Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, July 29, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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tenuity
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the Future Perfect Continuous TenseLike the future perfect tense, we use the future perfect continuous tense (also known as the "future perfect progressive tense") to indicate how long something has been happening once a future moment in time is reached. It can also be used in this way to indicate what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AutostereogramsAutostereograms are optical illusions of depth that are designed to trick the brain into perceiving a three-dimensional scene in a two-dimensional image. The simplest type, known as a wallpaper autostereogram, consists of horizontally repeating patterns that appear to float in the air above the background. In order to perceive the 3D shapes, the brain must overcome the normally automatic coordination between focusing and convergence. What are the two ways that an autostereogram can be viewed? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The International Atomic Energy Agency Is Established (1957)In 1953, during the Cold War, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed the creation of an international body to regulate the use of nuclear power in his "Atoms for Peace" address to the United Nations General Assembly. Four years later, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The IAEA may purchase and sell fissionable materials, and it inspects for compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Is the IAEA part of the UN? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Dag Hammarskjöld (1905)The only person to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize posthumously, Hammarskjöld was the second Secretary General of the United Nations. In this role, he greatly extended the influence of the United Nations and personally led peace missions, though he clashed with the Soviet Union for his vigorous attempts to diffuse civil strife in the newly independent Congo. He served as Secretary General until his death in a mysterious plane crash in 1961. What conspiracy theories surround his death? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Connoisseur, n.: A specialist who knows everything about something and nothing about anything else.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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grasp in the dark— To seek out a solution, meaning, or sense of purpose in a blind, aimless, or uncertain manner. Often used in the progressive tense. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Coffin Fiesta of St. Martha (2023)St. Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus who pleaded with Jesus to bring her brother back to life. Jesus did so, and folk beliefs often assign her the power of granting miraculous cures. In San Xosé de Ribarteme, in the province of Pontevedra in Galicia, Spain, ofrecidos—people who have made a vow to St. Martha—lie in open coffins during a procession on St. Martha's feast day. Usually, they or a member of their family has recently been cured by St. Martha's intervention. Most wear coarse net tunics called mortajas (shrouds) to indicate that they represent the "living dead." More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: inhabitantinfernal - An inhabitant of the underworld can be called an infernal. More... sherpa - Literally means "inhabitant of an eastern country." More... aborigine - From Classical Latin meaning "ancestors," it was spelled with a capital A as the name of the primeval Romans; the first people called aborigines were the original inhabitants of Italy and Greece and aborigine was specifically applied to the inhabitants of a country ab origine, "from the beginning." More... sylvans - Natives or inhabitants of forests or woods. More... | |