Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, August 19, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Personal pronounsA personal pronoun is a pronoun (a word that functions as and acts as a substitute for a noun or nouns) that represents a grammatical person within a sentence. The personal pronoun that is used varies depending on which four grammatical elements? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 K2Standing 28,251 ft (8,611 m) high on the border of China and Pakistan, K2 is the second highest mountain in the world. Although the summit of Mt. Everest is at a higher altitude, K2 is considered a more difficult climb, due in part to its severe weather. Part of the Karakorum segment of the Himalayas, the peak was first scaled in 1954, but only a few hundred climbers have ever reached the summit—compared to the thousands who have ascended Everest. Why is the mountain called "K2"? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Little Person Eddie Gaedel Has Major League Debut (1951)At 43 inches (1.1 m) tall, Gaedel became the shortest player in the history of Major League Baseball when he made a single plate appearance for the St. Louis Browns in 1951. He arrived on the field inside a replica cake honoring the American League's 50th anniversary, amusing the crowd by popping out of it. No one suspected his true reason for being there. Browns owner Bill Veeck—a showman fond of publicity stunts—had put Gaedel on the roster. What happened when Gaedel stepped up to the plate? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Roman Vishniac (1897)A Russian-American biologist, photographer, linguist, art historian, philosopher, and professor, Vishniac is best remembered for producing a photographic record of Central and Eastern European Jewish communities in the years preceding the Holocaust. His efforts were not without risk; he was imprisoned 11 times and forced to do hard labor in two concentration camps. He escaped to the US in 1940 and returned to his scientific roots, contributing to the development of what photographic techniques? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 So much does friendship triumph over misfortune, that sorrows and sufferings vanish at the meeting not only of real friends, but of the most distant acquaintances, and substitutes happiness in their room.John Filson (1747-1788) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(as) mad as hops— Enraged; extremely or inconsolably angry. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Aviation Day (2021)National Aviation Day honors the birthday of the American inventor and early manufacturer of airplanes, Orville Wright (1871-1948), as well as the progress that has been made in manned flight since the Wright Brothers made their historic 120-foot flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. Parachute jumping, glider demonstrations, films, airplane rides, and displays of new and antique aircraft are popular events on this day, and open house celebrations are often held at local airports. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: listenear to the ground - It was early Native Americans who taught us to, literally, keep an ear to the ground to listen for horses' hooves as riders approached. More... scout - From the Latin ausculture, "to listen," it became Old French escoute, "a spy." More... hearken - To pay attention or listen; it can also mean "to return to a previous topic." More... listen, hear - To listen is to try to hear; to hear is simply to perceive with the ear. More... | |