Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, August 14, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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abridge
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Auxiliary Verbs - ShouldThe modal verb "should" is used in a variety of ways, including to politely express obligations or duties and to ask for or issue advice. Why is "should" sometimes used instead of "will" or "shall"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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.jpg) CaltropsA caltrop is a metal device with four projecting spikes arranged so that when any three spikes are on the ground, the fourth points upward. It can be used to damage feet, hooves, and—more commonly nowadays—tires. The earliest recorded use of caltrops was in the 331 BCE Battle of Gaugamela. Even in the 20th century, when mechanized warfare became the norm and horses were replaced with wheeled vehicles, caltrops retained their usefulness on the battlefield. How have they been used outside of war? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Final Public Execution in the US (1936)In 1936, convicted rapist Rainey Bethea was sentenced to be hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, at a time when such hangings were conducted publicly. Because the county sheriff supervising the execution was a woman, the case sparked national press coverage, and up to 20,000 spectators gathered to watch the event, the last of its kind in the US. Two years later, the Kentucky legislature officially put an end to public executions. How did newspaper reports depict the hanging? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pope Pius VII (1742)Pius VII became pope in 1800, at a time of turmoil for the Catholic Church. A decade earlier, during the early stages of the French Revolution, the National Assembly tried to subordinate the Church to the state. In 1801, Pius and Napoleon negotiated an end to the breach, but relations remained strained. In one notable incident, Napoleon took his crown from the pope's hands during a ceremony and crowned himself. What unusual headgear did Pius VII allegedly wear during his own coronation and why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 No man is offended by another man's admiration of the woman he loves; it is the woman only who can make it a torment.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have a lump in (one's) throat— To have difficulty speaking as a result of feeling that one is about to cry due to an intense emotional response to something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Pakistan Independence Day (2021)On this day in 1947, Pakistan gained independence from Britain. Pakistan had been part of the immense British colony of India since the 18th century. Independence Day is a national holiday observed in much the same way as Pakistan Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: temporarybooth - First a temporary dwelling made of branches, material, etc. More... learning cottage - A residential trailer used as a temporary or portable classroom. More... lodge - First was a temporary dwelling, as a hut or tent. More... jerry-built - Is either from English dialect jerry, "bad, defective," a pejorative use of the male nickname Jerry, or from nautical slang jury, "temporary," which came to be used of all sorts of makeshift and inferior objects. More... | |