Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, March 26, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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dilettante
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Noun AdjunctsNoun adjuncts are nouns that are used to modify other nouns. What is the resulting phrase called? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Ice SculptureSculpting ice presents a number of difficulties stemming from the material's variability with regard to purity and air content, as well as its tendency to melt. Ice sculptures feature decoratively in some cuisines, especially in Asia, and numerous competitions are held annually around the world where competitors sculpt realistic as well as abstract forms. In Kiruna, Sweden, a hotel made entirely of ice blocks is open from November to May. Where can you visit an ice hotel in North America? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Jack Kevorkian Convicted of Second-Degree Murder (1999)By 1998, Dr. Jack Kevorkian had been prosecuted numerous times—without being convicted—for the deaths of terminally ill patients whose suicides he had admittedly assisted. However, after the TV program 60 Minutes aired a videotape of him administering a lethal injection to a man who was too physically debilitated to commit suicide on his own, Kevorkian was charged with murder. He chose to defend himself in court and was convicted. He was paroled eight years later under what conditions? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford (1753)A scientist and inventor, Thompson was perhaps the first person to recognize heat as a form of motion, at a time when many believed it to be a substance. He invented various heat-related items, including a double boiler, a drip coffeepot, thermal underwear, and a more efficient fireplace. After he was denied a commission in the Continental Army, Thompson spied for the British in the American Revolution. When he had to flee the country, what particularly notable thing did he leave behind? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The telephone, which interrupts the most serious conversations and cuts short the most weighty observations, has a romance of its own.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a licence to print money— An activity, business model, or company that yields very high profits but requires little or no effort to do so. Primarily heard in UK, Australia. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bangladesh Independence Day (2021)This public holiday celebrates the declaration of independence of the state of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971. When India gained independence from Britain in 1947, the region that is now Bangladesh became East Pakistan, and was governed together with West Pakistan as one country. By early 1971, differences between East and West Pakistan had led to war. When India entered the war in November, independence was assured. Bangladeshis observe this national holiday in the capital city of Dhaka with memorial ceremonies, a boat race on the Buriganga river, and other festivities. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: mechanismmechanical pencil - Pushes graphite out by a mechanism such as a spring or a screw. More... pinwheel - Originally a mechanism in a clock. More... gadget - May come from French gachette, which is or has been applied to various pieces of mechanism, or from Gaget, the person who created the first so-called gadgets—miniature Statues of Liberty sold in Paris—or from a Navy term for a tool or mechanical device for which one could not recall the name. More... rack, pinion - Rack is the linear gear and pinion is the circular gear in a mechanism. More... | |