Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, March 19, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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champ
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs of Degree with Gradable vs. Non-Gradable AdjectivesGradable adjectives are those that can have measurable levels of degree or intensity. Non-gradable adjectives, on the other hand, describe an extreme or absolute state. How are they paired with gradable and non-gradable adverbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Bird BandingBird banding is the practice of attaching small, individually numbered tags to the legs or wings of wild birds so that they may be identified and studied in the future. Information gleaned from banding includes data about migration, longevity, mortality, population, territoriality, and other aspects of avian life. The practice of marking birds dates back to the 3rd century BCE, but doing so for scientific purposes only began in 1899. What surprising facts have been learned through banding? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, Murdered by His Own Men (1687)La Salle was a celebrated French explorer of North America. He began exploring the Great Lakes in 1679, setting up forts in the region and organizing a federation of native American tribes to fight the Iroquois. Given power to colonize the region between Lake Michigan and the Gulf of Mexico, he set sail in 1684 for the mouth of the Mississippi River, which he was ultimately unable to locate. Beset by losses of men and ships, La Salle was killed by mutineers after having mistakenly landed where? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Sir Richard Frances Burton (1821)Burton lived a life of adventure and scandal as an explorer, translator, fencer, ethnologist, poet, and spy. He spoke at least 25 languages and put these skills to use translating works like the Arabian Nights and Kama Sutra into English. His linguistic skills also helped him pass himself off as a Muslim so that he could visit the forbidden holy cities of Mecca and Medina. After he died, his wife burned 40 years' worth of his diaries. What caused the distinctive scars on his face? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I am sure that if the mothers of various nations could meet, there would be no more wars.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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curb appeal— The external attractiveness of a building or property, such as can be viewed from the street (i.e., the curb). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Return of the Swallows of San Juan Capistrano (2023)San Juan Capistrano was the name of a mission built on the Pacific Coast by Father Junípero Serra in 1777. Even after the buildings collapsed in an earthquake 35 years later, thousands of swallows continued to nest in the ruins of the church. Local people noticed that the swallows tended to fly south on October 23, the death anniversary of St. John of Capistrano, and returned on March 19, St. Joseph's Day. A Swallow Festival is held each year at the mission in San Juan Capistrano near Los Angeles, California, around the time of the birds' return. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: remembermoment - To have a moment is to suddenly forget where you are and what's going on; it is also called a bristlecone or a senior moment. More... absence of mind - The failure to remember what one is doing. More... brain cloud - The temporary inability to think properly, or to remember something. More... souvenir - Literally French for "remember," from Latin subvenire, "occur to the mind." More... | |