Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, June 15, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rebarbative
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Predicative AdjectivesA predicative adjective (or predicate adjective) is used in the predicate of a clause to describe either the subject of the clause or the direct object. Predicative adjectives that describe the subject of the clause will follow a linking verb. In such cases, they are known as what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Brocken SpecterA Brocken specter is an optical phenomenon sometimes seen at high altitudes, when the observer is between the sun and a mass of clouds. The figures of the observer and surrounding objects are seen projected on the clouds, greatly enlarged and often encircled by a colorful halo. The phenomenon, named after a peak in Germany's Harz Mountains where it is often observed, can be seen on misty mountainsides, in cloud banks, and even from airplanes. What causes these shadows to appear so magnified? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 King Hussein of Jordan Marries Lisa Halaby (1978)Lisa Halaby is the fourth wife and widow of the late King Hussein of Jordan. She was raised and educated in the US, graduating from Princeton University in 1974. An architect-planner by training, she met King Hussein while working in Jordan on the development of the Amman Intercontinental Airport, and they were soon wed. Upon their nuptials, Halaby converted to Islam and changed her first name from Lisa to Noor, an Arabic word meaning what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Bennett Fenn (1917)Fenn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2002 for his contributions to the technique of mass spectrometry. His work increased the speed at which complex new pharmaceutical compounds could be evaluated, leading to the development of life-saving AIDS medications in the mid-1990s. As part of Yale University's faculty, he reached mandatory retirement age in 1987 but stayed on as an emeritus professor to continue what would be his Nobel Prize-winning research. Why did Yale later sue Fenn? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Often and often afterwards, the beloved Aunt would ask me why I had never told anyone how I was being treated. Children tell little more than animals, for what comes to them they accept as eternally established.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the rabbit died— The woman to whom we are referring is pregnant; the pregnancy test was positive. (From an early pregnancy test developed in 1931 in which the urine of a woman thought to be pregnant was injected into a female rabbit; if the woman was pregnant, the rabbit's ovaries would react. A common misconception at the time was that the rabbit would die if the woman was pregnant, hence the expression.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Valdemar Day (2022)According to legend, Danish King Valdemar II set out to conquer the pagan Estonians and convert them to Christianity. During the night of June 15, 1219, the Estonians made a surprise attack on the Danish camp. A red banner with a white cross floated down from the sky, and the Danish archbishop heard a voice say that the Danes would win if they raised this banner. Schools, sports organizations, and Boy Scout troops in Denmark often hold pageants on June 15 in which they reenact the story of the Dannebrog (the Danish flag) and King Valdemar. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: open spacelaund - An open space in the woods, like a glade or pasture. More... step-thru - Refers to having an open space in an otherwise solid object through which a person can step or walk, e.g. a motor-scooter has a step-thru frame. More... agoraphobia - Based on Greek agora, "open space," it was not the first phobia described, which was actually hydrophobia in the mid-16th century. More... concourse - An open space for people to move about in an airport terminal (or a set of gates) or other transport station. More... | |