Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, August 31, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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facet
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Factitive Verbs vs. Linking VerbsLinking verbs and factitive verbs both tie a subject to another part of speech that provides more information about it. How do linking verbs differ from factitive verbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 PicaCharacterized by the consumption of materials such as soil, chalk, and hair, pica is a disorder involving an appetite for non-nutritive substances or an abnormal compulsion to eat foodstuffs that are usually ingredients, such as flour or starch. Such eating behaviors have been observed in people of all ages but are only termed pica if they persist for more than one month in persons deemed developmentally able to determine whether an item is appropriate for consumption. How is pica treated? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Thomas Edison Patents Kinetoscope in the US (1897)Developed by Edison's assistant, W.K.L. Dickson, the kinetoscope was a precursor to the modern motion-picture projector. It works through a phenomenon known as "persistence of vision," in which a sequence of images creates the illusion of motion. Initially, Edison hoped to synchronize the images with sound, but he was unable to achieve this. The kinetoscope was designed to be viewed by one person at a time. Why did Edison supposedly balk at the idea of projecting films before larger audiences? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Commodus (161 CE)The son of Marcus Aurelius, Commodus was a Roman emperor who ruled from 180 to 192 CE—a period some historians consider the beginning of the empire's decline. Though his reign was fairly peaceful, Commodus was a tyrant who spent lavishly on gladiatorial combats, persecuted the Senate, and tried to rename Rome after himself. He fancied himself a gladiator, frequently killing exotic animals. His mistress and advisors had him strangled. He considered himself the reincarnation of what mythical hero? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Art...is merely the refuge which the ingenious have invented, when they were supplied with food and women, to escape the tediousness of life.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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rip-snorting mad— Extremely angry and agitated; infuriated. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Kyrgyz Republic Independence Day (2025)Kyrgyztan declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 31, 1991, along with other central Asian republics as the Soviet empire crumbled. Located along the famed Silk Road, the trade route connecting the eastern and western parts of Eurasia, the country is mostly mountainous, part of the Tien-Shan, or Celestial Mountains. Independence Day is a national public holiday in the Kyrgyz Republic. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: inncaravanserai - A type of inn in Eastern countries where caravans are put up. More... harbergery - An inn or place of entertainment. More... inn - Etymologically a place "in" which people live or stay, from Proto-Germanic innam. More... | |