Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, December 6, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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wirework
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Reflexive PronounsAlthough not technically considered personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns are very similar in form and use. When are reflexive pronouns used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 A Fish Out of WaterFound in coastal waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans, mudskippers are fish adapted for remaining on dry land when the tide goes out on the mud flats and brackish mangrove swamps where they live. While mudskippers have no special air-breathing organs, they are able to absorb oxygen through the skin and gill chambers as long as these remain moist. When out of water, they use the fleshy bases of their pectoral fins for propulsion on the ground. What other adaptations do mudskippers have? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Washington Monument Is Completed (1884)In 1783, Congress passed a resolution approving an equestrian statue of George Washington. Plans were made to erect it at the site of the present Washington Monument, but Washington objected to the idea. After his death in 1799, plans for a memorial were discussed but none was adopted until 1832, when blocks of stone began to be collected from each state, some foreign countries, and private individuals. The 555-ft (169-m) monument was finally completed in 1884. Its tip is made of what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898)Widely considered the father of photojournalism, Eisenstaedt began creating photo essays in Berlin during the 1920s. He emigrated to the US in 1935 and joined the original photography staff at Life magazine. Soon Eisenstaedt came to epitomize the magazine's style with his topically important and beautifully composed photographs and his candid portraits of the great and the anonymous. His most famous photograph is of the joyous Times Square kiss of a sailor and a nurse on what day? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 One man cannot hold another man down in the ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him.Booker T. Washington (1856-1915) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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live paycheck to paycheck— To spend all of the money one earns by or before the next time one is paid, thus saving none or very little in the process. Primarily heard in US. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Finland Independence Day (2024)The Finnish people lived under Russian control beginning in 1809. The Finnish nationalist movement grew in the 1800s, and when the Bolsheviks took over Russia on November 7, 1917, the Finns saw a time to declare their independence. They did so on December 6 of that same year. This day is a national holiday celebrated with military parades in Helsinki and performances at the National Theater. It is traditionally a solemn occasion that begins with a parade of students carrying torches and one flag for each year of independence. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: troopssquadron - Borrowed from Italian squadrone, from Latin quadrare, "square"; the sense of "military group" comes from an earlier "square formation of troops." More... campaign - First meant an open tract of land, from Latin campus, "level ground," and the change to a military meaning came from troops "taking the field"—moving from fortress or town to open country—from which the political sense evolved, referring to the organized efforts of office-seekers to sway public opinion or influence their vote at an upcoming election. More... echelon - Comes from French echelle, "ladder," from Latin scala, and first meant a formation of troops. More... corporal - Its military meaning came from "the head of a body of troops," from French caporale. More... | |