Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, August 16, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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actuate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Major and Minor SentencesA major sentence (also called a "regular sentence") is any complete sentence that is made up of or contains an independent clause—that is, it has both a subject and a predicate (a verb and any of its constituent parts). What is a minor (or "irregular") sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Benjamin BrittenConsidered the most significant British composer since Henry Purcell, Britten first won international acclaim in 1937 for his Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for string orchestra. His operas, admired for their skillful setting of English words and their orchestral interludes, include The Rape of Lucretia, The Turn of the Screw, and Death in Venice. In 1976, he became the first British composer in history to be ennobled. What honor did he decline? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Joseph Kittinger Parachutes from a Balloon at 102,800 feet (31,300 m) (1960)Kittinger is a former command pilot and career military officer in the US Air Force known for setting a number of records, including highest parachute jump and fastest speed reached by a human traveling through the atmosphere. As part of the Air Force's Project Excelsior, in 1960, he jumped from a balloon nearly 20 miles above the earth and fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds before opening his parachute. He reached a speed of 614 mph (988 km/h) and came how close to breaking the sound barrier? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Christian Mortensen (1882)When Mortensen died at the age of 115 years and 252 days, he was the oldest man who had ever lived whose age is undisputed. Mortensen was born in Denmark in 1882 and immigrated to the US in 1903. He worked in various trades until he retired in 1950. Twenty-eight years later, at the age of 96, he reportedly rode his bicycle to a retirement home in San Rafael, California, where he lived for the rest of his life. What advice for living a long life did Mortensen give on his 115th birthday? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Subdue your appetites, my dears, and you've conquered human nature.Charles Dickens (1812-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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against the collar— Difficult, exhausting, or problematic. The phrase originates from the collar on a horse's harness, which tightens on the horse's neck when it travels uphill. Primarily heard in UK. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Bennington Battle Day (2019)During the Revolutionary War, Colonel Seth Warner and 350 soldiers from Vermont played a vital role in defeating the British forces who had come to capture the American supply depot at Bennington, Vermont. The anniversary of the fighting that took place along the Walloomsac River on August 16, 1777, is a legal holiday in Vermont, and a 306-foot tower has been erected in the town of Old Bennington, two miles west of Bennington proper. The Bennington Battle Monument State Historic Site hosts historic reenactments and displays on the weekend nearest August 16. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: healthyhealthy, healthful - Healthy is a positive descriptive of a person's (or personified thing's) physical state; healthful is used of something that favorably affects or promotes that state. More... vegete - Describing something healthy and active, flourishing in respect to health and vigor. More... orthorexia - An obsession with eating only "healthy" food. More... insane, insanity - Latin sanus, "healthy," is part of insane and insanity. More... | |