Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 7, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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subroutine
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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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 MottainaiWhen Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Wangari Maathai visited Japan in 2005, she encountered a word that has no direct English translation: mottainai. Although the meaning of term has evolved throughout Japanese history, it is used today to indicate a sense of regret over the waste of anything useful. Maathai has since promoted the use of the word to raise awareness about conservation issues. What English expression is closest in meaning to that of mottainai? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 United States Embassy Bombings (1998)On August 7, 1998, hundreds of people were killed in simultaneous truck bomb explosions at the US embassies in the major East African cities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. The attacks, linked to local members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, brought Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to American attention and resulted in the US Federal Bureau of Investigation placing bin Laden on its Ten Most Wanted list. The bombings took place on the eighth anniversary of what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Emil Nolde (1867)Nolde was a German painter and printmaker. Fervently religious, he often painted supernatural imagery, such as demonic heads and mystic appearances. Impressed by the art he saw on a 1913 expedition to the East Indies, he began to paint brooding landscapes and colorful flowers. As a printmaker, he was noted for his crudely cut, stark black-and-white woodcuts. Though he was an early advocate of the Nazi party, the party condemned his art and forbade him to paint. What did he do instead? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic.Charles Darwin (1809-1882) | |
| 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 (2019)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: perfectA-OK - Astronauts on the Mercury Project in 1961 popularized A-OK, meaning "excellent, perfect"; it was coined by blending the adjective "A," as in A-one or A1, meaning "first-class," with "OK." More... palinoia - The compulsive repetition of an act until it is perfect. More... parfait - Literally French for "perfect." More... perfect binding - A book bound by gluing instead of sewing. More... | |