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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 Maya Angelou (1928)Angelou is an African-American writer and performer and the author of several volumes of poetry. Her seven autobiographical volumes, including I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, recount her traumatic youth and explore themes of economic, racial, and sexual oppression. In 1993, she was given the honor of reciting her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at Bill Clinton's presidential inauguration. Angelou was not always so vocal; she endured several years of mutism in childhood. What triggered it? 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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be smashed to smithereens— To be broken apart or otherwise destroyed into tiny, fragmentary pieces. "Smithereens," first appearing in English in 1829 as "smiddereens," is likely derived from the Irish word "smidirín" or "smidiríní," meaning "fragment." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Senegal Independence Day (2022)For many years, Senegal was controlled by various European powers, and France gradually began gaining control over the area in the 17th century. On April 4, 1960, Senegal won its independence from France. Today, April 4 is a national holiday celebrated all over the country, but festivities are particularly grand in the capital city of Dakar. 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... | |