Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, August 17, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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pettifogger
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming Noun ClausesA noun clause is a type of dependent clause that is able to function grammatically like a noun in a sentence. Noun clauses, like all clauses, contain what two things? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The UkuleleThe ukulele is a Hawaiian musical instrument developed from the Portuguese guitar. It has a fretted fingerboard and four strings that are plucked or strummed. A similar instrument is the banjolele, which has a banjo body. The ukulele became popular in the US through a 1915 exposition held in San Francisco, at which the Hawaiian Pavilion featured a guitar and ukulele ensemble. Vaudeville performers took it up, and its popularity spread. "Ukulele" is Hawaiian for what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Michael Phelps Wins Record-Breaking Eight Gold Medals (2008)Phelps is an American swimmer who, at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, broke the record for the number of gold medals won at a single Olympics. He won gold in every one of his eight events, surpassing American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Olympics. In seven of his races, Phelps set world records. Combined with the six gold and two bronze medals he won in Athens in 2004, Phelps has a total of 16 Olympic medals, two shy of the record held by what athlete? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pierre de Fermat (1601)A founder of modern probability theory and number theory, Fermat was a French jurist and amateur mathematician. A contemporary of Descartes, he independently discovered the basic principles of analytic geometry. Yet he is best remembered for the assertion now known as Fermat's Last Theorem, which he scribbled in the margin of a book along with a note stating that he could have shown it to be true but lacked the room in which to write the proof. For how many years did the theorem remain unproven? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Liberty, as well as honor, man ought to preserve at the hazard of his life, for without it life is insupportable.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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air rage— Sudden, unruly, and often violently aggressive behavior of a passenger aboard an airplane, generally while in the air, which puts the safety of other passengers, the crew, or the airplane at risk. The term is modeled on "road rage," which is the equivalent behavior in relation to driving. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.jpg) Jhapan Festival (Manasa Festival) (2019)Jhampanias, or snake charmers, gather in the city of Vishnupur, West Bengal State, India, every August for one of the region's most notable annual festivals. Accompanying them, of course, are snakes of all kinds of local varieties, especially dangerous cobras. Jhampanias train their snakes to perform tricks with them, which attendees can observe to their hearts' content. The patron goddess of snakes is Manasa, a daughter of Shiva, and the festival attracts many who follow her cult. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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