Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, December 26, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Stative Verbs and TenseStative verbs can be in the present, past, or future tense; however, because they describe static conditions, they are usually unable to progress through time, and they therefore cannot be used when forming the continuous or progressive forms of verb tenses. However, some stative verbs can be used in a continuous tense in what situations? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Naked-Eye PlanetsThe naked-eye planets are the five planets in our solar system that can be observed without any optical aid: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The five planets closest to Earth, they were the only ones known to the ancients before the development of the telescope. Grouped together with the Sun and the Moon, they form what some cultures call the seven heavenly objects. Ancient cultures' knowledge of the heavens can be seen in the word "planet," which comes from a Greek term meaning what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Largest Mass Execution in US History (1862)Though the US government and the Sioux concluded several treaties during the first half of the 19th century, relations had deteriorated by 1862 when a Sioux uprising killed more than 800 white settlers and soldiers in Minnesota. Military tribunals convicted 303 Sioux prisoners of murder and rape and sentenced them to death. US President Abraham Lincoln commuted most sentences, but the public hanging of 38 prisoners was still the largest mass execution in US history. What became of the bodies? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mary Fairfax Somerville (1780)Somerville became an accomplished science writer at a time when women's involvement in the sciences was generally discouraged. She earned widespread recognition for her 1831 translation of Pierre-Simon Laplace's five-volume Mécanique Céleste (Celestial Mechanics), a project she undertook for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, which aimed to adapt scientific material for the rapidly expanding reading public. What term was coined in a review of one of her other works? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, and the third is useless.Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have a nodding acquaintance (with someone or something)— To have a slight or precursory knowledge of someone or something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Junkanoo Festival (2021)The Junkanoo Parade and Festival, held in Nassau's native quarter, is celebrated each year on December 26, Boxing Day, and January 1, New Year's Day. Masqueraded marchers wearing colorful headpieces and costumes dance to the beat of an Afro-Bahamian rhythm called Goombay. The music is played by a variety of unusual native instruments, including goat skin drums, lignum vitae sticks, pebble-filled "shak-shaks," and steel drums. The Junkanoo parade, which begins at two o'clock in the morning and continues until sunrise, is followed by the judging of costumes and awarding of prizes. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: toesgronk, cheese, toe-jam - The stuff between your toes. More... pantaraxia - Any actions aimed at keeping people on their toes. More... plantar pad, digital pads - The plantar pad is the larger pad of a cat's foot; the digital pads are on the toes. More... | |