Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, October 17, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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truculent
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Yes/No QuestionsYes/No questions are simply questions that can be answered with either "yes" or "no." How are these exclusively formed? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Human EcholocationUsed by some blind people to navigate the world, human echolocation is a technique for establishing the locations and shapes of nearby objects by making sounds and interpreting the echoes that result. Sound-producing methods include tapping a cane, stamping, or making clicking noises with one's mouth. This sort of echolocation can provide blind practitioners with enough information to identify large objects by ear alone. What are some feats that blind people have accomplished using echolocation? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The First British Open Is Held in Scotland (1860)The Open Championship of the British Isles, or the Open, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious golf championship tournaments in the world. It began in 1860 at Scotland's Prestwick course and is now rotated among select courses in England and Scotland. The first tournament was won by Willie Park, who also recorded the tournament's highest single-hole stroke total—21. Though today the Open has a multimillion-dollar prize fund, there was no prize money initially. Instead, Park won what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (1938)Knievel was an American daredevil and icon of the 1970s. He began doing motorcycle stunts as a teenager, then embarked on an incredibly varied career that included professional hockey, a stint in the army, work in copper mines, and eventually crime—safecracking and holdups. In 1965 he "went straight" and took up performing dangerous and thrilling stunts, which did not always go smoothly and eventually earned him the record for most broken bones in a lifetime. What canyon did Knievel try to jump? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The popular idea that a child forgets easily is not an accurate one. Many people go right through life in the grip of an idea which has been impressed on them in very tender years.Agatha Christie (1890-1976) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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you could hear the grass grow(ing)— It is so still or quiet that one would be able to hear even the tiniest, imperceptible sounds. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Anniversary of the Death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines (2022)A former slave, Jean-Jacques Dessalines (ca. 1758–October 17, 1806) played a pivotal role under the command of Toussaint L'Ouverture in the Haitian struggle for independence from France. Dessalines ruled Haiti as Emperor Jacques I for two years before he was assassinated in a coup. It is Dessalines' legacy as a freedom fighter and a founding father that Haitians remember on this official holiday commemorating the anniversary of his death. Haitians observe the holiday by participating in street parades in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and other cities. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: ignoranceagnosy, agnoiology - Agnosy is another word for ignorance and agnoiology is the study of human ignorance. More... ignotism - A mistake due to ignorance. More... nescience, inscience - Nescience and inscience both mean "ignorance." More... sophomoric - Includes the roots soph-, "wise," and moros, "fool"—so the contrast between wisdom and ignorance is built right into the word. More... | |