Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, July 26, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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plaint
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Separating Items in a List with SemicolonsWhen writing lists, we usually use commas to separate the individual elements. However, we use semicolons to make the division between the items clearer when one or more items in a list already includes what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 US Camel CorpsThe US Camel Corps was an experiment by the US Army to use camels as pack animals in the Southwest US. Using camels militarily had been suggested, to no avail, in 1836 during the Seminole Wars in Florida, but in 1855, Congress appropriated $30,000 for the Camel Corps project. One year later, a US ship arrived in Texas from the Middle East with about 30 camels. Despite the camels' impressive strength and ability to survive without water, the Camel Corps project was soon abandoned. Why? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 US President Truman Signs Executive Order Desegregating Military (1948)Expanding on 1941's Executive Order 8802, which prohibited discrimination in the defense industry, Order 9981 required that all persons in the armed forces be treated equally without regard to race or other factors. It also called for the establishment of an advisory committee to facilitate the implementation of this policy. The order eliminated segregation in the armed forces within years, though racism was another matter entirely. What historically black boot camp was eliminated by Order 9981? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jane "Jinny" Bunford (1895)Standing well over seven and a half feet tall, Bunford was twice recognized during her lifetime as the tallest person in the world. She is also believed to have had the longest hair, at 8 ft 1 in (2.5 m) long. Though she died in 1922, she was featured in the 1971 Guinness Book of World Records after her skeleton was discovered on display at Birmingham University. Bunford's height likely resulted from her pituitary gland secreting excessive growth hormones after what childhood accident? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The greatest tyrants over women are women.William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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peg it— To leave or depart very quickly or suddenly. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Anne's Day (2025)In 1650, a group of Breton sailors built a tiny frame church at the place where the town of Beaupré, Quebec, Canada, now stands. They wanted to honor St. Anne, the traditional name for the mother of the Virgin Mary and wife of Joachim or St. Joseph. The pilgrimage to her shrine in Beaupré is one of the major pilgrimages on the North American continent; Romanies from Canada and the United States also arrive to celebrate Santana ("St. Anna"). They camp on the church property, prepare a slava feast of special foods for and prayers to St. Anne, and visit their families. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: seizingacatalepsy - Greek for "not thoroughly seizing" or "incomprehensibility." More... rapine - Means "the act or practice of seizing and taking away by force the property of others." More... ravishing - Can mean "seizing on prey." More... hend, hent - To hend is to seize or take; hent is the act of seizing. More... | |