Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, August 12, 2020)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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erudition
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Punctuating Direct SpeechDirect speech refers to the direct quotation of something that someone else said. When we use direct speech in writing, how do we indicate it? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Posie RingsPosie rings—also known as poesy or posy rings—were tokens of love in England made popular in Medieval times. Sometimes worn as wedding rings, they were engraved with short, often rhyming expressions of love, friendship, or fidelity. Thousands of French and English posie-ring sayings have been recorded over the years, including "in thee my choyce I do rejoice," "God above increase our love," and "let this present my good intent." What other sentimental inscriptions are found on surviving rings? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Russian Submarine K-141 Kursk Sinks in Barents Sea (2000)While completing naval exercises with dummy torpedoes on August 12, 2000, the Russian submarine Kursk suffered two explosions two minutes and 15 seconds apart. The second explosion registered about a 3.5 on the Richter scale. The blasts destroyed the front hull, and all 118 crew members died. It was initially believed that the entire crew died quickly. However, what evidence later suggested that some survived in another area of the submarine for about four hours after the explosions? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Ross and Norris McWhirter (1925)In 1954, a few years after identical twins Norris and Ross McWhirter founded a London fact-finding agency, they met a director of the Guinness brewing company, Sir Hugh Beaver, who commissioned a compilation of world records that was intended to settle bar-room disputes. The first edition of the McWhirters' Guinness Book of Records was given to bars for free as a marketing gimmick, but the book quickly became a phenomenal success. In 1975, Ross was assassinated. Why? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The sky was clear—remarkably clear—and the twinkling of all the stars seemed to be but throbs of one body, timed by a common pulse.Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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quake like a leaf— To tremble violently with fear or nervousness. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Queen's Birthday (Thailand) (2025)The Queen's Birthday is a nationwide celebration in Thailand of the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit (b. 1932). Throughout the country, buildings are decorated to honor the queen, but the most splendid are in Bangkok, where buildings and streets are brilliant with colored lights. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: turkeypoult - A young domestic fowl (like a turkey) being raised for food. More... meleagrine - The adjective form of turkey. More... wattle - The fleshy part hanging from the neck of a turkey or other bird. More... turkey - Originally the name for African guinea fowl, it eventually became the name for the Western hemisphere fowl with which the earlier fowl was confused; it is short for turkeycock or turkeyhen. More... | |