Daily Content Archive
(as of Saturday, April 8, 2017)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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ferrule
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Modal Auxiliary Verbs - MayThe modal verb "may" is used to ask, grant, or describe permission, and to politely offer to do something for someone, among other things. Why is "can't" more commonly used in questions than "may not"? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Acid RainAcid precipitation, also known as acid rain, is any form of precipitation—snow, rain, sleet, or hail—that contains a heavy concentration of sulfuric and nitric acids. Automobiles, certain industrial operations, and electric power plants that burn fossil fuels emit pollutants that combine with atmospheric moisture to create these acids. Acid rain can contaminate drinking water, damage vegetation and aquatic life, and erode buildings and monuments. Where was acid rain first found? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Tennis Player Arthur Ashe Announces He Has AIDS (1992)Ashe was the first African-American male to reach prominence in tennis and was thus a very public figure, even after his retirement, which followed a 1979 heart attack and quadruple-bypass surgery. In 1983, he contracted HIV from a blood transfusion during a second heart surgery. He kept it a secret until 1992, when a newspaper threatened to publish a story about his illness. His subsequent openness about AIDS helped combat the disease's stigma. How much longer did Ashe live? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Edmund Husserl (1859)Husserl was a German philosopher and the founder of the phenomenological movement. His philosophy is a descriptive study of consciousness for the purpose of discovering the structure of experience—the laws by which experiences are had. Husserl concluded that consciousness has no life apart from the objects it considers and, in his later work, moved toward idealism and denied that objects exist outside consciousness. Husserl had a major influence on what German philosopher? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The more highly public life is organized the lower does its morality sink.E. M. Forster (1879-1970) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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can't even— slang Cannot handle (something). A phrase used (usually comically) when one cannot articulate their strong feelings (often of frustration) about something or someone. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Hana Matsuri (2019)Hana Matsuri is a celebration of the Buddha's birthday, observed in Buddhist temples throughout Japan. The highlight of the celebration is a ritual known as kambutsue ("ceremony of 'baptizing' the Buddha"), in which a tiny bronze statue of the Buddha, standing in an open lotus flower, is anointed with sweet tea. People use a small bamboo ladle to pour the tea, made of hydrangea leaves, over the head of the statue. The custom is supposed to date from the seventh century, when perfume was used, as well as tea. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: ranchbiscuit shooter - A waitress at a lunch counter or a cook on a ranch. More... dude, dude ranch - A dude is a city-dweller, especially one vacationing on a ranch—hence, dude ranch. More... ranch dressing - A creamy buttermilk-based dressing with garlic and other spices and herbs, developed at Hidden Valley Ranch in Santa Barbara in the 1950s. More... ranch - From Spanish rancho, "group of persons eating together." More... | |