Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, August 7, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Conjunctive Adverbs and PunctuationWhen we join two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb, they are traditionally separated with a semicolon. It is also acceptable to use a period and keep them as two discrete sentences. Either way, the conjunctive adverb typically begins the second clause and is followed by what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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| This Day in History | |
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 Federal Emergency Declared at Love Canal in New York (1978)In the 1940s and 50s, an abandoned canal in Niagara Falls, New York, became a dumping ground for chemical waste. It was later filled in, and after the land was given to the city of Niagara Falls by the chemical company, houses and an elementary school were built there. By the late 1970s, toxic chemicals had risen to the surface, and residents were found to have a high incidence of chromosome damage. A federal emergency was declared in 1978, and residents were evacuated. What happened to them? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Heathcoat (1783)Heathcoat was not the first person to invent a lacemaking machine, but his apparatus was the first to produce an exact imitation of handmade pillow lace. Patented in 1809, it was the most complex textile machine then in existence. Heathcoat decided to capitalize on his invention by opening a lace mill, but textile workers, angry that they were being replaced by machines, attacked and destroyed it in 1816. Undeterred, he opened a new mill elsewhere. What happened to the steam plough he invented? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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| Idiom of the Day | |
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be put in (one's) place— To be humbled or have one's dignity lowered (by someone); to be made aware that one is not as important, respected, influential, etc., as one thinks. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Purple Heart Day (2025)Purple Heart Day is observed in the United States and commemorates the establishment in 1782 of the Badge of Military Merit, an award created by George Washington to honor soldiers for their distinguished action in battle. On August 7 throughout the country, local chapters of the Military Order of the Purple Heart sponsor services to remember and honor medal recipients from their communities. These ceremonies often feature prayers, military music, reminiscences by award recipients, and speeches by government and military officials. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tableswaitron - A person, male or female, who waits on tables at a restaurant. More... backgammon - Appears to literally mean "back game," and was first called tables; gammon is the ancestor of game. More... busboy - A person who clears the dirty dishes from diners' tables, so called from his "bus" or trolley. More... turn the tables - May come from backgammon, as the game itself was once called tables, and the two halves of the playing board are still called tables. More... | |