Daily Content Archive
(as of Tuesday, February 17, 2026)| Word of the Day | |||||||
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unfrequented
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| Daily Grammar Lesson | |
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ColonsA colon ( : ) is used after an independent clause to add information that helps illustrate or clarify what it says. How many spaces should be used after a colon? More... | |
| Article of the Day | |
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 Fatal HilarityPeople can and do die of laughter. The 3rd century BCE philosopher Chrysippus, for example, is said to have laughed himself to death while watching the antics of a drunken donkey. In 1410, Martin I of Aragon succumbed to a combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughter. More recently, a UK man died of heart failure after laughing for 25 minutes at a TV show featuring a Scotsman in a kilt battling a vicious black pudding. What other historical figures have died from laughter? More... | |
| This Day in History | |
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 H. L. Hunley Becomes First Submarine to Sink an Enemy Warship (1864)The US Civil War-era submarine Hunley required an eight-man crew—seven to power the propeller with a hand-crank and one to steer. Within months of its launch, the Confederate sub had sunk and been salvaged twice, taking the lives of five crewmen the first time and the entire crew the second. Manned with a new crew, Hunley became the first submarine to sink a ship in battle, yet the achievement was marred when the sub itself sank, killing all aboard yet again. When was it recovered? More... | |
| Today's Birthday | |
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 Isabelle Eberhardt (1877)As a Swiss explorer traveling in North Africa, Eberhardt often dressed as a man to move more freely through Arab society. Intensely independent, she took the side of Algerians fighting against colonial French rule. She converted to Islam, was initiated into a Sufi brotherhood, and married an Algerian soldier. She wrote about her travels in books and newspapers. She survived a murder attempt—in which her arm was badly injured by a saber—only to die at the age of 27 in what unlikely fashion? More... | |
| Quotation of the Day | |
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 The world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willingly avoids the sight of distress.W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) | |
| Idiom of the Day | |
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be (flat) on (one's) back— To have no strength or ability to get up. Often used when someone is sick or injured, but it can be used figuratively as well. More... | |
| Today's Holiday | |
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 Quirinalia (2025)Quirinus was an ancient Roman deity who closely resembled Mars, the god of war. His name is associated with that of the Quirinal, one of the seven hills on which Rome was built. Eventually, Quirinus was identified with Romulus, one of the legendary founders of Rome, and his festival on February 17 coincided with the date on which Romulus was believed to have been deified. This festival was also associated with the advent of spring warfare, when the shields and weapons of the army, which had been purified and retired for the winter, were brought out. More... | |
| Word Trivia | |
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Today's topic: hurtaposiopesis - Stopping in the middle of a statement upon realizing that someone's feelings are hurt or about to be hurt; when a sentence trails off or falls silent, that is an aposiopesis. More... innocent - From Latin in-, "free from," and nocere, "hurt, injure." More... innocuous - "Harmless, not hurtful," from Latin in-, "not," and nocere, "to hurt." More... collide - Its Latin base is laedere, "hurt by striking." More... | |
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| Mismatch | |
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