Today's Highlights
| Word of the Day | |||||||
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exterminate
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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Distributive DeterminersDistributive determiners, also known as "distributive adjectives," are used to refer to individual members within a group or within a pair. The distributive determiners are "each," "every," "either," and "neither." What are they are used to modify? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Charles Darwin's IllnessFor much of his adult life, Charles Darwin was afflicted by an illness or illnesses whose uncommon combination of symptoms affected him intermittently and left him severely debilitated for long periods of time. The list of symptoms is quite extensive and includes vertigo, cramps, tremors, eczema, vomiting, and anxiety. Recently, there has been an increase in speculation about the nature of his condition, yet it remains a mystery. What are some explanations that have been proposed over the years? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 Leiden University Library Opens in the Netherlands (1587)The city of Leiden played a prominent role in the revolt that would create an independent Dutch nation. In 1575—a year after Leiden had survived a siege by the Spanish—Prince William the Silent founded a university in the city. Today, Leiden University is the oldest in the Netherlands. Its library, once housed in a single room, is now home to a monumental collection of books, manuscripts, maps, and letters—some of which are centuries old and very rare. What was the library's first book? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 John Evelyn (1620)From 1631 until his death in 1706, Evelyn kept a diary that is today an invaluable source of information on 17th-century British social, cultural, and political life. He corresponded frequently with Samuel Pepys, another now-famous diarist of the time. Living as a wealthy country gentleman in Deptford, he wrote about 30 books on various subjects including reforestation, vegetarianism, and numismatics. In 1661, he wrote the Fumifugium, believed to be the first book written on what topic? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 There certainly are not so many men of large fortune in the world as there are pretty women to deserve them.Jane Austen (1775-1817) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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take a breather— To take a short pause or hiatus (from something). More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Apple and Candle Night (2025)This is another name for Halloween among children in the Swansea area of Wales. The traditional game of "Apple and Candle" is played by suspending a stick from the ceiling with an apple fastened to one end and a lit candle to the other. The object is to eat the apple without using hands and without getting burned by the swinging candle. To make the game more challenging, players are sometimes blindfolded and the stick is twirled around before the game begins. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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| Match Up | |
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| Mismatch | |
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