Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 16, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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unavailing
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Focusing Adverbs in Negative StatementsFocusing adverbs are used to draw attention to a particular part of a clause. When we want to draw attention to a negative statement, what two words can we use? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Fuel CellA fuel cell is a device that converts fuel directly into electricity, a process far more efficient than indirect methods of energy conversion, such as heating steam to turn a turbine connected to an electrical generator. Since fuel cells can be used in place of virtually any other source of electricity, they are being developed for use in automobiles in hopes of greatly reducing pollution. In 1966, automobile manufacturer GM created its first fuel cell-powered automobile. Did it work? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Burning of the USS Philadelphia (1804)The USS Philadelphia was a 36-gun frigate that ran aground in October 1803 while blockading the coast of Tripoli. After some consideration, the Americans decided that the ship was too powerful a weapon to remain in enemy hands and sent a party of soldiers to recapture the ship and burn it. In carrying out "the most bold and daring act of the age," the assaulting party used what ruse to sail up to the ship without arousing the suspicion of its Tripolitan guards? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Hugo Marie de Vries (1848)De Vries was a Dutch botanist whose theory of biological mutation and rediscovery of Mendel's laws of heredity made possible the active investigation and universal acceptance of Darwin's theory of evolution. He held that new species are formed chiefly through mutations—sudden, unpredictable, inheritable changes in an individual organism. Teaching at the University of Amsterdam, he introduced the experimental study of evolution. What important evolution-related term did he introduce to science? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 All conservatism is based upon the idea that if you leave things alone you leave them as they are. But you do not. If you leave a thing alone you leave it to a torrent of change.Gilbert Chesterton (1874-1936) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make fast work of (someone or something)— To deal with, finish, or dispose of someone or something very quickly or handily; (of an object) to consume something quickly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Lithuania Independence Day (2025)This is a national holiday in Lithuania marking the declaration of independence from Austrian, Prussian, and Russian occupation on February 16, 1918. Today, the anniversary is celebrated with festivals and fireworks, particularly in the capital city of Vilnius. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: inabilityacalculia - The inability to perform simple arithmetic. More... impotence, sterility - Impotence is the male's inability to copulate or get an erection; sterility is the inability of either a male or female to procreate. More... abulia, aboulia - Inability to make decisions is abulia or aboulia. More... paramnesia - Can mean the inability to recall the meanings of common words. More... | |