Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 10, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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torturous
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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SlashesThe slash ( / )—technically known as a virgule but also called a slant, solidus, or stroke—serves a number of purposes in writing. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 ManiMani was the Iranian founder of Manichaeism, a once-widespread but now-extinct religion that centered on the struggle between good and evil. Inspired by visions of an angel, Mani saw himself as the last in a line of prophets that included Adam, Buddha, Zoroaster, and Jesus. His preaching was tolerated until Persian king Bahram I’s reign in the late 3rd century, during which time Mani was imprisoned. Though little is reliably known about his life, by many accounts he died in what gruesome way? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Rubens's Massacre of the Innocents Sells for £49.5 million (2002)Misattributed to an assistant of Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens until 2002, when an expert from Sotheby's auction house identified it as the work of the master himself, Massacre of the Innocents is an early 17th-century painting depicting Herod's slaughter of the infants of Bethlehem. One of two paintings Rubens made of the Biblical scene, it fetched £49.5 million ($76 million) at auction and is one of the priciest paintings ever sold. Its style is reminiscent of which Italian painter? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Arthur Ashe (1943)Ashe rose from his hometown's public courts to become the first African-American male to reach prominence in tennis. Noted for his grace, hard-hit topspin, and outstanding backhand, Ashe won three Grand Slam tournaments, including Wimbledon. He helped to form the Association of Tennis Professionals and worked to expose the injustices of apartheid in South Africa. Infected with HIV through a blood transfusion, he also worked to raise awareness of AIDS. Why was Ashe arrested in 1985 and 1992? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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in front of (one's) very eyes— Right in plain sight or while one is watching. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Cheltenham International Festival of Music (2022)Established in 1945 to give first performances of works by British composers, the two-week Cheltenham International Festival of Music has since expanded its scope considerably. Its musical repertoire now includes both British and foreign composers offering operas as well as symphonic, chamber, and choral music. Special master classes are also offered each year on such subjects as string quartets, piano trios, and brass instruments. Recitals and chamber music concerts are held in the Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham Spa's most important Regency structure. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: twigsdrey - A squirrel's nest of twigs in a tree. More... broom - Was first called a besom, but evolved because many of them were made of twigs from the wild broom shrub. More... lop - The smaller branches and twigs of a tree. More... whiskers - Originally the word for a bundle of feathers, twigs, etc. used for whisking (from "whisk"), it then came to denote the projecting hairs or bristles of mammals. More... | |