Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, March 3, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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liniment
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Rules for Using Prepositions with NounsCertain prepositions can be used in conjunction with nouns. There is no clear-cut rule that determines which prepositions connect to which nouns, but we can make an educated guess by looking at what? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Defining the MeterAdopted in France in the late 18th century, the meter is used today by much of the technologically developed world, making it an extremely successful example of both standardization and cooperation. However, the definition of the meter has changed several times. It was originally based, somewhat impractically, on a fraction of the Earth's circumference and was later defined as the distance between two scratches on a bar of platinum-iridium alloy. What is the most recent definition of the meter? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Significant Oil Reservoirs Discovered in Saudi Arabia (1938)Prior to 1938, Saudi Arabia was not considered an oil-rich nation. Today, the oil industry dominates its economy, making up 90 percent of all Saudi exports. Oil was first discovered there in the mid-1930s by the US-owned Arabian Standard Oil Company, which became the Arabian American Oil Company. However, it was not until 1938 that a commercially viable oil field was found, yielding one of the largest supplies in the world. How large are Saudi Arabia's oil reserves estimated to be? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Charles Ponzi (1882)Possibly the most famous con man in history, Ponzi is now synonymous with a particular type of ruinous investment scheme. By promising impossibly high returns on a "get rich quick" scheme, Ponzi attracted enough new investors to use their money to pay off old investors, which made his outfit appear successful and solvent. It was not. After a series of trials, he was deported from the US, but in at least one case in 1922, he was found not guilty. Who was his lawyer at that trial? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, and of unspeakable love.Washington Irving (1783-1859) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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lay (one's) life on the line— To put oneself in harm's way (to achieve something), especially at the risk of losing one's life. (Sometimes used hyperbolically.) More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Hina Matsuri (2021)Hina Matsuri is a festival for girls, celebrated in homes throughout Japan since the Edo Period (1600-1867). A set of 10 to 15 dolls (or hina), usually family heirlooms from various generations, is displayed on a stand covered with red cloth. Dressed in elaborate silk costumes, the dolls represent the emperor and empress, court ministers, and servants. In parts of Tottori Prefecture, girls make boats of straw, place a pair of paper dolls in them and set them afloat on the Mochigase River. The custom dates back to ancient times when dolls were used as talismans to exorcize evil. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: layersply - From Latin plicare, "fold," a thickness or any of the layers of a multilayer material, such as plywood. More... disk - The layers of cartilage and pulp between vertebrae. More... Neapolitan ice cream - Gets its name from its layers resembling the Italian flag. More... delaminate - To separate into layers. More... | |