Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, November 23, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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miscellanea
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Comparative Adverbs from One-Syllable AdverbsThere are simple rules that tell us which method of creating comparative adverbs is correct. In general, when the adverb has only one syllable, how do we make it comparative? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 What is Light?Light is any wavelength of electromagnetic radiation, though the word is commonly used to refer to the visible light spectrum. The human eye typically perceives electromagnetic wavelengths between 400 and 700 nanometers, interpreting them as a range of colors from red to violet. Light is understood to exhibit both particle and wave properties, and the fundamental particle, or quantum, of light is called the photon. What is the scientific study of light called? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Hijacking of EgyptAir Flight 648 (1985)Minutes after taking off from an Athens airport on November 23, 1985, EgyptAir Flight 648 was hijacked by five Palestinian terrorists. The plane was forced to land in Malta, where authorities attempted to negotiate with the hijackers. The terrorists shot two Israelis and three Americans before Egyptian commandos launched a disastrous raid in which nearly 60 hostages were killed. Remarkably, three of the passengers shot by the terrorists survived. How did one of the terrorists almost escape? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Arthur Adolph "Harpo" Marx (1888)Harpo was a member of the American comedy team known as the Marx Brothers. The brothers enjoyed success in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from the early 1900s to about 1950. Harpo never spoke during their performances and instead blew a horn, whistled, or mimed to communicate. He also got laughs with his prop-laden sight gags, many of which involved the seemingly infinite number of odd items he managed to produce from his topcoat's oversized pockets. How did he get his nickname? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Tolerance is a very dull virtue. It is boring. Unlike love, it has always had a bad press. It is negative. It merely means putting up with people, being able to stand things.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a sly dog— Someone who, through cunning, devious, or dishonest means, achieves a fortuitous outcome. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Tellabration (2019)A nationwide night of storytelling, Tellabration was started in 1988 by storyteller J. G. ("Paw-Paw") Pinkerton. The event began with storytelling in six communities in Connecticut. The next year, Texas and Missouri also had Tellabrations, and by 1991, storytelling on this night was happening in 72 communities in 27 states, as well as in locations in Bermuda and Canada. Eventually, the length of Tellabrations extended to a weekend. Proceeds of the event go toward developing the archives of Storytelling Foundation International in Jonesborough, Tennessee. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: providedub - Meaning "to provide a film with a soundtrack," it is an abbreviation of "double." More... endow - First meant "provide a dower or dowry." More... refurbish, refurnish, redecorate, renovate - Refurbish means to "clean up again," refurnish means "to provide with new furnishings," redecorate means "to add new decoration(s)," and renovate means "renew or restore to as-new condition." More... improvise - Etymologically, if you improvise something, it is because it has not been "provided" for in advance, from Latin improvisus, "unforeseen." More... | |