Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, November 20, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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nonce
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Creating Adverbs of MannerAdverbs of manner are used to tell us how something happens or is done. They are very often formed from adjectives by simply adding "-ly," but sometimes, the spelling of a word will have to change slightly so as to better accommodate the extra "-ly." If the adjective ends in "-ic," for instance, what does the ending become? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Iranian Space AgencyThe Iranian government established the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) in 2003. Just two years later, it declared that it would allocate $500 million to the ISA. Though Western nations have expressed concern, fearing that Iran's rapid advancement in space technology will improve its military capabilities, the ISA's most noteworthy space venture to date was launching a rocket containing living organisms—a rodent, two turtles, and several worms—into space in 2010. Did the animals survive the trip? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Microsoft Windows 1.0 Is Released (1985)Though Microsoft announced its new operating system in the fall of 1983, it was not ready for release until two years later, and the long delay led critics to label the product "vaporware." Even after Windows 1.0 finally hit the market, it was not particularly popular. Still, Windows was more user-friendly than the spare MS-DOS upon which it was built, and it allowed users to multitask. Two years later, it was superseded by Windows 2.0. When did Microsoft finally stop supporting Windows 1.0? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Alistair Cooke (1908)Cooke was a British-American journalist and broadcaster. To British audiences, he was famous for his lively and insightful interpretations of American life and culture. His weekly Letter from America, which aired for 58 years, was one of the longest-running programs in radio. To American television audiences, he was the epitome of the elegant English gentleman, hosting public television's Masterpiece Theater for 20 years. After he died, his bones were stolen and used for what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Before I do anything I feel that I have choice, and that influences what I do; but afterwards, when the thing is done, I believe that it was inevitable from all eternity.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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rubber jungle— An aviation term among pilots and airline crew for the effect created when the rubber oxygen masks in a commercial aircraft deploy from its ceiling. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Opening of the Underground Caves Day (2025)The end of World War II is marked annually by the people of Butaritari Island (northern islands of the independent republic of Kiribati). Each year, they open the caves that were built to shelter them during the war. Accompanied by a celebration, the event takes place on the anniversary of the day the caves initially were opened after the war ended in 1945. The event's main activities take place in Ukiangang village on Butaritari Island, featuring singing, dancing, feasting, and indoor and outdoor games. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: plateassiette - A prepared dish of food, French for "plate, course of a meal." More... dish, plate - Dish is a more general term and plate is more specialized. More... plate - Etymologically, something "flat," from Latin plattus, "flat," and Greek platys, "broad." More... placard - Comes from French plaquier, "to plate; lay flat." More... | |