Daily Content Archive
(as of Friday, July 26, 2024)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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baleful
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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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 Greek FireProduced using a secret formula that remains a mystery to this day, Greek fire was a burning-liquid weapon used by the Byzantine Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and Mongols. Early on, it took the form of a burning cloth ball fired with a catapult. Later advances produced a flamethrower-like device that discharged a stream of burning fluid which, according to many historical accounts, water could not extinguish. What are some of the ingredients thought to have been used in the production of Greek fire? 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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 Aldous Huxley (1894)Huxley was a British writer known for his works of witty and pessimistic satire, like Antic Hay (1923), which established his reputation as a novelist. In his acclaimed Brave New World, he envisions a nightmarish, scientifically controlled future society that underscores the dehumanizing aspects of technological progress. His later works reveal an interest in philosophy and mysticism. Though he spent much of his life in the US, he was repeatedly denied citizenship for what reason? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid.L. Frank Baum (1856-1919) | |
| 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... | |