Daily Content Archive
(as of Sunday, February 14, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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coeval
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Substituting Modal VerbsModal auxiliary verbs can be quite similar in how they are used, and it is sometimes unclear when it is appropriate to use one instead of another. For instance, "will," "can," "could," and "would" can all be used to make a request of someone, with differing degrees of what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 WaterboardingWaterboarding, a torture method that simulates drowning, has existed in various forms since the time of the Spanish Inquisition. Generally, water is poured over the face of an immobilized prisoner, inducing the gag reflex and mimicking sensations associated with drowning. The technique gained international attention in 2006, when reports surfaced charging the US with torturing detainees during the "War on Terror." When CIA officers were waterboarded during training, how quickly did they break? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Ayatollah Khomeini Calls for the Execution of Author Salman Rushdie (1989)When British-Indian author Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, The Satanic Verses, was published in 1988, it received much critical acclaim, but it was also the subject of intense controversy within the Muslim community due to its allegedly blasphemous content. Particularly outraged was Iran's political and religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a call for Rushdie's execution. What misunderstanding about the book's title, as translated into Arabic, may have contributed to the crisis? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Anna Howard Shaw (1847)Some feminists observe Shaw's birthday in place of Valentine's Day, celebrating her legacy as a leading American suffragist, doctor, and lecturer. During World War I, she coordinated women's activities in the war effort, becoming the first woman to earn the Distinguished Service Medal. After becoming a close confidante of Susan B. Anthony, Shaw worked as one of the most effective speakers of the suffrage movement. She was also a minister who became the first woman to be ordained by what church? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 To criticize is to appreciate, to appropriate, to take intellectual possession, to establish in fine a relation with the criticized thing and to make it one's own.Henry James (1843-1916) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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not be lost on (someone)— To have a significant or noticeable impact or effect on someone; to be valued, appreciated, or understood by someone. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Vinegrower's Day (2018)This pre-harvest vineyard festival in Bulgaria involves pruning the vines and sprinkling them with wine. Ritual songs and dances are performed in hopes of a plentiful grape harvest. In some areas, a "Vine King" is crowned with a wreath of twigs from the vineyards. Everyone treats him with great respect, for it is believed that fertility depends on the King's happiness. Visits to well-known Bulgarian vineyards are organized, the vines are pruned, and guests are given an opportunity to sample the local wine and foods. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: touchingadjoining - Implies meeting and touching at some point or line. More... tact, taction - Tact first referred to the sense of touch, from Latin tactus, "touch, sense of touch"; taction is the action of touching. More... contact - Its underlying notion is "touching," from Latin tangere, "touch." More... attinge, attingent - To attinge is to touch or come into contact with; attingent is touching or being in contact. More... | |
| In the News | |
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World's Oldest Wild Bird Just Became a Mom for the 40th TimeThe world's oldest known wild bird just added a new chick to the family — her 40th one, experts say. The Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), named Wisdom, is at least 65 years old but ... More... | |