Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, September 28, 2022)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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avidity
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Defining Coordinating ConjunctionsCoordinating conjunctions are used to join two or more words, phrases, or independent clauses. The two elements being joined must be grammatically equal or similar in both importance and structure. How many coordinating conjunctions are there? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 (Hula) Hooping Through HistoryHoops, originally made from stiff grasses and other natural materials, have been popular toys for centuries—long before "hula" was added to their name in the 18th century. Doctors in medieval England blamed many injuries on a recreational "hooping" fad. Another craze surfaced in the 1950s, when the Wham-O company released its plastic hoop. Today, hoops have found renewed popularity among adults who perform hoop dances or enjoy hooping at concerts. What do you need to make your own hula hoop? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Norman Conquest of England Begins (1066)In 1066, King Edward the Confessor of England died childless. His cousin William of Normandy claimed that he had been promised the throne years earlier, yet Harold, duke of Wessex, was crowned instead. William then assembled a force of 5,000 knights and invaded. He was crowned less than three months later, following a swift and brutal conquest that had a profound and lasting effect on English life. When William landed at Pevensey on September 28, Harold's forces were busy elsewhere—doing what? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Max Schmeling (1905)Schmeling was a German boxer who, in his greatest upset, knocked out future world heavyweight champion Joe Louis—then an unbeaten 22-year-old contender—in 1936. When they met again in a hugely hyped 1938 match, Louis knocked out Schmeling in the first round. The rivals later became fast friends. When Louis died in 1981, Schmeling helped pay for the funeral. Though lauded as an Aryan idol in Germany, Schmeling was neither political nor racist. How did he save two Jewish children from the Nazis? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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spring fever— A feeling of often restless excitement or exuberance coinciding with the onset of warmer spring weather. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Confucius's Birthday (2025)This is a time to commemorate the birth of the teacher Confucius, perhaps the most influential man in China's history. In Qufu, Shandong Province, China, the birthplace of Confucius, there is a two-week-long Confucian Culture Festival. During the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s, Red Guards defaced many of the buildings in Qufu. They have since been restored, and the festival held there attracts scholars from China and abroad. The festival opens with a ceremony accompanied by ancient music and dance and includes exhibitions and lectures on the life and teachings of Confucius. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: networkburele, burelage - A network of fine lines or dots, as on a postage stamp, is called burele or burelage. More... network - Traceable to the early 16th century, it indicates a web of connections that link objects, institutions, and/or people. More... limbic system - From Latin limbus, "edge," it is the network of the brain involving areas near the edge of the cortex and controls the basic emotions and drives. More... neural, neural network - Neural comes from Greek neuron, "nerve"; neural network can now refer to computer architecture in which processors are connected in a manner suggestive of connections between neurons. More... | |