Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, May 13, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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flyaway
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Linking Verbs vs. Action VerbsThe verbs "be," "seem," and "become" are always used as linking verbs (except when "be" is an auxiliary verb). However, the other linking verbs all have the capacity to behave as action verbs in a sentence. Sometimes it is tricky to know whether a verb is functioning as a linking verb or as an action verb, but there are ways that we can be sure. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ElectricityElectrical phenomena, caused by the presence and flow of electric charge, have been studied since antiquity. Static electricity was the first of them to be recognized and investigated. As early as 600 BCE, certain cultures had discovered that rubbing amber with fur caused it to attract light objects such as feathers. Some 2,200 years later, English scientist William Gilbert coined the term "electricity" to describe the electrification of substances. How did he come up with the word? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Battle of Palmito Ranch Ends (1865)More than a month after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, ending the American Civil War, fighting continued in other regions. The Battle of Palmito Ranch was fought in Texas on May 12-13, 1865, and was the last major clash of arms in the war. It ended with a Confederate victory, with 118 Union soldiers killed and a few dozen rebels wounded. Who was the last casualty of the battle—and likely the last of the war? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Ronald Ross (1857)Born and raised in India, English physician Ronald Ross joined the Indian Medical Service after completing medical school and undertook the study of malaria, then a disease that was not well understood. After years of research, he demonstrated the malarial parasite, Plasmodium, in the stomach of the Anopheles mosquito, identifying the disease's mechanism of transmission. His discoveries earned him a Nobel Prize in 1902. When is World Mosquito Day, instituted by Ross, observed? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a sly dog— Someone who, through cunning, devious, or dishonest means, achieves a fortuitous outcome. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Lemuralia (2023)In ancient Rome, the lemures were the ghosts of the family's dead, who were considered to be troublesome and therefore had to be exorcized on a regular basis. The Lemuralia, or Lemuria, was a yearly festival held on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May to get rid of the lemures. Participants walked barefoot, cleansed their hands three times, and threw black beans behind them nine times to appease the spirits of the dead. On the third day of the festival, a merchants' festival was held to ensure a prosperous year for business. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wiremuselet - The wire that holds a champagne cork in place. More... reinforced concrete - Has wire or metal bars embedded to increase its tensile strength. More... down to the wire - Alludes to the imaginary wire at the finish line in a horse race. More... under the wire - Meaning "just in time," it is also from horse racing. More... | |