Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, October 12, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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verrucose
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs and Degrees of StrengthAdverbs of degree can be mild, medium, strong, or absolute in how they describe the intensity, degree, or extent of the word they modify. Adverbs that are mild, medium, or strong are known as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 PetroglyphsPetroglyphs are images created in rock by incising, pecking, carving, and abrading the rock surface. These rock carvings are found across the world and are often associated with prehistoric communities. The oldest known petroglyphs have been dated to about 12,000 years ago, and are thought to have been an early form of symbolic communication or perhaps a sort of “pre-writing.” What is the one continent on which petroglyphs have not been discovered? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Oktoberfest Held in Munich, Germany (1810)The first Oktoberfest was held as a horse race celebrating the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Saxony-Hildburghausen. In the years that followed, the race was combined with the state agricultural fair, and food and drink were offered. Since that time the 16-day festival has become, above all else, a celebration of German beer, drawing more than five million attendees annually. How many millions of liters of beer did Oktoberfest attendees consume in 2007? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edith Stein (1891)Born into an observant Jewish family, Stein converted to Christianity in 1922. After studying philosophy, she became a nun in 1934. She moved from Germany to the Netherlands to avoid Nazi persecution, but in 1942 she was arrested because of her Jewish heritage. She was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp and died in the gas chamber that year. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1998 and is also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. With what miracles is Stein credited? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 If fun is good, truth is still better, and love best of all.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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desperate times call for desperate measures— Extreme and undesirable circumstances or situations can only be resolved by resorting to equally extreme actions. Derived from the proverb, "Desperate diseases must have desperate remedies." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of the Virgin of the Pillar (2018)According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to St. James the Apostle when he was in Saragossa (Zaragoza), Spain. She spoke to him from the top of a pillar, which he interpreted as a sign that he should build a chapel where the column stood. The Feast of the Virgin of the Pillar is observed with special masses and processions, such as the Gigantes—giant cardboard and canvas figures representing Spanish kings and queens or famous literary and historical figures—and the cabezudos, or "big heads"—grotesque puppets with huge heads. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: threatboast - First meant "threaten" or "threat." More... gunboat diplomacy - Foreign policy carried out with the backing of the threat or use of military force. More... ostrichism - Self-delusion, a refusal to cope with something, such as a threat—figuratively hiding one's head in the sand, as the animal is mistakenly thought to do. More... | |