Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, May 27, 2020)Word of the Day | |||||||
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conflagration
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Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Collective Adjectives vs. Collective NounsCollective adjectives are often confused with collective nouns because they both refer to a group of people. How do they differ? More... |
Article of the Day | |
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À reboursÀ rebours is an 1884 novel by French author Joris-Karl Huysmans. Translated as Against Nature or Against the Grain, the novel follows Jean Des Esseintes, the last member of a noble family. Disgusted with his decadent life in Paris, he retreats to the countryside and immerses himself in art and philosophy, becoming somewhat deranged. Though not mentioned by name, À rebours is thought to be the book that heavily influences what famous novel's titular character? More... |
This Day in History | |
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Operation Anthropoid: Reinhard Heydrich Is Assassinated (1942)Operation Anthropoid was the code name for the Czechoslovak-British plan to assassinate top Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich, a chief planner of the so-called Final Solution whose ruthlessness and numerous execution orders earned him the nickname "the Hangman of Europe." In May 1942, Heydrich was ambushed by Czech patriots and wounded. A week later, he died from his injuries. This was one of the only successful assassinations of a top-ranking Nazi leader during the war. How did the Nazis retaliate? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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Julia Ward Howe (1819)An American author and social reformer, Howe wrote and lectured on behalf of women's suffrage, African-American emancipation, and other causes and helped found a world peace organization. In November 1861, after watching Union troops march into battle during the US Civil War, she wrote "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," her most famous work. Published in February 1862 in The Atlantic Monthly, it became the semiofficial song of the Union Army. Where did the music for the song come from? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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There lies at the back of every creed something terrible and hard for which the worshiper may one day be required to suffer. E. M. Forster (1879-1970) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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aha moment— A moment or instance at which a sudden, revelatory idea, realization, or solution to a problem comes to mind. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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National Reconciliation Week (2023)Australia sets aside the week between May 27 and June 3 to honor the culture and history of its Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, and to promote reconciliation and forgiveness for the treatment that these indigenous peoples have suffered at the hands of white Australians. Since it was first held in 1996, National Reconciliation Week has featured various activities designed to promote understanding between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, such as the People's Walk for Reconciliation across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 2000. More... |
Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pigmentspastel - First pertained to pigment or paste and evolved to mean light or pale colors. More... excipient - An inactive substance that serves as the vehicle or medium for a drug; it is also the material or surface that receives the pigments in painting. More... primary colors, secondary colors - In dyes, pigments, and paints, the primary colors are red, yellow, and blue—which mix to make the secondary colors: orange, green, and purple. More... raw sienna, burnt sienna - Raw sienna is a brownish-yellow earth color obtained from a natural clay containing iron and manganese; burnt sienna is reddish-brown. More... |