Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, July 4, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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vicinity
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Possessive Determiners vs. Possessive Personal PronounsPossessive determiners are often confused with possessive personal pronouns ("mine," "yours," "his," "hers," "its," "ours," "theirs") since some of the forms overlap. How do possessive pronouns differ from possessive determiners? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The O'Neill CylinderWhile teaching physics at Princeton University in 1969, Gerard K. O'Neill asked his students to design large, theoretical structures suitable for space. Their proposals led him to publish the first concept for what came to be known as the "O'Neill cylinder" in 1974 in Physics Today and to revisit the idea in his book, The High Frontier. O'Neill's design incorporates areas for human habitation, farming, and manufacturing. What feature allows occupants to experience gravity? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Suspicious Airshow Accident Kills Aviator B. H. DeLay (1923)Just two decades after the Wright brothers produced the first manned, power-driven plane, aviator B. H. DeLay started performing stunt-filled airshows. His repertoire included tail spins, barrel rolls, and loop-the-loops, and he went on to execute air stunts in more than 50 films. At age 31, DeLay died in an airshow plane crash. In the midst of a loop, the wings of his plane folded back, and it plummeted to the ground. After the crash, there were rumors of sabotage. When was the mystery solved? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ann Landers (1918)In 1955, Esther "Eppie" Friedman began doling out advice to the public in the name of famed columnist Ann Landers. Ruth Crowley had originated the role, and when she died, Friedman took over the column, gaining a following of some 90 million readers with her witty-but-tough style. Though Friedman sometimes drew criticism for taking on controversial topics, such as abortion and prostitution, she received wide support after discussing her divorce. What was her connection to her rival "Dear Abby"? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Hobbes clearly proves that every creatureLives in a state of war by nature. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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moral compass— That which serves or guides a person's knowledge, sense, or intuition of correct virtues, morals, or ethics. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Calvin Coolidge Birthday Celebration (2018)The village of Plymouth Notch, Vermont, is where Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), 30th president of the United States, spent his boyhood and was sworn in as president by his father following the death of Warren Harding in 1923. On the Fourth of July each year, the anniversary of Coolidge's birth, there is a noontime march from the green near the Plymouth Post Office to the Notch Cemetery, led by a Vermont National Guard colorguard with a bugler and a chaplain. The White House sends a wreath, which is laid at the President's tomb. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: intellectheart - As the seat of feeling and intellect, heart has been used since around 825. More... intellect, intelligent - Intellect and intelligent come from Latin intelligere, "perceive" or "understand." More... intelligible - Means "understandable through the intellect." More... inwit - Usually means "an inner sense of right or wrong," but its more general meaning is "reason, intellect, understanding, or wisdom." More... | |
| In the News | |
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Widely Used Pesticide is a Buzzkill for HoneybeesHoneybee stings ache for a good reason: This species knows how to brawl. But as it turns out, these black-and-yellow pollinators are quite vulnerable themselves—especially to neonicotinoids, a pesticide commonly used to ward off crop-munching pests. Two new ... More... | |