Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, July 4, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lifelike
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ClausesClauses are groups of words that contain both a subject and a predicate. There are two main types of clauses: independent clauses and dependent clauses. What is another name for a dependent clause? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The Maxim GunDeveloped in 1884 by US-British inventor Hiram Maxim, the Maxim gun was the first self-powered machine gun. Capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute, the water-cooled weapon profoundly altered modern warfare. It inflicted heavy casualties during the Russo-Japanese War, and guns modeled after its design dominated the WWI battlefield. The gun was lighter and easier to transport than earlier hand-cranked ones, but military authorities were initially reluctant to use it because of what issue? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 West Point Opens (1802)Before it was home to young men and women training to be US Army officers, West Point, New York, was the site of a military post. Congress signed legislation establishing the United States Military Academy there in 1802, though it was initially an apprentice school for military engineers. Its curriculum broadened in 1866, and, after World War I, Superintendent Douglas MacArthur pushed for major changes in the physical fitness and athletic programs. What collegiate tradition began at West Point? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804)Hawthorne was one of the great masters of American fiction. His novels and tales are penetrating explorations of moral and spiritual conflicts, and his masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter, is often considered the first American psychological novel. Hawthorne also helped to establish the American short story as a significant art form with his haunting tales of human loneliness, frustration, hypocrisy, eccentricity, and frailty. What future US president did Hawthorne befriend in college? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 People who have tried it, tell me that a clear conscience makes you very happy and contented; but a full stomach does the business quite as well, and is cheaper, and more easily obtained.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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the toast of (the town)— Someone who is especially well-liked, regarded, or admired in a certain place. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Turtle Independence Day (2022)Since 1989, the Mauna Lani Resort in Hawaii has taken in baby Hawaiian green sea turtles from the Sea Life Park in Oahu, Hawaii. Staffers raise the turtles in salt water ponds located on the resort hotel's grounds until they reach maturity and can be released into the wild. Every Fourth of July, a Turtle Independence Day is held in which turtles are brought down to the hotel's beach and let go. In addition to the release of the mature turtles, which is open to the public, the hotel also has entertainment, games, canoe rides, and educational displays for children. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: manuscriptacephalous - A manuscript lacking a beginning could be called acephalous. More... autograph - Comes from Greek, then Latin autographum, meaning "self-written"; it originally meant "author's own manuscript." More... manuscript - Originally an adjective meaning "written by hand"; manuscript can refer to a handwritten piece of music. More... palimpsest - Can describe a manuscript or writing surface that has been reused, erased, or altered while retaining traces of its earlier form—and, by extension, an object, place, or area that reflects its history. More... | |