Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, January 22, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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homebody
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ApostrophesAn apostrophe is a punctuation mark that primarily serves to indicate either grammatical possession or the contraction of two words. What is a proclitic? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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.jpg) MicrocreditMicrocredit is the extension of small loans—which are not secured by collateral and often require repayment in weekly installments—to poor individuals for use in income-generating activities that will improve the borrowers' living standards. The concept of microcredit was developed in 1976 by Muhammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist, as a means of alleviating poverty and improving the lives of Bangladesh's poorest inhabitants. What group comprises the majority of microcredit borrowers? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Swiss Guard Arrives at the Vatican (1506)Though various units of Swiss Guards have existed throughout history, the most famous unit—and the only one remaining—is responsible for the safety of the Pope. Known for their colorful uniforms, the guards must be single, Swiss, and Catholic and must have completed Swiss military training. The first 150 Swiss mercenaries were invited to the Vatican during the reign of Pope Julius II. In 1527, 147 of the Swiss Guards were killed while helping the Pope escape from whom? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Pierre Gassendi (1592)As a priest and a professor, Gassendi lectured on theology in his native southeastern France. However, as a philosopher, scientist, and astronomer, he was compelled to try to reconcile his scientific beliefs with the teachings of the church. Dissatisfied with the teachings of Aristotle, he came to espouse empiricism and atomism, the belief that tiny, indestructible particles form the basic building blocks of the entire universe. In 1631, he became the first person to observe what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The philosopher is like a mountaineer who has with difficulty climbed a mountain for the sake of the sunrise, and arriving at the top finds only fog; whereupon he wanders down again.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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look out for number one— To put one's own needs, concerns, or responsibilities before those of anyone else. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Vasant Panchami (2018)Vasant Panchami is a festival of spring, celebrated throughout India among Hindus and Sikhs at the end of January or in early February. People wear bright yellow clothes, the color of the mustard flower that heralds the onset of spring, and mark the day with music, dancing, and kite-flying. In Shantiniketan, West Bengal, the festival is celebrated with special lavishness in honor of Sarasvati, the Hindu goddess of learning and the arts. Her images are taken in procession to rivers to be bathed, and books and pens are placed at her shrine. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: reversewood engraving - Essentially the reverse of a woodcut. More... contrary, converse, opposite, reverse - Contrary describes something that contradicts a proposition, converse is used when the elements of a proposition are reversed, opposite pertains to that which is diametrically opposed to a proposition, and reverse can mean each of those. More... obverse, reverse - The side of a coin or medal with the main design is the obverse (head) and the other is the reverse (tail). More... vice versa - An adverb, it is a Latin phrase, literally, "the position being reversed; inturned position." More... | |
| In the News | |
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Over Half of Primates Now Facing Extinction, New Report SaysA new report reveals that primates are facing an impending "extinction crisis," with 60% of all primates now at risk of extinction. The research, published in the journal Science Advances, assessed the conservation status of 504 species of nonhuman primates ... More... | |