Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, November 13, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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dolmen
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Regular VerbsAll English verbs are either regular or irregular, depending on how they are conjugated. The majority are regular verbs. What does this mean? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Hieratic Writing SystemHieratic, first used around 3,000 BCE, was the basic writing system of the ancient Egyptian pharaonic period and provided a simpler alternative to the contemporaneous hieroglyphic system. It was generally written with ink on papyrus and was often used to compose administrative documents and letters, as well as legal, literary, and religious texts. Much of what is now known about the lives of common Egyptians has been deciphered from such texts. What writing system is descended from hieratic? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nevado del Ruiz Erupts in Colombia (1985)When ash began to fall on the Colombian town of Armero, local authorities assured residents that it was safe to stay put, despite geologists' warnings to the contrary. It had been more than 140 years since the last serious eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz, known to residents as "the Sleeping Lion." That night, a lahar—a massive flow of mud and debris—swept down the side of the erupting volcano, destroying Armero. It was the worst natural disaster in Columbian history. How many people were killed? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Robert Louis Stevenson (1850)Born in Scotland, Stevenson traveled frequently during his life, partly in search of better climates for his tuberculosis, which would eventually cause his death at age 44. In 1885, he published A Child's Garden of Verses, one of the most influential children's works of the 19th century. His immensely popular novels Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were written over the course of just a few years. What is considered his unfinished masterpiece? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Creative writers are always greater than the causes that they represent.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| 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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 Feast of St. Frances Cabrini (2019)The first American citizen to be proclaimed a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, Francesca Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) was born in Italy. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart in 1880, and went on to establish orphanages, schools, and hospitals in many American cities, as well as in Europe and South America. She was canonized on July 7, 1946. Her feast day is commemorated in many places, but particularly at Mother Cabrini High School in New York City, in whose chapel she is buried, and at every establishment of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: inflammationpleuritis, pleurisy - Greek pleura, "side" or "rib," came to be used for the "inner lining of the chest; lungs," and pleuritis or pleurisy is the inflammation of this area. More... intertrigo - Inflammation caused by the rubbing of one area of skin on another. More... phlegm - Comes from Latin phlegma, "clammy moisture," and Greek phlegma, "inflammation." More... polio - An abbreviation of poliomyelitis, from Greek polios, "gray," and muelos, "marrow," meaning "inflammation of the gray matter of the spinal cord." More... | |