Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, May 3, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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undergird
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Personal Pronouns and InflectionPersonal pronouns have specific inflections (different forms of the word) depending on whether they are singular or plural. For the most part, only the first-person and third-person personal pronouns have plural forms. What is the only plural second-person pronoun? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 FastiIn ancient Rome, the fasti was a calendar-like list of days that kept track of holy days, festivals, and notable events. Most importantly, it indicated the days when public business could take place without impiety, its original purpose. The first fasti was published in 304 BCE, in the form of engraved stone tablets placed in the Forum, the center of Roman public life. The list served as the origin of the Roman calendar, according to which each week had how many days? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Sport of Geocaching Begins (2000)Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) to hide and seek watertight containers filled with trinkets, hoards known as "geocaches" or simply "caches." The improved accuracy of GPS devices allowed the pastime to develop, since the specific locations of the small containers could finally be logged and shared. Geocaches are now hidden in more than 100 countries and on all seven continents. What did the world's first geocache contain? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 James Brown, the Godfather of Soul (1933)One of the original inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and one of the most influential entertainers of the 20th century, "Godfather of Soul" James Brown evolved a highly personal style that combined gospel and blues elements with a spectacular stage presence. During his five-decade career, "the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business" had numerous chart-topping singles and albums. What trademark feature of Brown's stage shows was inspired by professional wrestler Gorgeous George? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 In matters of thought and conduct, to be independent is to be abnormal, to be abnormal is to be detested.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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freak flag— Any unconventional, nonconformist, or uninhibited behavior, convictions, opinions, or lifestyle choices that are unique to an individual. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Día de la Santa Cruz (2023)The Day of the Holy Cross, known elsewhere as the Exaltation of the Cross, is an important one throughout Latin America. Crosses that are normally found in the churches are repaired and repainted, or carried in procession through the streets. In Venezuela, the celebration is known as Velorio de Cruz. People set up special altars in their homes that include crosses, lighted candles, and images of the saints. Musicians and poets from all over the country come to perform in front of these altars. While playing their instruments, they improvise rhymed couplets and other poetic forms. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: smokingstogie, stogy - A stogie (or stogy) is named for the Conestoga wagon—as drivers of the wagons rolled tobacco into thin ropes for smoking on long trips; stogies are now long, thin cigars. More... cigar - Comes from Spanish cigarro, from the Mayan verb sik'ar, "to smoke" or "smoking." More... dottle - Any tobacco left in a pipe after smoking. More... pipe dream - Originated with opium smoking. More... | |