Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 8, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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escapist
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Beginning a Sentence with a Coordinating ConjunctionMany of us have been taught at some point that we should never begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. What do most grammarians and nearly all style guides state about this? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 MillefioriMillefiori is a glassmaking technique in which a bundle of colored glass rods is heated, fused, drawn out thinly, and then cut to create flower patterns. Millefiori is of ancient origin and was used in Anglo-Saxon jewelry and decoration. The process was revived in 16th-century Venice, and then again in 19th-century France and Britain, where it was used for objects like paperweights. It was during this period that the technique was given its name, which combines two Italian words that mean what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 President Lyndon B. Johnson Declares a "War on Poverty" (1964)During his first State of the Union address, President Johnson outlined a vast program of economic and social welfare legislation designed to create what he termed the "Great Society." As part of this platform, Johnson called for a nationwide "War on Poverty" in response to a high national poverty rate. Johnson's call led Congress to pass the Economic Opportunity Act, legislation that established an agency to administer federal funds targeted against poverty. Did it work? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (1912)Ferrer was an American actor, director, and producer. He made his Broadway debut in 1935 and gained acclaim playing the starring role in Charley's Aunt (1940) and Iago in a 1943 Broadway production of Othello. A versatile actor with a rich and powerful voice, he appeared in many films, including The Caine Mutiny and Ship of Fools. In 1950, he won an Academy Award for his performance as the title character in what film version of a play that he had also starred in? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Great men need to be lifted upon the shoulders of the whole world, in order to conceive their great ideas or perform their great deeds. That is, there must be an atmosphere of greatness round about them. A hero cannot be a hero unless in a heroic world.Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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loose change— A small, usually insignificant amount of money, typically consisting of coins. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Battle of New Orleans Day (2023)When British soldiers attacked near the Chalmette plantation outside New Orleans on January 8, 1815, they were met by a ragtag army of militiamen, sailors, and pirates fighting from behind barricades. The defending US troops were led by General Andrew Jackson, whose stunning victory—the British suffered some 2,000 casualties, while the Americans lost only eight men—made him a national hero. This day remains a legal holiday in Louisiana, where it is also known as Jackson Day or, in honor of Jackson's nickname, as Old Hickory's Day. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: measuredApgar score - A measure of a baby's well-being taking into consideration respiratory effort, skin color, heart rate, muscle tone, and sense of smell (named for American anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar). More... datum line - The horizontal or base line, from which the heights of points are reckoned or measured, as in the plan of a railway, etc. More... scantling - Means "measured or prescribed size" or a "set of standard dimensions." More... military time - Time measured on a 24-hour scale of 0100-2400 hours. More... | |