Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, July 20, 2025)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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shenanigan
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Forming the First ConditionalThe first conditional is very similar in structure to the zero conditional. We still use "if" plus the present simple to create the condition, except that we now use what tense to describe a probable result of the condition? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Murano GlassMurano glass has been a famous product of the Venetian island of Murano for centuries and is still made today using the ancient techniques. The island's reputation as a glassmaking center was born when the Venetian Republic, fearful of fires that could destroy the city's mostly wood buildings, ordered glassmakers to move their foundries to Murano in 1291. Although Murano's glassmakers soon became the island's most prominent citizens, they had to adhere to one strict rule. What was it? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Colombia Declares Independence from Spain (1810)From the 16th century, present-day Colombia formed the nucleus of the region that Spanish conquistadors called New Granada. In the early 1800s, people like Antonio Nariño began agitating for independence. A prominent early revolutionary leader, Nariño helped foment rebellion by distributing The Declaration of the Rights of Man to his countrymen. Parts of Colombia threw off Spanish jurisdiction in 1810, but full independence was not secured until nine years later, under what famous revolutionary? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alexander the Great (356 BCE)The son of Philip II of Macedon, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle and became king at 20. One of the greatest generals in ancient history, he conquered much of Greece and Persia before his troops mutinied at the prospect of having to sack India as well. At the age of 33, he died of a fever on his way home after more than a decade of conquest. His empire was the greatest that had existed until that time and spread Hellenism far and wide. What city did Alexander name after his horse? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Woman inspires us to great things, and prevents us from achieving them.Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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out of (one's) hair— No longer pestering or annoying to one; not one's responsibility or burden any longer. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Dubrovnik Summer Festival (2025)Centuries of artistic legacy come to life each year in Croatia at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, an international festival of music, dance, and theater. Approximately 80 performances, including opera, ballet, drama, art exhibitions, and poetry readings, are offered during the course of the festival, bringing to life the beautiful Renaissance and Baroque architecture of Dubrovnik. In the early years of the festival, the material was almost exclusively Croatian, but as the years passed, the festival expanded to include classics from the wider European tradition. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: raisincurrant - Developed from Middle English raison of Corauntz, "a raisin of Corinth," from where the fruit came. More... figgy pudding - From the dialect term fig, which meant "raisin." More... frail - Fifty pounds of raisins. More... passulate - To dry grapes to make raisins, from Latin passula, "raisins." More... | |