Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, June 22, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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freebooter
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Predicate Pronouns and CaseWe commonly use personal pronouns in the possessive case predicatively. When pronouns that are not possessive are used predicatively, the conventional rule is to put them in the subjective case rather than the objective case. What is the only thing that pronouns in the objective case should be used as? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Centennial LightThe Centennial Light is the world's longest-lasting light bulb. Housed at the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department in Livermore, California, the bulb was donated to the department in 1901. The longevity of the four-watt, carbon-filament, hand-blown bulb has been recognized by several sources, including Guinness World Records. It has reportedly only been turned off a handful of times, and it has been on continuously since it was switched off for 22 minutes in 1976 for what reason? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Kodak Announces Discontinuation of Kodachrome Film (2009)Manufactured by Kodak from 1935 to 2009, Kodachrome was the first commercially successful color film and was used to capture some of the most iconic images of the late 20th century. The film was known for its stability—if stored properly, it could be developed decades after being exposed and would retain its color and density for decades. Yet, advances in digital photography and the development of competing films considerably reduced demand. What famous images were recorded on Kodachrome? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Herbert Dillinger, Jr. (1903)Raised in Indiana by a widowed father, Dillinger served a prison term for attempted robbery, then organized a gang and terrorized the Midwest in 1933. He became one of the most notorious criminals in the US. The infamous bank robber escaped jail twice, was involved in 16 killings, and was declared "public enemy number one" before being killed on a Chicago street by FBI agents at the age of 31. He was so well-known that at the scene of his death, bystanders collected what macabre souvenirs? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Very simple was my explanation, and plausible enough—as most wrong theories are!H.G. Wells (1866-1946) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be not in Kansas anymore— To no longer be in a place that one knows or where one is comfortable; to be in a completely unfamiliar and/or discomfiting environment. A reference to The Wizard of Oz, in which Dorothy, upon arriving to Oz, says, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Croatia Anti-Fascist Resistance Day (2025)This holiday in Croatia, also called Anti-Fascism Day, dates back to the Second World War. After Nazi Germany invaded and conquered Yugoslavia in 1941, Croatia became a German puppet state under a government of Croatian fascists, called the Ustaše. One of the resistance groups that sprang up to oppose the fascist government was the Partisans, headed by half-Croatian Communist leader Josip Broz Tito. Anti-Fascist Resistance Day is a national holiday in Croatia. Like most warm-weather holidays in the country, it is celebrated with outdoor barbeques and fireworks. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: voteco-opt - "To select (someone) for a group or club by a vote of members," it is from Latin cooptare, "to choose as a colleague or member of one's tribe"; its sense of "take over" came by 1953. More... ostracism - In ancient Greece, when it was proposed that a person be sent into exile, a vote was taken and the method of registering the vote involved putting the name on a piece of broken pottery called ostrakon; casting the vote was ostrakizein, giving us English ostracism. More... red state, blue state - A red state is any U.S. state that tends to vote for candidates of the Republican party in a general election; a blue state votes for Democratic candidates. More... chirotonize - To elect by voting or to vote. More... | |