Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, October 12, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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malinger
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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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 The Gregorian CalendarThe Gregorian calendar is the most widely used dating system in the world. It replaced the Julian calendar in 1582, following a decree by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it is named. In the Julian system, an inaccuracy in the measurement of the solar year caused the calendar dates of the seasons to regress almost one day per century. By Gregory's time, the Julian calendar was 10 days out of sync. To bring the vernal equinox—and thus Easter—back to its proper date, 10 days were dropped. Which ten? 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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 It is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all, and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.Bram Stoker (1847-1912) | |
| 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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 Ironman Triathlon Championships (2019)This grueling international athletic contest has been held since 1978 in Hawaii on Hawaii Island. It consists of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle race, and, for the final leg, a standard 26.2-mile marathon run. Close to 2,000 stout-hearted men and women participate, preceding the races with a Thursday night party in which they stoke up on carbohydrates. Cash prizes are now awarded at a banquet the day after the triathlon. The event is scheduled for the Saturday nearest the full moon in October so that more beach is exposed at low tide, and there is more light from the moon at night. 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... | |