Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, May 8, 2018)| Word of the Day | |||
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using "May" to Ask for PermissionThe modal verb "may" is very commonly used to express or ask for permission to do something. While "may" is considered the most polite and formally correct option when asking for permission, what other modal verbs can be used? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Clinical LycanthropyA rare psychiatric syndrome involving the delusion that one can or has transformed into an animal, clinical lycanthropy derives its name from the mythical belief that some humans have the capacity assume the physical characteristics of a wolf, an ability known as lycanthropy. In clinical lycanthropy, patients report transforming into a variety of creatures; thus, the condition is sometimes referred to as zoanthropy. What areas of the brain have been linked to the development of this condition? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 First Female Cadet Graduates from The Citadel (1999)For more than 150 years, only male cadets were allowed to attend the Citadel, an elite military college in South Carolina. The first female cadet gained the right to enroll after a legal battle in 1995, but she left after less than a week. The following year, Nancy Mace, the daughter of US Army Brigadier General Emory Mace, enrolled. She went on to become the first female graduate of the Citadel in 1999. How did early female cadets' barrack doors differ from those of male cadets? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Harry S. Truman (1884)In 1945, when US president Franklin D. Roosevelt died—just 82 days into his fourth term—Truman, his vice president, assumed the office. Presiding over the end of World War II and the transition to peacetime, he made unexpectedly bold decisions. He dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan, proposed the "Truman Doctrine" of Communist containment, authorized the Berlin Airlift, and initiated US involvement in the Korean War. For most of his second term, Truman did not live in the White House. Why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 A fool with a heart and no brains is just as unhappy as a fool with brains and no heart.Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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not get anywhere— To make no progress at all; to be stuck or at an impasse. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Helston Flora Day (2021)According to legend, there was a large stone that blocked off the entrance to hell. One night Satan tried to steal the stone; on his way through Cornwall, England, he was intercepted by the Archangel Michael, who forced him to drop the stone and flee. The town where he dropped it was called Helston (from Hellstone). The people of Helston continue to celebrate the Archangel's victory with the Helston Flora Day. The day's festivities include the "Furry dance," which is performed in the streets by men in top hats and women in fancy dresses, and a trip to the woods in search of flowers and leaves. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: unluckydismal - Comes from French dies mali, "evil days," and first meant the 24 evil or unlucky days of the medieval calendar (two per month). More... infaust, infausting - Infaust is "unlucky" and infausting is "making unlucky." More... left-handed - Had a meaning of "unlucky" or "unseasonable." More... widdershins - Means "in a direction opposite of the usual one," but can also mean "unlucky." More... | |