Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, July 31, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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atavism
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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IntensifiersIntensifiers are adverbs or adverbials that modify adjectives and other adverbs to increase their strength, power, or intensity. What are some examples of intensifiers? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MisanthropyMisanthropy is a general dislike or distrust of the human species. Typically motivated by social alienation or feelings of contempt for society's prevailing characteristics, misanthropes express a dislike for humanity as a whole, but can have normal relationships with some individuals. Overt expressions of misanthropy can be attributed to characters throughout literature. What existentialist philosopher and writer famously wrote that "hell is other people" in his play No Exit? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 K2 Is Summited for the First Time (1954)Rising 28,251 ft (8,611 m) between China and Pakistan, K2 is the second-highest peak in the world after Mount Everest. Severe storms make K2 more dangerous to climb, however, and it has never been summited in winter. Measured in 1856, it was not summited until nearly 100 years later. In 1954, Italians Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli reached the top with the help of crew members who carried oxygen to above 26,245 feet (8,000 m). What thwarted an American attempt just one year earlier? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1396)A man of shifting alliances, Philip the Good ruled Burgundy at the height of its prestige and presided over one of Europe's most lavish courts. After his father was murdered during a meeting with the dauphin of France—the future King Charles VII—Philip formed an alliance with England but then broke it to recognize Charles as king and gain French favor. Phillip soon turned on Charles, however, sheltering his rebellious son, the eventual King Louis XI. Who was captured by Phillip's troops in 1430? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 It wouldn't do for us to have all our dreams fulfilled. We would be as good as dead if we had nothing left to dream about.Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lose (one's)/the way— To become lost; to become unable to find the correct course forward. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola (2021)St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) founded the Society of Jesus, the Roman Catholic religious order whose members are known as Jesuits. The Feast of St. Ignatius is celebrated by Jesuits everywhere, but particularly in the Basque region of Spain where he was born. The largest Basque community in North America, located in Boise, Idaho, holds its annual St. Ignatius Loyola Picnic on the last weekend in July—an event often referred to as the Basque Festival. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: huskbeer nut - A peanut served with its husk but not its shell. More... brown sugar, brown rice - Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined; brown rice is unpolished with only the husk removed. More... husk - A shortening of Dutch huisken, "little house." More... paddy - As in "field," it is from a Malay word meaning "rice in the straw or husk" (making rice paddy redundant). More... | |