Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, August 1, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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lampoon
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Commas with Parenthetical InformationParenthetical information is not considered critical to the meaning of the sentence as a whole—if we removed it completely, the sentence would still make as much sense as before. Parenthetical elements can function as introductory or closing elements, but they can also appear anywhere in a sentence. If they appear in the middle, how many commas are used to separate them from the rest of the sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Elizabeth of BohemiaThe daughter of James I of England, Elizabeth was married to elector palatine Frederick V in 1613 to cement an alliance between English and German Protestantism. She became queen of Bohemia when her husband accepted the crown in 1619, but after his defeat by the Catholic League the next year, they went into exile. Her descendents founded the House of Hanover, which ruled England for nearly 200 years. What failed plot would have put nine-year-old Elizabeth on the English throne had it succeeded? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.svg.png) The Swiss Confederation Is Formed (1291)Despite its ethnic and religious diversity, Switzerland has maintained one of the world's oldest democracies for more than 700 years. Concerned about the encroaching Habsburg Empire, the three mountain communes of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden formed a defensive league in 1291, laying the foundations of the Swiss Confederation. Today, Switzerland is well known for its neutrality and reluctance to join the European Union. In 2002, it became one of the last nations to do what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (10 BCE)The nephew of Tiberius, Claudius became the Roman emperor unexpectedly, after Caligula was murdered. Sickly, unattractive, and scholarly, he tended to disfavor the upper classes and cater to the freedmen. He expanded the frontiers, invading Britain in 43 CE. He spent lavishly on public works and extended Roman citizenship throughout the empire. Having executed his scheming third wife, he married his niece, who then likely poisoned him. What modern diagnoses might explain his lifelong ill health? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A man in debt is so far a slave.Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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out of steam— Completely exhausted, fatigued, or without energy or motivation. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Benin Independence Day (2020)On August 1, 1960, Benin declared its independence from France, ending 70 years as a French colony. Independence Day is a national holiday observed throughout the country, especially in the capital city of Porto Novo. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: voteco-opt - "To select (someone) for a group or club by a vote of members," it is from Latin cooptare, "to choose as a colleague or member of one's tribe"; its sense of "take over" came by 1953. More... ostracism - In ancient Greece, when it was proposed that a person be sent into exile, a vote was taken and the method of registering the vote involved putting the name on a piece of broken pottery called ostrakon; casting the vote was ostrakizein, giving us English ostracism. More... red state, blue state - A red state is any U.S. state that tends to vote for candidates of the Republican party in a general election; a blue state votes for Democratic candidates. More... chirotonize - To elect by voting or to vote. More... | |