Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, November 3, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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tune-up
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Dummy PronounsDummy pronouns are words that function grammatically as pronouns, but which do not have antecedents like normal pronouns do. This means that, unlike normal pronouns, dummy pronouns do not replace a noun, phrase, or clause. They are also commonly referred to as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Vanishing HitchhikerTold across the world in many variations, the vanishing hitchhiker story is a popular urban legend whose most common version involves a lone motorist who picks up a hitchhiker. This hitchhiker later vanishes without explanation, often from a moving vehicle. The driver eventually tracks down the hitchhiker's relatives only to learn that the person in question died long ago. In other versions of the legend, the hitchhiker predicts a future disaster. What are some early examples of the tale? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Laika the Dog Launched into Outer Space (1957)Soviet scientists found her wandering the streets of Moscow. Nicknamed Laika, or "Barker," the little stray dog was recruited because she had already learned to withstand hunger and cold—two things she might experience in space. After intensive training, Laika became the first animal to be launched into orbit. Though she survived the launch—and even ate some food while in orbit—her capsule was not designed for a return trip. Within hours, she overheated and died. How long did the capsule orbit? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Stephen Fuller Austin (1793)Austin was the founder of the first legal colony of English-speaking people in Mexican Texas. Following the death of his father, who had conceived the plan, Austin led 300 families to settle on the Brazos River in 1822. As his colony prospered, US immigrants poured into Mexico. Initially opposed to Texan independence, Austin tried to organize Texas as a Mexican state. He was instead imprisoned by the government for treason, after which he supported the Texas Revolution. What were his last words? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Nothing ever comes to me, that is worth having, except as the result of hard work.Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in virtue of (something)— Due to something; because of something; by reason of something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of St. Hubert de Liège (2020)St. Hubert (d. 727) is the patron saint of hunters, dogs, and victims of rabies. His feast day is especially honored at the church named for him in the town of St. Hubert, Luxembourg Province, Belgium, on the first weekend in November. People who live in the Forest of Ardennes bring their dogs to the church to be blessed, and St. Hubert's Mass marks the opening of the hunting season. In some places, special loaves of bread are brought to the mass to be blessed, after which everyone eats a piece and feeds the rest to their dogs, horses, and other domestic animals to ward off rabies. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: studentgrammatist - A student of grammar. More... oenologist - A "student of wine." More... civilian - First a student or practitioner of civil law. More... | |