Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, March 25, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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demigod
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using GerundsBecause they act like nouns, gerunds can be used as the subject of a sentence, the subject complement of the linking verb "be," the object of a preposition, or the object of a verb. They can also be used to form what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 GulagThe Gulag was a system of forced-labor prison camps in the USSR, from the Russian acronym for the Main Directorate of Corrective Labor Camps, a department of the Soviet secret police. It was first established under Lenin during the early Bolshevik years and ultimately included 476 camp complexes. The system reached its peak after 1928 under Stalin, who used it to maintain the Soviet state by keeping its populace in a state of terror. Whose book publicized the gulag system to the Western world? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 World's First Passenger Railway Begins Service (1807)In 1804, British Parliament approved the laying of a railway line between Swansea and Oystermouth in South Wales to move limestone from the quarries of Mumbles to Swansea and to the markets beyond. Later renamed the Swansea and Mumbles Railway, the line was approved to carry passengers in 1807. The world's first regular passenger service began that same year and operated in one form or another for more than a century and a half before it was decommissioned. What powered the line's first trains? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Aretha Franklin (1942)Known as the "Queen of Soul," Aretha Franklin began singing in church choirs as a child before achieving mainstream success with a string of hit songs including "Respect," "Think," and "Natural Woman." In 1987, she became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and, in 2005, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian decoration in the US. She is the second most honored female singer in the history of the Grammy Awards. How many has she won? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Convictions are more dangerous foes of truth than lies.Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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day or night— At any point in time; 24 hours a day. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Greece Independence Day (2023)This national holiday in Greece celebrates the anniversary of the country's proclamation of independence in 1821 after four centuries of Turkish occupation. The war that followed went on until 1829, when finally the Turkish sultan recognized the independence of Greece. The day is marked with church services and military parades—an especially impressive parade is held in Athens. Greek communities in other parts of the world also observe the day. In New York City, Greece Independence Day is celebrated on the Sunday nearest to March 25 with a parade up Fifth Avenue. 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... | |