Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, November 23, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sanguineous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Yes/No QuestionsYes/No questions are simply questions that can be answered with either "yes" or "no." How are these exclusively formed? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Clifford IrvingIn 1970, American writer Clifford Irving hatched a scheme to create an "authorized autobiography" of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes—without his knowledge. Irving believed the reclusive Hughes would never draw attention to himself by denouncing the book. After producing forged letters, Irving obtained a contract and an advance from his publisher. He delivered a manuscript in 1971, but Hughes finally contacted the outside world in 1972 and revealed the book as a hoax. What happened to Irving? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The People's Republic of China Joins the UN Security Council (1971)The 1949 Communist takeover of mainland China created the People's Republic of China (PRC). The former government, known as the Republic of China (ROC), retained control only of Taiwan and outlying islands. However, for the next 22 years, the ROC also held onto its seat in the UN, representing the mainland it no longer controlled. UN Resolution 2758 finally transferred China's seat to representatives of the PRC. Since then, the ROC has repeatedly applied to rejoin the UN under what names? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Franklin Pierce (1804)In 1852, the Democratic party of the US was split into hostile factions, none of which could muster sufficient strength to secure the presidential nomination. The charming and unobjectionable Pierce was nominated as a compromise candidate. He unexpectedly trounced his opposition in the general election despite being largely unknown beforehand. However, Pierce proved unable to mediate slavery-related political troubles. As a testament to his unpopularity, he was the first US president to do what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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over the course of— In or during the process of. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. George's Day (Republic of Georgia) (2017)Nothing much is known for certain about St. George, but he is popularly known in medieval legend for slaying a vicious dragon that was besieging a town in Cappadocia. To this day, St. George is often depicted with a dragon. St. George's Day, sometimes referred to as Georgemas, has been observed as a religious feast as well as a holiday since the 13th century. It is celebrated on November 23 as a national holiday in the Republic of Georgia. A festival is held at the cathedral of Mtskheta, the old capital and religious center of Georgia. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: positivelitotes - From Greek litos, "simple, single," it refers to an ironical understatement (e.g. no small amount) or two negatives used to make a positive (e.g. it was not unsuccessful); it is pronounced lie-TOH-teez, LEYED-uh-teez, LID-uh-teez, or leye-TOHD-eez. More... set point - One's set point (for happiness) is a genetically determined level of happiness, to which one returns after positive or negative emotional experiences. More... Positive, comparative, superlative - Positive is the ordinary form of a word, with comparative conveying a sense of greater intensity of the adjective and superlative reflecting the greatest intensity of the adjective. More... acceptable face - The positive or reasonable side of something. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Odds Are, They're Taking Your Blood Pressure All WrongWhen was the last time you were asked to sit without saying a word for five minutes before your blood pressure was measured? If your answer was "I never remember doing that," you're in good company. Yet that is one of the many rules that medical ... More... | |