Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, March 29, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ConversionWhen we use a verb or adjective as a noun without changing its spelling in any way, it is called "conversion" or "zero derivation." Conversion is especially common with what part of speech? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Hassan-i SabbahSabbah was an 11th-century Muslim missionary who led a community of converts that settled in Alamut, a mountain fortress in what is now Iran, and became known as the Hashshashin, or Assassins. According to legend, Sabbah acquired Alamut by offering its owner 3,000 gold dinars for the amount of land that would fit in a buffalo's hide. When the owner agreed, what did Sabbah do? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Routledge Expedition Arrives at Easter Island (1914)Today known by its traditional name of Rapa Nui, Easter Island is one of the most remote inhabited locations on Earth. The first study of the island by outsiders was undertaken by British archaeologist Katherine Routledge, who spent 16 months on Rapa Nui studying its indigenous Polynesian culture. She interviewed residents and catalogued the island's now-famous stone statues. Her scholarship proved to be invaluable to later researchers. Why did Routledge's husband eventually have her kidnapped? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jennifer Capriati (1976)Capriati's family moved to Florida when she was four years old so she could pursue a tennis career, and by 1990, the 14-year-old had earned over $6 million in endorsements. She became the youngest women's tennis player to win a match at Wimbledon, to reach the semifinals in a Grand Slam event, and to rank in the top ten players. Personal problems—including an arrest—sidelined her as a teen, but she made a successful comeback in her 20s before injuries ended her career. Why was she arrested? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a morning person— Someone who is more active and alert in the early hours of the morning than later in the day; an early riser. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Madagascar Martyrs' Day (2025)Madagascar Martyrs' Day memorializes those who died in the Revolt of 1947 against the French. Madagascar had been a French colony since 1896 and then was named an overseas territory within the French Union in the 1946 constitution. On March 29, 1947, the people staged a nationalist uprising against colonial forces. Casualties from the conflict were reported as high as 80,000. French military courts tried the leaders of the revolt and executed 20 of them. On March 29, the Malagasy government and people remember those patriots who sacrificed their lives for their country's freedom. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sufferimpatient - Meaning "not able to bear or suffer," based on Latin pati, "to suffer." More... compatible - Its base is Latin compati, "suffer with." More... harrow, harrowing - To harrow is to wound the feelings or cause to suffer—which gives us harrowing. More... suffer - To suffer something is, etymologically, to "hold or sustain it from underneath," from Latin sufferre, "sustain." More... | |