Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, December 20, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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vagrant
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Inflection (Accidence)Inflection (also known as accidence or flection) is the way in which a word is changed or altered in form in order to achieve a new, specific meaning. What is declension? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 OrphanagesOrphanages have existed since the first century. Often depicted in works of fiction as cold, abusive institutions, orphanages largely fell out of favor in the 1950s, following a series of abuse and coercion scandals. Many countries then began to close such facilities in favor of foster care and accelerated adoption, leading to a dramatic rise in the number of citizens from so-called First-World countries who travel to the Third World to adopt. Where was the first orphanage in the US located? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Spanish Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco Is Assassinated (1973)When Spanish leader Francisco Franco appointed Carrero Blanco to the office of prime minister in 1973, the new premier was expected to uphold Franco's regime—including a plan to eventually restore the Spanish monarchy. Months later, Carrero Blanco was killed by a bomb that exploded under his car as he was leaving mass in Madrid. Though Spain may have moved closer to democracy after Carrero Blanco's death, that was not necessarily the intended goal of the bombing. Who was responsible for it? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edwin Abbott (1838)Abbott was an English theologian, schoolmaster, and author. He wrote educational textbooks, theological works, and a biography of Francis Bacon, and his 1870 Shakespearian Grammar became a permanent fixture of English philology. However, his most famous work is a playfully inventive 1884 novella best described as "mathematical fiction." The humorous and satirical tale has enjoyed an enduring popularity, particularly among mathematicians and students. What is the name of the novella? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently?Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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let's roll— Let's get out of here; let's get moving. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade (2017)Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade is a nightly parade of boats at Newport Beach, California. More than 150 boats of all kinds, wildly decorated with lights depicting Santa Claus, snowmen, and other symbols of winter, join the parade. Some boats carry huge inflated figures and many play music. The floating parades started in 1908 as a Fourth of July spectacular. In 1946, the city put a tree and carolers on a barge and towed it around the harbor, and that began the current December parades. Today, about a million spectators watch them during the festival. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: obligationobstriction - An obligation. More... convert into, convert to - Convert into means to change from one thing to another; convert to means to switch allegiance, loyalty, or obligation. More... delinquent - Literally "completely having left" one's duty or obligation. More... likely, liable - Use likely if you mean "probable, expected"; use liable if you mean "bound by law or obligation." More... | |
| In the News | |
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Scientists Say the Clock of Aging May Be ReversibleAt the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Calif., scientists are trying to get time to run backward. Biological time, that is. In the first attempt to reverse aging by reprogramming the genome, they have rejuvenated the organs of mice and lengthened their life spans by ... More... | |