Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 9, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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stopgap
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Auxiliary Verbs - CanThe modal auxiliary verb "can" is most often used to express a person or thing’s ability to do something. When is "can do" used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Shark Fin SoupThe ingredient that gives shark fin soup its name actually lends little flavor to the dish. Instead, it is added to improve the soup’s texture—and the perceived status of the consumer. Considered a delicacy in Asia, where it is often served at weddings as a symbol of prosperity, the soup has led to an increased demand for fins, and shark populations have been decimated as a result. After their fins are removed, the still-living sharks are often returned to the water, where what happens to them? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Attica Prison Riot: 33 Guards Taken Hostage (1971)Though the US made strides in prison reform in the 20th century, not enough had apparently changed at Attica Correctional Facility by 1971 to appease those confined in the overcrowded New York prison. At the time, inmates got just one "shower" a week and one roll of toilet paper a month. It was against these, and other, conditions that prisoners were protesting when they rioted and took 33 guards hostage. Days later, authorities stormed the prison, killing 39, including how many of the hostages? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Otis Redding (1941)Redding, an American soul singer known for his emotive style, began his career with Johnny Jenkins and the Pinetoppers and recorded his first hit, "These Arms of Mine," during time left over at the end of a Johnny Jenkins session. His biggest hit, "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay," was recorded just days before he died in a plane crash at age 26. It became the first posthumous number-one single. What are some different explanations for why Redding whistles at the end of the song? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The knight's bones are dust,And his good sword rust; His soul is with the saints, I trust. Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make the best of a bad bargain— To deal with and create the best possible outcome of a bad, unfortunate, or unpleasant situation or set of circumstances. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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.svg.png) Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Father Laval (2021)This annual pilgrimage is made by thousands of people of all faiths to the shrine of Roman Catholic priest Père Jacques Désiré Laval in Port Louis, Mauritius. Father Laval came to Mauritius in 1841 and devoted himself to the spiritual improvement of the emancipated slaves until his death in 1864. The pilgrimage is held on the day of his death. It originated on the day Laval was buried, when more than 30,000 weeping people followed his bier as he was taken for burial opposite the Ste. Croix Church. A monument to him is there today, and many masses are celebrated at the shrine on the memorial day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: sakeeristic - Means "enjoying argument for its own sake," or "of or pertaining to controversy." More... fine art, commercial artwork - Fine art is any art created for its own sake, as opposed to commercial artwork. More... heaven's sake - It is heaven's sake (not heavens' sake, heaven's sakes, etc.). More... sensuous, sensual - Sensuous usually implies gratification of the senses for the sake of aesthetic pleasure; sensual usually describes gratification of the senses or physical appetites as an end in itself. More... | |