Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, July 21, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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traipse
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Intensive PronounsIntensive pronouns add emphasis to the sentence by reiterating the subject (known as the pronoun’s antecedent). When an intensive pronoun is used to add emphasis, where is it generally placed in the sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Endogenous RetrovirusRetroviruses carry their genetic blueprint in the form of RNA, which they use to synthesize DNA—the reverse of the usual process. This makes it possible for their genetic material to become a permanent part of the genes of an infected cell. An endogenous retrovirus is a retrovirus-like sequence found in an organism's genome that is thought to constitute the remains of a true retrovirus absorbed through evolution. In humans, endogenous retroviruses are suspected of involvement in what diseases? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Marie Besnard Charged with Multiple Murders (1949)Between 1927 and 1947, 13 of Besnard's family members and friends died under mysterious circumstances, and she became a wealthy woman by inheriting their fortunes. She gave bizarre explanations for some of the deaths, such as claiming that two people had eaten lye they mistook for a dessert. Her second husband remarked that he thought she was poisoning him, prompting the police to investigate his death. When they exhumed his body, they found arsenic. Why was Besnard acquitted of murder charges? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Louise Blanchard Bethune (1856)Bethune was the first professional woman architect in the US and the first woman elected to the American Institute of Architects. After high school, she became an apprentice at a Buffalo, New York, architectural firm where she met her future husband, architect Robert Bethune. They married in 1881 and opened their own firm, which designed several hundred buildings throughout New York in the Romanesque revival style popular in the late 19th century. What building is considered her masterpiece? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 You will hear people say that poverty is the best spur to the artist. They have never felt the iron of it in their flesh. They do not know how mean it makes you. It exposes you to endless humiliation, it cuts your wings, it eats into your soul like a cancer.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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loose change— A small, usually insignificant amount of money, typically consisting of coins. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Belgium Independence Day (2021)This public holiday, also known as the Belgium National Day, commemorates Belgium's independence from the Netherlands on July 21, 1831. Belgians had struggled against their rulers for 15 years. A revolt began in 1830, and, the next year, the state of Belgium was formed and King Leopold I (1790-1865) was made its first king. Belgians sing "La Brabançonne," the national anthem, and observe their independence with festivities, especially in the capital city of Brussels. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: knightson one's high horse - At one time, knights, kings, and other VIPs rode on chargers, while ladies and others rode on smaller saddle horses, begetting the phrase "on one's high horse." More... full tilt - Meaning "full speed," it is from the encounter at full gallop of knights in a tilt (lance combat). More... | |