Daily Content Archive
(as of Monday, February 15, 2021)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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prescience
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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SlashesThe slash ( / )—technically known as a virgule but also called a slant, solidus, or stroke—serves a number of purposes in writing. What are they? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 HoodoosAlso known as fairy chimneys, hoodoos are tall, thin columns of rock that are left behind when everything else around them erodes, making them a strikingly conspicuous feature of the landscape. Sheltered from erosion by a cap of hard rock, they can be up to 10 stories tall. Because they may be composed of layers of rock that vary in density and thus erode at differing rates, they may take on a "totem pole" appearance. What location boasts the highest concentration of hoodoos in the world? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Canada Adopts Maple Leaf Flag (1965)By the 1960s, Canada had been an organized dominion for a century and an equal, autonomous partner of Britain for decades. Consequently, its British-derived flag had become the subject of intense controversy. Following the Great Flag Debate of 1964, Canada's Parliament considered several possible designs before choosing the red-and-white maple leaf flag. In what foreign conflict had the previous flag's design, which incorporated the Union Jack, caused trouble for Canadian peacekeeping forces? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Irena Sendler (1910)Working with Polish resistance groups and a network of helpers, Sendler saved 2,500 Jewish children during WWII by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto, sometimes hidden in suitcases. After changing the children's names and arranging for their care, she buried records of their identities in jars, hoping to someday reunite them with their parents. Though she was arrested, tortured, and reportedly executed in 1943, she actually survived the war and lived to be 98. How did she survive the Nazis? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents...and only one for birthday presents, you know.Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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banged up— Hurt. Damaged (often from use or wear). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Maine Memorial Day (2025)The American battleship Maine exploded while sitting at anchor in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. While the question of responsibility for the explosion was never really settled, many in the U.S. assumed that the Spanish were responsible for the ship's destruction. The Spanish-American War was declared in April, and "Remember the Maine!" is the slogan that has been associated with it ever since. February 15 was observed for many years by the U.S. Navy and by Spanish-American War veterans' associations in Havana and the U.S. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: skilledart - Comes from a base word meaning "put together"; its original general meaning referred to any kind of skill. More... deipnosophist - If you are skilled at table talk, you are a deipnosophist. More... kung fu - From Chinese words translating to "merit master" or "one who is highly skilled." More... linguished - Means "skilled in languages." More... | |