Daily Content Archive
(as of Thursday, September 7, 2023)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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contraption
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Using Comparative AdjectivesWhen using comparative adjectives, the two nouns that are being compared can both appear in the sentence. This is the case if there is any chance of the listener or reader being confused by what you're talking about. When we need to mention both nouns, what structure do we follow? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Silly PuttyWhen scientists tried to find a rubber substitute for the US during WWII, they stumbled upon a product that would entertain children for generations. Silly Putty is silicone plastic “clay” sold in an egg-shaped plastic container and marketed as a children's toy. As an inorganic polymer, it can pick up ink when pressed against a newspaper; the imprint can then be stretched in any direction. It also bounces, breaks, and “melts” into a puddle. What causes these unusual flow characteristics? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Tupac Shakur Is Shot (1996)In 1996, Shakur, an American rap star and actor, was fatally wounded in a drive-by shooting while stopped at a red light on the Las Vegas strip. He died six days later. The 25-year-old Shakur had been involved in a violent rivalry between the East and West Coast rap scenes and had survived another shooting less than two years earlier. His killer has never been identified. However, some suspect that it was a man who had been in a public altercation with Shakur hours before the shooting—who? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Jacob Lawrence (1917)Lawrence was a leading black artist who portrayed African-American life, experience, and history with vivid, stylized realism. He was only in his twenties when his series depicting the migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North thrust him into the national spotlight. His use of somber browns and black for shadows and outlines in an otherwise vibrant palette lends his work a distinctive overtone, as does his flat painting style. Where can one view his last public work? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There are some cases in which the sense of injury breeds—not the will to inflict injuries and climb over them as a ladder, but—a hatred of all injury.George Eliot (1819-1880) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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run wild— To behave or run around in a wild, unruly, out-of-control manner; to be or become crazy or chaotic. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Festival of Piedigrotta (2025)Held in Naples, Italy, in September, the Festival of Piedigrotta is known primarily for its noise and gaiety. According to one legend, it commemorates the destruction in 44 CE of a site that had formerly been the scene of pagan orgies, and the building of a chapel in its place. A second explanation is that the chapel was built in 1356 after the Blessed Virgin Mary had appeared to a priest, a nun, and a man named Peter and ordered its construction. In any case, the festival is a particularly joyful one, with processions, fireworks, and some very unusual puppet shows. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: inquiryquery, inquiry, enquiry - A query is a single question; an inquiry (or enquiry) may be a single question or extensive investigation (i.e. a series of questions). More... inquirendo, percontation - An inquirendo or percontation is an investigation or inquiry. More... prosecute - First meant "to follow up or pursue an inquiry or studies" or "to pursue to the end." More... zetetic - As an adjective, it means "inquiring, investigating" and "proceeding by inquiry or investigation," or, as a noun, "inquirer." More... | |