Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, January 6, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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termagant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Adjective Phrases: Attributive vs. PredicativeAdjective phrases can either be attributive or predicative. Attributive adjectives occur immediately before or after the noun they modify. What are predicative adjectives? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Tube AlloysThough allies, the US and UK struggled to collaborate on the building of the atom bomb during World War II. In hopes of spurring cooperation, members of the UK's bomb program—which was inconspicuously codenamed "Tube Alloys"—sent a report on their research to US scientists. The report was largely ignored until one of the British scientists traveled to the US. Hesitation by both sides followed, and the fledgling US effort eventually became the Manhattan Project. What happened to Tube Alloys? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Samuel Morse Successfully Tests the Electrical Telegraph (1838)In 1832, Morse, an American painter-turned-inventor, began working on a system for transmitting messages as electrical pulses across a wire. Five years later, he was granted a patent for his electromagnetic telegraph, and he successfully tested the device a year after that. Public use of Morse's telegraph system, as well as the code he developed to represent letters and numbers as electrical pulses, began in 1844 and lasted over 100 years. What was the first message sent on the public system? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Richard II of England (1367)Richard II was perhaps the most enigmatic of the English kings, reigning from 1377 to 1399. He inherited the throne as a boy, but his uncle John of Gaunt and other nobles dominated the government, limiting his power. Taking revenge, he banished John's son, Henry, and confiscated his vast Lancastrian estates. Not long after, while Richard was away on an expedition, Henry returned and seized power. Forced to abdicate, Richard was imprisoned and died in captivity. What likely caused his death? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Women ... have more power for good or evil than they dream of.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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look (at something) through rose-colored glasses— To assume a generally optimistic and cheerful attitude (toward something); to focus on the positive aspects (of something). Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Three Kings Day in Native American Pueblos (2025)Three Kings Day is the day for the installation of new officers and governors at most of the 19 Native American pueblos in New Mexico. The inaugural day begins with a church ceremony during which four walking canes, the symbols of authority, are passed on to the new governor. The governor is honored with a dance, which starts in mid-morning and is usually some form of an animal dance—often the Eagle, Elk, Buffalo, and Deer dances. Spirited and animated, they are considered a form of prayer. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tidebillow - The swell on the ocean produced by the wind, or on a river or estuary by the tide or wind. More... slack water, slack tide - Before any turn of the tide, there is a time of slack water or slack tide. More... happy as a clam - Originally happy-as-a-clam-at-full-tide; it may refer to the fact that when the tide is full, nobody is digging clams. More... tidy - Comes from tide, which in Old English meant "time period"; its original meaning was "timely, opportune." More... | |