Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, December 12, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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tiffin
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Personal Pronouns and Subjective CaseAlthough the English language has largely discarded its case system, personal pronouns are one part of English in which the case system is still active. When a personal pronoun is in the subjective case, what is it acting as in the sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Madame TussaudsA skilled wax sculptor, Marie Tussaud served as art tutor to Louis XVI's sister until the French Revolution began. During the Reign of Terror, Tussaud made death masks from heads—often those of her friends—freshly severed by the guillotine. She moved to Britain with her collection of wax models, and, in 1835, established a museum that remains a principal tourist attraction, now known as Madame Tussauds. One of its main attractions is the Chamber of Horrors. What did it originally include? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Kenya Gains Independence from the United Kingdom (1963)European settlers began establishing themselves as large-scale farmers in the Kenyan highlands in 1903, taking lands from local tribes like the Kikuyu and Masai. In 1920, the British designated the interior of the region Kenya Colony and a coastal strip the Protectorate of Kenya. Africans began protesting their inferior status, and the Kikuyu staged an armed revolt in the 1950s. Britain eventually put down the rebellion, but Kenya gained its independence soon after. Who was its first president? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edvard Munch (1863)Best known as the painter of The Scream, Munch was a Norwegian artist and an important forerunner of expressionistic art. His early life was marked by the deaths of his mother and favorite sister, and he said about his father: "From him I inherited the seeds of madness." Aestheticizing his trauma, Munch visually explored primal themes like death, sex, and fear. Reaction to his stark and sometimes fearsome images caused his first major exhibition to be closed. How did he feel about this? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Human nature is above all things lazy.Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a living soul— A person (who is alive). (Often used in the negative to mean "nobody.") More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Spyridon Day (2024)St. Spyridon is the patron saint of Corfu, Zakynthos, and Kephalonia, located off the western coast of Greece. He supposedly attended the Nicene Council (325) and defended the Apostolic faith against the Arians. After his death, his relics were brought from Cyprus to Constantinople and then to Corfu in 1456. Every year a sacred relic of the saint, dressed in costly vestments, is carried through the streets on his feast day. Colorful folk festivities complete the day-long celebration. This day is celebrated on December 14 in the Roman Catholic Church. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: tobaccoblend - A combination of different types or grades of fabric, spirits, tea, tobacco, etc. More... tabac - A color, from the French for tobacco. More... cud, quid - The etymological base of cud appears to be "glutinous substance"; quid—"piece of tobacco for chewing"—is a variant of cud. More... petunia - It is related to the tobacco plant, hence its name, from Portuguese petum, "tobacco." More... | |