Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, March 13, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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protract
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Correlative ConjunctionsCorrelative conjunctions, or "paired conjunctions," are sets of conjunctions that are always used together. Like coordinating conjunctions, they join words, phrases, or independent clauses of similar or equal importance and structure. Unlike coordinating conjunctions, they can only join two elements together, no more. What are some of the most common correlative conjunctions? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 The HermitageOne of the oldest and largest museums in the world, the Hermitage was founded by Catherine the Great in 1764 but was not opened to the public until nearly a century later. It occupies a complex of historic buildings and palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and is home to more than three million artifacts and works of art—including the largest collection of paintings in the world. In 1985, what bizarre incident befell Rembrandt's painting Danaë, necessitating years of restoration work? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Kapp Putsch Briefly Ousts Weimar Republic Government (1920)The fledgling Weimar Republic was just a year old when a renegade right-wing military unit made the first serious coup attempt. The government had tried to disband the unit to comply with the Versailles Treaty—which limited military power in Germany—so the brigade took Berlin. The legitimate regime fled, and Wolfgang Kapp, a radical civil servant, formed a new government. Within days, the coup collapsed and the former regime returned, thanks to a massive swell of support from whom? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Abraham "Al" Jaffee (1921)A regular contributor to Mad for more than 55 years, Jaffee is the satirical magazine's longest-running contributor, as both an illustrator and writer. Since 1964, only one issue has been published without new material from Jaffee, now in his 90s. He created some of the magazine's most popular features, such as blueprint-style inventions and his famous "fold-ins"—which he continues to draw by hand. Before joining Mad, Jaffee worked with what then-unknown comic book pioneer? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The doctrine of innate ideas is one of the most admirable faiths of philosophy, being itself an innate idea and therefore inaccessible to disproof...Among innate ideas may be mentioned the belief...in the greatness of one's country, in the superiority of one's civilization, in the importance of one's personal affairs, and in the interesting nature of one's diseases.Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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marry beneath (oneself)— To marry someone who is of a lower social class or standing than oneself. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Kasuga Matsuri (2025)The Kasuga Shrine in Nara is one of the most beautiful and ancient in Japan. Every year on March 13, a festival is held there with elaborate ceremonies and performances that recall the shrine's heyday. The hiki-uma horse ceremony, in which a sacred horse is led in procession through the streets, and the elegant Yamato-mai dance performed by Shinto women are reminiscent of the culture and customs of the Nara and Heian Eras. Construction of the Kasuga Shrine was started during the Nara period (710-784) and was completed in the first years of the Heian period (794-1185). More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: medical termbrainstorm - By the 1890s, it was a medical term for "mental explosion". More... canities - The medical term for the graying or whitening of hair. More... repercussion - First a medical term for "repressing an infection." More... tension - Originally a medical term for the condition of being physically strained. More... | |