Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, May 31, 2019)Word of the Day | |||||||
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sufferable
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Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Adjective PhrasesAn adjective phrase is an adjective and any additional information linked to it that work together to describe a noun or pronoun in a sentence. The adjective around which an adjective phrase is formed is known as what? More... |
Article of the Day | |
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The Brazen BullThe brazen bull is a torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece by Perillos, a brass-founder, for Phalaris, the cruel tyrant of Agrigentum, Sicily, who ruled from about 570 to 554 BCE. Perillos cast a hollow brass bull that had a door on its side, allowing the condemned to be placed inside it. A fire lit beneath the bull would roast the victim alive. The device was designed so that the victim’s screams would sound like the bellowing of a bull. Who, ironically, was its first victim? More... |
This Day in History | |
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Johnstown Flood Kills 2,209 (1889)When the South Fork Dam near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, collapsed after several days of heavy rains, it sent 20 million tons (18.1 million cubic meters) of water cascading downriver at speeds of 20–40 mph (30–60 km/h). Less than an hour after the breach, a 30-foot (9-m) wall of water smashed into Johnstown, killing more than 2,200 people. The American Red Cross's response was one of its first major disaster relief efforts. Why did some blame the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club for the tragedy? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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Francis Younghusband (1863)Younghusband was a British Army officer and explorer remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia. In 1887, he journeyed from China to India, crossing the Gobi desert and the Mustagh Pass of the Karakorum range. In 1904, he led a military expedition that participated in the massacring of Tibetan troops and forced a treaty upon Tibet that opened it to Western trade. Apparently, he later regretted his role in these events. What changed his mind? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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We ascribe beauty to that which is simple; which has no superfluous parts; which exactly answers its end; which stands related to all things; which is the mean of many extremes. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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abysmal failure— Failure that is total and extreme in measure or implication. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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Feast of the Visitation (2023)On this day, Christian churches in the West commemorate the Virgin Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. After learning that she was to be the mother of Jesus, Mary went into the mountains of Judea to see her cousin, the wife of Zechariah, who had conceived a son to be known as John the Baptist. According to the Gospel of Luke, Elizabeth's baby "leaped in her womb" (1:41) at the sound of Mary's voice. It was at this moment, according to the belief of some Roman Catholics, that John the Baptist was cleansed from original sin and filled with heavenly grace. More... |
Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: supportedwhatnot - A series of open shelves supported by two or four upright posts, for displaying knickknacks. More... oriel - A large, upper-story bay window, usually supported by brackets or on corbels. More... portico - Describes a covered walkway with a roof supported by columns and usually attached as a porch to a building. More... felly, felloe - The felly or felloe is the exterior rim on a wheel or the section of rim supported by a spoke. More... |