Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, July 6, 2016)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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hautboy
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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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 Shell ShockDuring World War I, shell shock was considered a psychiatric illness resulting from injury to the nerves during combat. The condition is now known as combat stress reaction, a military term used to categorize a range of behaviors resulting from the stresses of battle. Symptoms include fatigue, slowed reaction time, indecision, disconnection from one's surroundings, and the inability to prioritize. Why did some argue during the Vietnam War that distressed soldiers should be sent back to combat? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Explosion and Fire Destroy Piper Alpha Drilling Platform (1988)Piper Alpha was a North Sea oil production platform operated by Occidental Petroleum that sank into the sea after a series of explosions and a massive fire, killing 167 men. Only 59 of the workers survived. The initial blast is believed to have resulted from the activation of a pump that was missing a safety valve. A poorly planned evacuation process exacerbated the disaster. Why did nearby platforms continue to pump gas and oil to Piper Alpha after it was engulfed in flames? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Annette Kellerman (1887)Kellerman was an Australian professional swimmer, vaudeville and film star, and writer. Her 1907 performance of "water ballet" is often credited with popularizing the sport of synchronized swimming. Kellerman was also known for advocating the right of women to wear one-piece bathing suits and was once famously arrested for indecency for doing so herself. In 1908, a Harvard University professor named her the "Perfect Woman" because of the similarity of her physical attributes to what figure? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Churchmen in peace and quiet pray to Heaven for the welfare of the world, but we soldiers and knights carry into effect what they pray for...Thus are we God's ministers on earth and the arms by which his justice is done therein.Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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flip (one's) wig— To react to something, good or bad, with strong emotion. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Rath Yatra (2016)Rath Yatra is an outpouring of tens of thousands of pilgrims to honor Jagannath, Lord of the Universe, in Puri in the state of Orissa, India. During the festival, wooden images of Jagannath, his brother, Balbhadra, and his sister, Subhadra, are taken in procession in three huge chariots or carts that look like temples and are called raths. They go from the Jagannath Temple to be bathed at Gundicha Mandir, a temple about a mile away. This is such a popular festival because all castes are considered equal, and everyone has to eat the food prepared by low caste men at the shrine. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: leanextenuate - Comes from the Latin verb extenuare, "make thin or lean," and originally meant "to treat as of small importance, make light of." More... macilent - Means "lean, thin" or "shriveled," i.e. lacking in substance. More... recubation, recumb - Recubation is reclining in a near-horizontal position; to recumb is to "lean, recline, rest." More... streaky - Describes bacon with alternating strips of fat and lean. More... | |