Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, December 27, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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sacrilegious
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Wrong vs. WronglyThe adjective "wrong" can become the adverb "wrongly," but we can use "wrong" as an irregular adverb as well—both are acceptable. When "wrong" is used as an adverb, where must it be positioned in a sentence? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Mechanical PuzzlesThese puzzles are comprised of mechanically interlinked pieces that must be manipulated in a certain way in order for them to be assembled, disassembled, and otherwise solved. The oldest known example, from the 3rd century BCE, consists of a square divided into 14 parts that fit together to form other shapes. Mechanical puzzles have since taken on myriad forms, including dexterity and disentanglement puzzles, trick vessels, and impossible objects. What is the most well-known impossible object? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Hagia Sophia Is Completed (537 CE)Distinguished by its size and rising succession of domes, the Hagia Sophia is the supreme masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. First a church, later a mosque, and now a museum, it was designed under Justinian I by Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus and completed in less than six years. Its combination of a longitudinal basilica with a main building was wholly original in the sixth century, as was its use of pendentives. The Hagia Sophia stands on the site of what earlier structure? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Marlene Dietrich (1901)Dietrich was a German actress and singer. Abandoning an early ambition to be a violinist, she turned to acting and gained international attention as a femme fatale in The Blue Angel (1930). She then moved to Hollywood, where she starred in a series of films that established her glamorous and sophisticated persona. Resisting Nazi pressure to return to Germany, she became a US citizen in 1939. During WWII, she regularly entertained Allied troops, appearing before them how many times? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 This simple accident of falling in love is as beneficial as it is astonishing.Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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a long row to hoe— A particularly difficult or problematic task, situation, or set of circumstances to contend with or confront. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Fossey Day (2024)American conservationist Dian Fossey (1932-1985) conducted groundbreaking research on Rwanda's mountain gorillas, a species long victimized by wide-scale poaching, and helped ensure their preservation. Fossey was murdered in her cabin at a research center in the Virunga Mountains on December 27, 1985. Ceremonies for the anniversary of her death take place in Volcanoes National Park, which contains a permanent memorial to the zoologist. Individuals typically perform traditional dances, while government officials deliver speeches and lay wreaths on her grave site. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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