Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, May 13, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Causative VerbsCausative verbs indicate that a person, place, or thing is causing an action or an event to happen. What are some examples of causative verbs? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 PetrosomatoglyphsPetrosomatoglyphs are naturally-occurring or man-made representations of human or animal body parts that are found incised in rock. Footprints are the most common form of petrosomatoglyph. The ancient images, some of which date back to megalithic times, were once considered important symbols and were used in both religious and secular ceremonies. Throughout history, these imprints have been attributed to numerous figures, including the devil, Jesus, the prophet Mohammed, and what legendary king? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Children Report Visions of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal (1917)In 1917, three children were herding sheep in Fátima when, according to their story, the Virgin Mary appeared to them. They claimed that she continued to appear to them on the 13th of every month, relaying messages and prophesies. Word of the visions spread, and at one point, the children were arrested. Then, on October 13, thousands reported seeing the sun spin in the sky near Fátima, which became a pilgrimage site. Two of the children died before the age of 12. What happened to the third? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jim Jones (1931)An influential Indianapolis preacher, Jones formed the People's Temple in 1955. After he became the subject of criminal investigations, particularly regarding his alleged diversion of cult members' donations for his personal use, he and about 1,000 followers relocated to Jonestown, Guyana, in 1977. In 1978, cult members killed US Representative Leo Ryan and four others during an investigatory visit. The next day, Jones orchestrated the mass murder-suicide of how many of his followers? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Belladonna, n.: In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in no circumstances— Never; in no case or situation; irrespective of events or conditions. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Lemuralia (2021)In ancient Rome, the lemures were the ghosts of the family's dead, who were considered to be troublesome and therefore had to be exorcized on a regular basis. The Lemuralia, or Lemuria, was a yearly festival held on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May to get rid of the lemures. Participants walked barefoot, cleansed their hands three times, and threw black beans behind them nine times to appease the spirits of the dead. On the third day of the festival, a merchants' festival was held to ensure a prosperous year for business. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: hoghog - A pig weighing more than 120 pounds. More... high on the hog - An allusion to the upper portions of a pig being the best for eating. More... swine, hog, pig - Swine is the collective (and ancestral) term for domesticated pigs and hogs; a hog is 120 pounds or more and ready for market, while a pig is immature and weighs less. More... hog on ice - Known mainly from the title of the book by Charles Earle Funk (1948); it is from the expression "as independent as a hog on ice," in which hog refers to the stone in the game of curling when it comes to rest. More... | |