Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, March 8, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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thither
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Participle Phrases in Middle PositionWhen a participle phrase occurs in the middle position, and is not essential to the meaning of the sentence, it should be set apart from the rest of the sentence by two commas. However, if a participle phrase occurs in the middle position and is essential to the meaning of the sentence, how should it be punctuated? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 QuinoaQuinoa is a tall annual herb whose seeds have provided a staple food for peoples of the higher Andes since pre-Columbian times. In the Inca Empire, where only the potato was more widely grown, quinoa is said to have been sacred. The year's first furrows were opened ceremoniously with a gold implement. In the US and other non-Andean nations, quinoa is now a popular alternative to rice and other grains for its higher protein content. What is typically removed from freshly harvested quinoa seeds? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Nelson's Pillar Destroyed by Explosion in Dublin (1966)Built in 1808 and towering over the center of Dublin, Ireland, Nelson's Pillar was a massive monument to Horatio Nelson, Britain's most famous naval hero. It was controversial from the start. In 1966, Irish Republican Army members destroyed the pillar with a bomb. Irish Army engineers then removed the pillar's pedestal with a controlled explosion, which is said to have caused more damage than the original blast. The head of the statue was later stolen from storage. Where did it end up? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Konstantinos Karamanlis (1907)One of the most important political figures in the history of modern Greece, Karamanlis helped rebuild Greece's economy while serving in various posts after WWII. Chosen as prime minister in 1955, he formed a government and a new conservative party, the National Radical Union. In 1960, he established an independent republic on Cyprus to ease tensions with Britain and Turkey over the island. He resigned in 1963 and lived in exile in Paris until 1974. What finally brought him back to Greece? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I am accustomed to sleep and in my dreams to imagine the same things that lunatics imagine when awake.Rene Descartes (1596-1650) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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leave (something) out of account— To ignore something; to pay little or no heed to something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 International Women's Day (2021)This day commemorating women is one of the most widely observed holidays of recent origin. It has its roots in the March 8, 1857, revolt of women in New York City, protesting conditions in the textile and garment industries, although it wasn't proclaimed a holiday until 1910. In the former USSR, women received honors for distinguished service in industry, aviation, military service, and other fields. In the United Kingdom and the United States, International Women's Day is marked by special exhibitions, films, and more, in praise of women. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: hospitalconservatory - Comes from an Italian word for a hospital for foundlings, to whom music was taught. More... ambulance - Once brought the hospital to the patient—and kept the name when it reversed the process and started bringing the patients to the hospital; its original meaning was "mobile hospital following an army." More... nosocomial - "Pertaining to a hospital" or "originating in a hospital." More... bedlam - The word bedlam is a contraction of Bethlehem, a hospital in London that became a lunatic asylum. More... | |