Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, March 9, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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rubicund
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Irregular Superlative AdverbsJust as there are irregular adverbs, there are irregular superlative adverbs. "Least" is an example of an irregular superlative adverb. What are some others? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Solar PondA solar pond is a man-made pool of saltwater that not only absorbs heat from sunlight, but is able to store it for use in heating or power generation. In a freshwater pond, sun-warmed water rises to the top, loses its heat to the atmosphere, becomes denser, and sinks again. In a solar pond, however, a layer of highly salty water remains trapped at the bottom by its own density, even as it is warmed by sunlight—thereby storing heat. Typically, how hot is the bottom of a solar pond? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The Barbie Doll Debuts (1959)When Ruth Handler realized that there were no adult-bodied dolls on the toy market, she suggested to her husband—with whom she co-founded the Mattel toy company—that Mattel begin producing one. In 1959, Barbie made her debut. She was based on a German doll called Bild Lilli and was marketed as a "Teen-age Fashion Model." According to estimates, more than a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide, and many have become collector's items. Who is the "Barbie" after whom the doll was named? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Vita Sackville-West (1892)Sackville-West was an aristocratic English writer and gardener who married the diplomat and author Harold Nicolson in 1913. Their complicated relationship is chronicled in Portrait of a Marriage, a biography inspired by her journals and written by their son Nigel. The gardens at Sissinghurst Castle, which she designed, are among the most visited in England. However, she is perhaps best remembered for her love affair with author Virginia Woolf, which inspired which of Woolf's novels? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Oh, 'tis love, 'tis love that makes the world go round.Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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manoeuvre the apostles— obsolete To borrow or take money from one person or source to repay the debt of another (i.e., rob Peter to pay Paul). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Forty Martyrs' Day (2025)The "Forty Martyrs of Sebaste" were Roman soldiers quartered in Armenia in 320 CE; they are greatly revered in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In Greece, special foods are prepared, such as cake with 40 layers of pastry and stew with 40 herbs. In Romania, little cakes called sfintisori ("little mints") are baked and given to and received from every passerby. Coliva is also traditional. Farm tools are readied for work, and hearth ashes are spread around the cottage to keep the serpent from entering. (Each home is said to have a serpent protecting it). More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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