Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, March 18, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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portent
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Past Perfect TenseThe past perfect tense expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. What else can it show? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 TapewormsTapeworms are parasitic flatworms of the class Cestoda that live in the digestive tracts of vertebrates and steal vital nutrients from their hosts. Most human tapeworm infestations result from the consumption of contaminated meat or fish that has not been properly cooked. An adult tapeworm consists of a knoblike head, or scolex, equipped with hooks for attaching to the intestinal wall of the host, a neck region, and a series of flat, rectangular body segments. How long can tapeworms grow to be? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Landmark US Supreme Court Decision Guarantees Right to Counsel (1963)After he was accused of breaking into a bar in Florida in 1961, Clarence Gideon was unable to afford a lawyer and was forced to defend himself. Sentenced to five years in prison, he had ample time to study the law, and he began petitioning the courts with the claim that his right to legal counsel had been violated. In 1963, the US Supreme Court agreed with him, establishing that state courts were required to provide attorneys for poor defendants. What happened when Gideon was retried? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edgar Cayce (1877)Cayce was an American folk healer and purported "psychic diagnostician" who popularized the idea of reincarnation. He received little formal education before setting off to wander the US, performing thousands of "life readings" and spreading his ideas as he went. He eventually settled in Virginia and set up a hospital to treat people with the aid of psychic messages he claimed to receive. He also prophesized, claimed to recall past lives, and wrote extensively about what legendary civilization? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Men grow tired of sleep, love, singing, and dancing sooner than war.Homer (900 BC-800 BC) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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make (one's) own way— To advance or progress, especially through life, according to one's own efforts, inclinations, or designs. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Gudi Padva (Gudi Padwa) (2018)Gudi Padva marks the beginning of the civil year among Hindus. Hindus observe this day by erecting a pole from which hangs a silk banner (a gudi) or a piece of women's clothing and a drinking pot. There are a number of legends associated with the pole, but it generally serves as a good luck symbol. Other customs associated with this day are visiting friends, bathing, and eating leaves from the nim tree, which is believed to bring protection against illness, since this tree has a holy connection with Sitala, the smallpox goddess. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: wavesbreach - The leap of a whale out of the water or the breaking of waves over a vessel or onto a coast; it is also the act of breaking. More... plangent - Describes the sound of the sea and its waves—reverberating and mournfully resonant. More... swaff - To come one over another, like waves upon a shore. More... lop - The state of the sea when it has waves that are short and lumpy, hence "loppy," when it is choppy and lumpy. More... | |
| In the News | |
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Has Your Doctor Been Up for 24 hours? Rule Change Will Allow It for New ResidentsNew guidelines by the organization that oversees medical residency programs for new doctors in the United States will soon allow first-year residents to work shifts as long as 24 hours, eight hours more than the current limit. The Accreditation Council for Graduate ... More... | |