Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, December 31, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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opine
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Possessive DeterminersPossessive determiners, also known as "possessive adjectives," are a class of determiners that are used to modify nouns to denote possession. They take the place of the definite article "the" and state whom or what an item belongs to. We use a different possessive determiner to correspond with each personal pronoun. What possessive determiner corresponds to the personal pronoun "I"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Acheulean ToolsAcheulean tools are the stone hand axes, cleavers, and other core tools created by prehistoric hominins across Africa, Asia, and Europe during the Lower Paleolithic Period. These tools date from around 1.5 million to 150,000 years ago, and some believe their development represents the genesis of human art, economy, and social organization. Curiously, some sites contain hundreds of hand-axes that are impractically large and apparently unused. What are some theories about their function? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Arthur Guinness Signs a 9,000-Year Lease on His Brewery (1759)Guinness is a celebrated Irish dry stout that originated in the Dublin brewery of Arthur Guinness. When Guinness acquired his brewery, he famously signed a 9,000-year lease that fixed his annual rent at 45 pounds. From 1799, the brewery produced only its distinctive, dark, creamy Guinness stout, which became known as the national beer of Ireland. Although Guinness stout may appear to be black, it is officially a very dark shade of what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Elizabeth Arden (1884)Born in Canada as Florence Nightingale Graham, Arden moved to New York City in 1907 and under her new name opened a beauty salon. Her business became an international empire based on salons, hundreds of "scientifically formulated" beauty products, and an exclusive image—all packaged in her trademark pink. Arden made makeup acceptable to "respectable" American women, introducing them to eye shadow, mascara, and lipstick tinted to match their outfits. What poem inspired her business name? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The first springs of great events, like those of great rivers, are so often mean and so little that in decency they ought to be hid.Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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look out for number one— To put one's own needs, concerns, or responsibilities before those of anyone else. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Omisoka (2024)Widely celebrated on December 31, Omisoka marks the end of the preparations for New Year's celebrations in Japan. On Omisoka, people wearing kimonos fill the streets as they go to visit shrines. But millions watch the "Red and White Song Contest" on TV. This marathon song festival, first organized in 1950, has become an indispensable ritual of the New Year. The TV show ends shortly before midnight in time for an older tradition: the tolling of the great bells in Buddhist temples at midnight. Priests strike the bells 108 times, a reminder of the 108 human frailties or sins in Buddhist belief. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: olive oilfactory - Originally a place where traders did their business in another country, based on Latin factorium, "an oil press" (for olive oil). More... oil - From Latin oleum, from Greek elaion, "olive oil; other oily substance." More... salmagundi - First a dish of chopped meat and eggs, highly seasoned and served with lemon juice and olive oil. More... | |