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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 Bengali Language Movement: Police Shoot Student Protesters (1952)The day that police opened fire on a group of students protesting the exclusion of Bengali as an official language of Pakistan marked a turning point in the Bengali Language Movement. At the time, Pakistan was made up of two provinces, East and West Pakistan. Though East Pakistan was the more populous province, the government favored West Pakistani interests, as evidenced by its attempt to make Urdu the only official language of the dominion. When was Bengali added as an official language? 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 put out of business— To be caused or forced to cease carrying on commercial trading or transactions. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Vanuatu Father Walter Lini Day (2022)A former Anglican priest, Father Walter Lini became the first prime minister of the newly independent country of Vanuatu in 1980. Despite those who remember him for his authoritarian ways, Lini is honored on February 21 as the father of Vanuatu's independence. To mark the 25th anniversary of the country's independence, the 2005 celebration of Lini Day included a special remembrance service at the Tagabe Anglican Church with President Kalkot Matas Kelekele attending. Prime minister Ham Lini, Walter Lini's brother, presided over a ceremony in which a wreath was placed on the late priest's grave. 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... | |