Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 9, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hearth
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Future Tense (Approximation)Grammatically speaking, there are no future tenses in the English language. There are really only aspects of the future tense. What does that mean? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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.jpg) DanitesIn 1838, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Caldwell County, Missouri, founded a fraternal organization known as the Danites. Though it is believed that the Danites operated as a vigilante group during the Mormon War, historians disagree as to the exact nature and scope of the organization. Nevertheless, the Danites and their alleged atrocities have become part of Mormon folklore and were even featured in the first novel starring which fictional detective? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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.jpg) Nathan Ames Patents His "Revolving Stairs," Now Known as the Escalator (1859)Although no working model of his design was ever built, Ames is credited with patenting the first escalator. His idea for the "revolving stairs" was largely speculative. It was not until the 1890s that the first working escalator—called the "inclined elevator"—was produced, based on another's designs. It was installed among the amusements at New York's Coney Island but did not remain a novelty for long. How did shoppers react when Harrods in London debuted its first escalator in 1898? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pamela Lyndon "P. L." Travers (1899)Australian-born British actress, journalist, and novelist P. L. Travers is best remembered for her series of fictional children's books about the prim, vain, imperious, acerbic, and mysteriously magical nanny Mary Poppins. The books were a great success, and Disney's award-winning 1964 film adaptation made the author even more famous. Travers worked as an adviser on the film, but in the end she was unhappy with it and never allowed anyone related to the production to adapt her work again. Why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The soul most free is that most bound in thraldom to the ancient tyrant Love.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lower the bar— To lower the standards of quality that are expected of or required for something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Meyboom (2021)One of the oldest folk traditions in Belgium, Meyboom is an amalgamation of Belgian folklore, patron-saint celebration, and traditional neighborhood rivalry. The event is marked with a procession of giant puppets and the planting of a meyboom (may tree) on the corner of Rue des Sables and Rue du Marais in Brussels. Before the planting, a procession of trumpeters and costumed giants accompanies the tree from the Place des Sablons to its final destination. According to custom, if the meyboom is not planted by 5:00 p.m., the city's good fortune will go to the people of Leuven. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: lawsautonomy - From Greek autos, "self," and nomos, "law," i.e. a person or unit that makes its own laws. More... blue sky laws - Laws protecting the public from securities fraud. More... code, codex - Code, from Latin codex, meaning "block of wood split into tablets, document written on wood tablets," was first a set of laws. More... constitute, constitution - Constitute can mean "make laws" and a constitution is a "how-to" document for a government or organization. More... | |