Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, January 19, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Aspects of the Past TenseWe use different aspects with verbs in the past tense to describe exactly how an event is structured in relation to a point in time in the past. When is the past perfect continuous used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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| This Day in History | |
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 British Parliament Expels John Wilkes for Libelous, Racy Writings (1764)Despite his notoriously dissolute reputation, Wilkes became a champion of the freedom of the press as a journalist and politician. While a member of the British Parliament, he repeatedly published criticisms of King George III, riling the monarch. During the 1760s, he was variously arrested, prosecuted, shot in the stomach, and expelled from Parliament multiple times, ostensibly for his racy writings. When a constituent told Wilkes that he would rather vote for the devil, how did Wilkes respond? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Janis Joplin (1943)Joplin began singing folk rock in Texas bars after running away from home at the age of 17. In 1966, she moved to San Francisco and became lead vocalist of the rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company. The band catapulted Joplin to stardom. By the late 1960s, she was almost as well known for her unconventional lifestyle as for her gritty, memorable vocals. Before her death from a heroin overdose at 27, she released hit albums with two other bands beside Big Brother. What were they called? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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| Idiom of the Day | |
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wit's end— A state of distress that is reached when someone has no more patience. Often used in the phrase "at wit's end" or "at (one's) wit's end." More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Timqat (2025)Because the Ethiopian Christmas, Ganna, falls on January 7, Epiphany (Timqat) is celebrated on January 19. It celebrates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. It begins at sunset on Epiphany Eve, when people dress in white and go to their local church. From there, they form a procession with the tabot, or holy ark, in which the ancient Israelites put the Tablets of the Law, or Torah. They accompany it to a lake, stream, or pond. It is placed in a tent, where it is guarded all night while the clergy and villagers sing, dance, and eat until the baptismal service the following morning. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: nerveaction potential - A brief electrical signal transmitted along a nerve or muscle fiber following stimulation. More... carpal tunnel syndrome - Describes a compression of a nerve over the carpal bones (eight small bones of the wrist) through a passage (tunnel) at the front of the wrist. More... obdormition - Numbness caused by pressure on a nerve, as when a limb is "asleep." More... funny bone - A nerve, not a bone; the name is a pun on the humerus, the arm bone that gets strange tingles when it is bumped. More... | |