Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, February 10, 2021)Word of the Day | |||||||
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contrarious
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Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using the Future Perfect ContinuousThe future perfect continuous tense is used in a very similar way to the future perfect to describe the duration of a completed future action. They both carry the same meaning when used in this way, but the future perfect continuous emphasizes what? More... |
Article of the Day | |
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GrimoiresA grimoire is an instruction manual for performing magic. Such books have been written by members of various cultures throughout history, and copies of prominent, ancient grimoires are still in circulation. Frequently, grimoires are attributed to earlier or more notable authors than likely wrote them. Famous grimoires include the Key of Solomon, the Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses, and the fictional Necronomicon, which was created as a plot device by what horror author? More... |
This Day in History | |
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General Tom Thumb Marries Lavinia Warren (1863)General Tom Thumb, born Charles Sherwood Stratton, began touring with circus pioneer P.T. Barnum in 1843 at the tender age of four. Stratton's short stature—he was a mere 3 feet, 4 inches (102 cm) tall when he died—and his comedic impersonations made him an international hit. His courtship of Lavinia Warren, another one of Barnum's performers, led to a fashionable New York City wedding in 1863, and the pair was later received at the White House. Stratton died in 1883. What marks his grave? More... |
Today's Birthday | |
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Mark Spitz (1950)During the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany, Jewish-American swimmer Mark Spitz shot to sporting fame when he captured seven gold medals, a feat unequaled by any other athlete in a single Olympiad until 2008. Spitz also set new world records for each of the events in which he took the gold. Having thus brought his total Olympic medal count up to 11—he had won two gold, one silver, and one bronze in 1968—Spitz retired from competition. What other historic event marked the 1972 Games? More... |
Quotation of the Day | |
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Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) |
Idiom of the Day | |
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bare (one's) teeth— To display an angry, violent, and/or threatening reaction to or against something or someone, as does a dog or wolf when threatened. More... |
Today's Holiday | |
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Feast of St. Paul's Shipwreck (2023)This feast is a commemoration in Malta of the shipwreck of St. Paul on the island in 60 CE, an event told about in the New Testament. When storms drove the ship aground, Paul was welcomed by the "barbarous people" (meaning they were not Greco-Romans). According to legend, he got their attention when a snake bit him on the hand but did him no harm, and he then healed people of diseases. Paul is the patron saint of Malta and snakebite victims. The day is a public holiday, and is observed with family gatherings and religious ceremonies and processions. More... |
Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: orchestrawind band - A band of wind instruments or a collective term for the wind instruments of an orchestra. More... first chair - The premier musician playing a particular instrument in an orchestra—seated closest to the audience, taking the lead for that instrument's movements, and playing any solos. More... first violin - Leads the orchestra and plays notes in a higher range than second violins; parts for the first violin usually have more of the main tune and are technically more difficult to play. More... orchestra - The earliest senses of orchestra were "the semicircular area for the chorus to dance in an ancient Greek theatre" and the art of dancing itself (from Greek orkheisthai, "to dance"). More... |