Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 30, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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edacious
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Categories of PrepositionsMost prepositions have multiple usages and meanings. Generally speaking, prepositions can be divided into which eight categories? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Horsepower IndeedEarly streetcars had horsepower, literally; they were drawn by horses or mules and called "horsecars." By the late 1880s, there were 415 street railway companies in the US. However, horses could only work for about four hours a day and needed to be groomed, fed, and housed—and they left behind tremendous amounts of waste. These issues, coupled with the introduction of the overhead trolley system in 1887, spelled the end of the horsecar era. Where was the last functional horsecar in the US? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Saddam Hussein Is Executed (2006)During his presidency of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, Hussein instituted a brutal dictatorship, launching wars against Iran and Kuwait and directing campaigns against Iraqi minorities, particularly the Kurds. After an Anglo-American force invaded Iraq in 2003 and drove him from power, he spent several months in hiding but was captured by US forces. In 2006, the Iraqi High Tribunal sentenced him to death for crimes against humanity. What hobby did Hussein take up while in prison awaiting execution? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Bo Diddley (1928)Diddley was a pioneering African-American rock-and-roll singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was known for his pounding signature beat, guitar effects, and jive talk, and he was a powerful influence on generations of rockers, including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix, and the Rolling Stones. Nicknamed after the single-stringed folk instrument called a diddley bow, he studied the violin at his Baptist Church in Chicago and began performing in South Side clubs, playing what unique type of guitar? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A common and natural result of an undue respect for the law is, that you may see a file of soldiers ... marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against their common sense and consciences.Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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long since— Long ago; of the (relatively) distant past. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Rizal Day (2024)A national holiday in the Philippines, Rizal Day commemorates the execution of the national hero, Dr. José Rizal, on this day in 1896. Flags fly at half-staff throughout the country, and special rites are led by the president at the 500-foot Rizal Monument in Manila. Writing from Europe and denouncing the corrupt ruling of the Philippines by Spanish friars, Rizal became known as a leader of the Philippine reform movement. He had no direct role in the nationalist insurrection, but he was arrested, tried for sedition, and executed by a firing squad. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: nailshyponychial dirt - After an archaeology dig, you will have hyponychial dirt (under the nails). More... gadzooks - An abridgment of God's hooks, "nails of the cross." More... quick - Any tender or sensitive flesh, as under the nails, around a sore or wound, or under a hoof. More... exungulate - To trim one's nails. More... | |