Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 18, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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arcanum
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining the ColonA colon ( : ) is used after an independent clause to add information that helps illustrate or clarify what it says. It is most commonly used to introduce a list, but it can also introduce what else? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Ethelred the UnreadyEthelred was about 10 years old when his half-brother, the King of England, was murdered—possibly by Ethelred's advisors. He took the throne in 978 CE and reigned for nearly 40 tumultuous years. Danes began attacking the coast of England while he was still a teen. He failed to mount an organized defense against them, and his later massacre of a Danish settlement provoked more attacks. Though often translated as "unready," Ethelred's epithet, "Unraed," may have in fact been a pun meaning what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Pluto Is Discovered (1930)Pluto was discovered by the astronomer Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona while he was searching for "Planet X," a hypothetical planet that was believed to exist beyond Neptune. Pluto was long regarded as a planet, but following the discovery of other, larger Kuiper belt objects, astronomers recognized the need to reclassify Pluto. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union ended official recognition of Pluto as a planet. What is Pluto's current classification? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Toni Morrison (1931)Morrison was an African-American writer and editor whose work helped bring African-American literature into the mainstream. In 1988, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Beloved, which is now included in the canon of American literature, and she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. Her fiction is noted for its poetic language, lush detail, and emotional intensity. Why did she call Bill Clinton "our first Black president"? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The fortunes of war more than any other are liable to frequent fluctuations.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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bored to tears— Extremely bored to the point of distraction, frustration, or irritation. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Saidai-ji Eyo Hadaka Matsuri (2023)Hadaka Matsuri means, literally, "naked festival". The young men who participate are naked except for traditional white loincloths known as fundoshi. Sometimes the participants in Hadaka Matsuri immerse themselves in a river beforehand to purify themselves. Occasionally several semi-naked young men will carry a mikoshi, or portable shrine, in the form of a horse, rice bale, or sake barrel into the river with them. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: knowing | |