Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, July 15, 2025)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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leave-taking
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Questions Beginning with "wh-" WordsWe often encounter dangling prepositions when a "wh-" word (such as "who" or "what") is used to begin a question. Why? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Transits of VenusWhen Venus passes directly between Earth and the Sun, it appears to observers as though a small disk is moving across the face of the Sun. Before the space age, such transits helped scientists calculate the distance between Earth and the Sun. Among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena, transits of Venus currently occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits 8 years apart separated by gaps of 121.5 and 105.5 years. When will the next transit of Venus occur? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Crusaders Take the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem (1099)Built in the 4th century by Constantine, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is the supposed location of Jesus' tomb. The holy site was captured and partially destroyed numerous times, and, in 1096, the First Crusade was launched in part to recapture it. In 1099, Crusaders poured into Jerusalem, killed its non-Christian population, and took the church. It was rebuilt, and has since been carefully divided among quarreling Christian factions. Who has traditionally kept the key? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Linda Ronstadt (1946)Ronstadt is an American popular-music singer and record producer. She embarked on a solo career in the late 1960s and became known for her interpretations of folk songs and collaborations with artists from a diverse array of genres. She became one of the most successful female singers of the 1970s and branched out in the 80s with award-winning Spanish language albums. One of her grandfathers was an inventor who made a fortune by patenting what widely used household item? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 We drink one another's health and spoil our own.Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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(one's) other half— One's spouse, romantic partner, or boyfriend/girlfriend. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Swithin's Day (2025)When Swithin, the bishop of Winchester, England, died in 862, he was buried according to his wish, outside the cathedral in the churchyard, in a place where the rain from the eaves poured down. This request was reversed after his canonization, when clerical authorities tried to move his remains to a site within the church. According to legend, the heavens opened and there was a heavy rainfall—a show of the saint's displeasure. This led to the popular belief that if it rains on St. Swithin's Day, it will rain for 40 days; but if it is fair, it will be dry for 40 days. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: leftoverspick-up, pick-up dinner - A pick-up or pick-up dinner is one made up of leftovers. More... ort, orts - An ort is a morsel or remaining scrap; orts is another name for leftovers. More... leftover, relic, relief - Before leftovers were called leftovers, they were called relics, and, before that, relief. More... gallimaufry - A medley or confused jumble, especially a dish made of leftovers, from French gallimaufry, "ragout, hash." More... | |