Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, March 9, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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preclude
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Other Ways to Form the Future Perfect ContinuousAlthough we most commonly use the modal verb "will," there are two other ways we can form the future perfect continuous tense: "be going to" and "shall." Why are these constructions less common? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Shrunken HeadsThe Shuar people of Ecuador and Peru first came to worldwide attention in the 1800s, after Westerners discovered that the group practiced head shrinking. The custom stems from the belief that severing an enemy's head and shrinking it harnesses the person's spirit and compels it to serve the shrinker. Though cultural restrictions limited the manufacture of shrunken heads, Western demand for the macabre artifacts prompted the Shuar to produce them in greater quantities. How does one shrink a head? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations Is Published (1776)Published in 1776, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Scottish economist Adam Smith. It is a clearly written account of political economy at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and is considered the first modern work in the field of economics. In it, Smith postulates the theory of the division of labor and emphasizes that value arises from the labor expended in the process of production. What was Smith's concept of "the invisible hand"? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (1890)A leading figure in Soviet government from the 1920s until 1957, Molotov rose to power as a protégé of Stalin. He was chairman of the Council of People's Commissars from 1930–41 and foreign minister from 1939–49 and 1953–56. In the early days of World War II, he negotiated a treaty with Germany, but after the 1941 invasion of Russia, he worked to strengthen ties with the West. Why is the Molotov cocktail, a makeshift bomb made of a breakable container filled with flammable liquid, named for him? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Compromise, n.: Such an adjustment of conflicting interests as gives each adversary the satisfaction of thinking he has got what he ought not to have, and is deprived of nothing except what was justly his due.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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now (that) you mention it— An expression used when one remembers or realizes something because of what the other person has just said. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of St. Frances of Rome (2023)St. Frances of Rome (1384-1440) was a model for housewives and widows. Despite the death of her children, her husband's banishment, and the confiscation of their estates, she continued to nurse the sick and care for the poor. St. Frances's feast day is observed on March 9, the date on which she died. Because she is also the patron saint of motorists, it is customary for Italian drivers to flock to the Colosseum in Rome for the blessing of their cars. Crowds also visit Tor de Specchi and Casa degli Esercizi Pii (formerly her home), whose rooms are opened to the public on this day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: jointfishplate - A type of metal plate used to strengthen a joint (from fish, meaning "mend"). More... seam - Etymologically, a joint made by sewing. More... ankylosis - Stiffness or immobility in a joint. More... arthralgia, arthritis - Arthralgia is pain in a joint, from Greek arthron, "joint," which also gives us the word arthritis. More... | |