Daily Content Archive
(as of Wednesday, June 19, 2019)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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claptrap
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Silent SpeechSilent speech refers to a direct quotation that is said internally (i.e., silently) by someone to him- or herself. We still use reporting verbs, and we often apply the exact same punctuation rules to silent speech that we use in direct speech. What do some writers use to make silent speech stand out from the rest of the text? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 EpinephrineEpinephrine is a hormone secreted by the adrenal medulla and released into the bloodstream in response to physical or mental stress, as from fear or injury. It triggers a number of bodily responses, including increased blood pressure, heart rate, metabolic rate, and respiratory rate. It also raises glucose levels in the blood for use as fuel when more alertness or greater physical effort is needed. These reactions are known as the fight-or-flight response. Epinephrine is popularly known as what? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 The First Father's Day (1910)Father's Day is a day set apart in many countries for honoring fathers. In the US, UK, and Canada, it is observed on the third Sunday in June. The idea for a father's day originated when Sonora Louise Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, heard a sermon on Mother's Day in 1909 and was inspired to create a date to honor fathers like her own, a Civil War veteran. Through her efforts, the first Father's Day was celebrated in Spokane in 1910. When was the holiday made official in the US? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Blaise Pascal (1623)Pascal was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. A child prodigy, he earned the envy of René Descartes with an essay he wrote on conic sections when he was still a teen. Credited with founding the modern theory of probability and advancing differential calculus, he also made important contributions to physics, notably in the study of atmospheric pressure. Why did he later abandon his scientific work to focus on theology and philosophy? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 Kings are not born: they are made by artificial hallucination.George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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it's all good— A phrase used to express general approval, unconcern, or disinterest. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Juneteenth (2024)Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, it wasn't until two years later that the word reached the slaves in Texas. General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston on June 19, 1865 with the intention of forcing slave owners to release their slaves, and the day has been celebrated since that time in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and other parts of the Deep South under the nickname "Juneteenth." Observed primarily in African-American communities, Juneteenth festivities usually include parades, picnics, and baseball games. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: loosenlaxative - Can mean "having the power of relaxing" (from Latin laxare, "loosen"). More... loess - Loam composed of matter transported by wind, from German losz, "loosen." More... resolution - From Latin resolutio-/resolution, from resolvere, meaning "to loosen or dissolve again," which was the original meaning. More... solve - First meant "loosen"—from Latin solvere, "free, unfasten." More... | |