Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, July 15, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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paltry
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Indicative MoodThe indicative mood is a type of grammatical mood used to express facts, statements, opinions, or questions. It is the sole realis mood in English. In which tenses can the indicative mood can be used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 GegenscheinThe gegenschein is an oval patch of faint light directly opposite the sun in the night sky. It is so faint that it can only be seen in the absence of moonlight and is lost in the light of the Milky Way except in the spring and fall. It is thought to be caused by sunlight reflecting off dust particles in space that may be part of Earth's tail of dust and gas. Danish astronomer Theodor Brorsen published an account of the phenomenon in 1854, about 50 years after it was observed and named by whom? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Teutonic Knights Defeated at Battle of Grunwald (1410)Early in the 15th century, the Teutonic Order, a German military religious order founded during the Third Crusade, sought to expand its influence over Lithuania and Poland. Though its purported mission was to spread Christianity, it invaded the already Christian nations and was defeated at the Battle of Grunwald. Afterward, the Order's strength waned, and today it exists only as a clerical organization. How was the memory of the Battle of Grunwald used as propaganda during World War I? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Rembrandt van Rijn (1606)Rembrandt is considered one of the greatest European painters. Early on, he displayed an interest in the "spotlight effects" of light and shadow that dominate his later paintings and began the studies of his own face and the more formal self-portraits that make up much of his painted and etched work. After moving to Amsterdam around 1631, he quickly became the city's most fashionable portrait painter and a popular teacher. However, he went bankrupt in 1656. What had happened to his money? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it.Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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not utter a word— To be completely silent; to remain discreet (about something); to not tell anyone (about something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Swithin's Day (2022)When Swithin, the bishop of Winchester, England, died in 862, he was buried according to his wish, outside the cathedral in the churchyard, in a place where the rain from the eaves poured down. This request was reversed after his canonization, when clerical authorities tried to move his remains to a site within the church. According to legend, the heavens opened and there was a heavy rainfall—a show of the saint's displeasure. This led to the popular belief that if it rains on St. Swithin's Day, it will rain for 40 days; but if it is fair, it will be dry for 40 days. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: startsptarmic - Describing a substance that starts a sneezing bout. More... early adopter - A person who starts using a technology or product as soon as it becomes available. More... prolepsis - Anticipation before something starts is prolepsis. More... start from scratch - Comes from giving handicaps to some competitors in racing; a contestant who starts from scratch (a line scratched in the turf or gravel) is the one who has no special advantage. More... | |