Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, April 4, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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efface
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adverbs with Two FormsThere are a few adverbs that have two generally accepted forms. In these cases, they also have two commonly used comparative and superlative degrees. What are some examples? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Beach Pneumatic TransitThe first to attempt to build an underground public transit system in New York City was undertaken by inventor Alfred Ely Beach in 1869. Though it was operational within a year, the Beach Pneumatic Transit Company's 312-ft- (95-m-) long pneumatic subway line beneath Broadway remained little more than a curiosity and soon closed. Now a popular element of urban legend and subway lore, the line has been referenced in several literary works. What 1989 movie incorporates Beach's subway into its plot? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Bodies Found in Unsolved Hinterkaifeck Murders (1922)In 1922, Hinterkaifeck, a small farmstead north of Munich, became the scene of one of the most puzzling unsolved crimes in German history. On the evening of March 31, the farm's six inhabitants, ranging in age from two to 72, were brutally murdered. The perpetrator likely remained at the farm for several days thereafter, but by the time the crime was discovered, he or she had disappeared without a trace. What unexplained events supposedly occurred there in the days leading up to the slaughter? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Dorothea Dix (1802)Dix left an unhappy home at age 10 to live with her grandmother in Boston. By age 14, the resourceful Dix was on her own and working as a schoolteacher. In 1841, while teaching in a Massachusetts prison, Dix saw firsthand the inhumane way that mentally ill prisoners were treated. Appalled, she became a pioneer in the movement for humane treatment of the insane. Her efforts brought about widespread reforms in both the US and Canada. What position did Dix hold during the US Civil War? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. Today, for instance, as man and woman, both lover and mistress, I rode in a forest on an autumn afternoon under the yellow leaves, and I was also the horses, the leaves, the wind, the words my people uttered, even the red sun that made them almost close their love-drowned eyes.Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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like cheese at four pence— In an idle, awkward, and/or out-of-place state; being ignored, abandoned, or left to wait awkwardly. Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of San Isidro of Seville (2021)St. Isidro, or Isidore, (c. 560-636) was born in Cartagena, Spain, and eventually became bishop of Seville. In Río Frío, Colombia, April occurs in autumn and is typically very dry. On San Isidro's feast day, April 4, townspeople process the saint's image around the streets in the hope that he will help bring rain. The procession takes two steps forward, then one step backward, and so on, with the idea that if it drags out long enough, some rain may fall before the festivities end. If no rain falls, those who had been singing praises to St. Isidro may begin to insult and swear at him. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: physicianallopathy, allopath, allopathist - Another word for conventional medical treatment is allopathy; an allopath or allopathist is a physician. More... pediatrician - Comes from Greek pais/paidos, "child," and iatros, "physician." More... armamentarium - The equipment of a medical institution or physician. More... | |