Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 16, 2015)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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despondency
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Articles and Other Parts of SpeechArticles always modify nouns. An article can also precede a noun phrase, even if it begins with an adjective or an adverb. However, articles cannot precede what part of speech? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Sea SpongesSponges are sessile, mostly marine animals from the phylum Porifera. Until the 18th century, scientists classified them as plants because they demonstrated so little movement. More than 4,500 living species, which reproduce through both sexual and asexual means, have been documented. Sponges are colonial in nature, living in groups that may grow to 5 feet (150 cm) in diameter. In common usage, the term "sponge" refers to what part of this aquatic animal? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Mayflower Sets Sail for New England (1620)The Mayflower set sail from England to the New World with 102 passengers and about 25 crew members. After a two-month voyage marked by disease, the ship dropped anchor in Cape Cod Bay. After spending the winter selecting a suitable site for their new colony and drawing up an agreement for its temporary government by the will of the majority—the Mayflower Compact—the surviving passengers settled Plymouth. Why did the Speedwell, which set out with the Mayflower, turn back? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Julia Drusilla (16 CE)Drusilla was the sister of the Roman Emperor Caligula, a man widely characterized as insane, autocratic, and cruel. Drusilla was reportedly her brother's favorite sibling. During banquets at his residence, she consistently occupied the seat of honor normally reserved for the host's wife and, perhaps because of this practice, was rumored to be Caligula's lover. Upon Drusilla's death, Caligula had the Roman Senate declare her "Diva Drusilla," deifying her as a representation of what goddess? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The soul is placed in the body like a rough diamond, and must be polished, or the luster of it will never appear.Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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collect dust— To be in a state of disuse for a prolonged period of time. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer (2016)In 1994, the United Nations established September 16 as International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. The date honors the September 16, 1987, signing of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Nations may observe the day with activities that support the aims of the Protocol. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: pendantpendant - A light fixture suspended from a ceiling, or the hanging part of an earring. More... append - Originally meant "hang on" or "attach as a pendant." More... pendant, pendent - Pendant is the noun; pendent is the adjective—meaning "hanging, suspended." More... pennant - A blend of pendant and pennon, a banner or flag. More... | |