Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, March 25, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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foundling
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ColonsA colon ( : ) is used after an independent clause to add information that helps illustrate or clarify what it says. How many spaces should be used after a colon? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 AmbergrisFound floating in warm seas or washed up on the shore, ambergris is a solid, waxy substance formed in the intestines of sperm whales. Possessing a sweet, earthy odor, it has been used throughout history as a food flavoring and a material for jewelry, though its primary commercial use has been as a fixative in perfumes. However, because ambergris is quite rare and expensive, many of today's perfumes use synthetic replacements. What function does ambergris serve within the whale's digestive tract? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Kills 146 (1911)The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a clothing manufacturer that occupied the top three floors of a 10-story building in New York. In 1911, a small fire flared up in a dustbin on the 8th floor and quickly spread. Tragically, a number of doors had been locked by management to prevent theft, and fire truck ladders only reached the 6th floor. Dozens of workers jumped to their deaths to escape the conflagration, while others burned alive. What sweeping safety reforms were prompted by the disaster? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Mary Flannery O'Connor (1925)O'Conner was an American writer, considered a master of the short story form and the Southern Gothic style. In stories that reflect her strong Catholic faith, her often grotesque characters are placed in extreme situations that impel them toward redemption. O'Conner spent most of her life on her mother's farm in Georgia, where she died of lupus at the age of 39. When she was just six years old, she became a minor celebrity for teaching a chicken to do what? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Masterpieces are not single and solitary births; they are the outcome of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of the people, so that the experience of the mass is behind the single voice.Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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have a say (in something)— To have an active and participatory role in making or influencing a decision about something. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 St. Dismas's Day (2020)According to the Bible, two thieves were crucified with Jesus. The one on his right, traditionally called Dismas, repented and was promised, "Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43). He is therefore the patron saint of persons condemned to death. In the United States, the National Catholic Prison Chaplains' Association, by special permission from Rome, observes the second Sunday in October as Good Thief Sunday and holds masses in American prisons in honor of St. Dismas. March 25 is also the Feast of the Annunciation. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: judgeaffidavit, deponent - An affidavit (literally, "he has stated on oath") is taken by a judge, while the deponent swears, makes, or takes an affidavit. More... arbiter - Latin for "judge, supreme ruler." More... arbitrate - Can mean "give an authoritative decision" (from Latin arbiter). More... judge - From Latin jus, "law," and dicere, "to say." More... | |