Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, February 21, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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turnkey
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Relative Pronouns as Objects of PrepositionsIn certain cases, relative pronouns can be used as objects of prepositions, meaning the relative pronoun works in conjunction with a preposition to modify the subject or verb of the relative clause. Only three relative pronouns can function as objects of prepositions. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Mukden IncidentThe Mukden Incident was a false flag operation engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading Manchuria, in northern China. On September 18, 1931, a Japanese lieutenant detonated a small quantity of dynamite close to a railroad owned by a Japanese company. Accusing Chinese dissidents of the act, the Imperial Japanese Army responded with a full invasion and occupation and set up a puppet state within six months. What was the name of the state established by the Japanese? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Creation of the Peace Symbol (1958)Historically, the idea of peace has been represented by symbols that attempt to transcend differences of culture, such as the white dove, the olive branch, and the broken rifle. The now-familiar line-drawing of a crow's foot in a circle was created specifically for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament by British artist Gerald Holtom, but it quickly caught on as a general, international sign for peace. Holtom has stated that it is derived from the semaphore flag signals for what two letters? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jeanne Calment (1875)At the age of 100, Calment was still riding a bicycle around her native Arles, France. She lived on her own until she was 110 and smoked until she was 117. She saw the Eiffel Tower being built and remembered selling colored pencils to Vincent van Gogh as a girl in her family's shop. By the time she died in 1997 at the age of 122, Calment had lived the longest confirmed human life in history—and outlived her entire family. What foods have been cited as contributing to Calment's longevity? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A just fear of an imminent danger, though there be no blow given, is a lawful cause of war.Francis Bacon (1561-1626) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be (one's) last resort— To be the only remaining thing or person that may help one or be of any use after all other options have been exhausted. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Shaheed Day (2021)Before becoming an autonomous country in 1971, Bangladesh had been East Pakistan ever since India gained independence from Britain in 1947. West Pakistan wanted to make its language, Urdu, the only official language of both Pakistans. Most of the people in East Pakistan spoke Bengali, and they opposed the restriction of the use of their language in government and commerce. In 1952, university students held protests that erupted in violence. Lives were lost, and, as a memorial, people form a procession from the Azimpur graveyard on February 21 each year. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pulselight year - Not a length of time but a distance, the distance a pulse of light travels in one year (about 5.88 trillion miles). More... pea - Comes from Greek pison, "pulse, pease." More... asphyxia - Its original meaning was stoppage of the pulse. More... ictus - The beat of the pulse, based on the Latin word for "stroke." More... | |