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's troops invaded Kuwait on August 2, 1990, several countries in the United Nations formed a military coalition—including troops and equipment from the US, France, and Britain—to force them out. Operation Desert Storm began on January 17, 1991, and, for five weeks, US and British air forces relentlessly bombed Baghdad. This was followed by four days of a ground war, which resulted in Hussein's troops leaving Kuwait. February 26 is a national holiday in Kuwait celebrating the end of Iraq's military presence in Kuwait. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: supportedwhatnot - A series of open shelves supported by two or four upright posts, for displaying knickknacks. More... oriel - A large, upper-story bay window, usually supported by brackets or on corbels. More... portico - Describes a covered walkway with a roof supported by columns and usually attached as a porch to a building. More... felly, felloe - The felly or felloe is the exterior rim on a wheel or the section of rim supported by a spoke. More... | |