Word of the Day for Sunday, February 24, 2008

irrupt \ih-RUHPT\, intransitive verb:

1. To burst in forcibly or suddenly; to intrude.
2. (Ecology) To increase rapidly in number.

Urban Word of the Day: Oscar Bait
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Oscar+Bait&defid=854790

• A film released during the last two months of the year with a big cast and 'important' subject matter to attract the attention of the Academy.

"'Good Will Hunting' and 'I am Sam' are sickening examples of Oscar bait."
Trivia
Which U.S. city has the distinctive zip code 12345?

• Schenectady, New York.

Today in History

• Gregorian calendar: solar calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in a papal bull, to correct the Julian calendar (1582)
• Marbury v. Madison: established judicial review, giving the Supreme Court power to overturn acts of Congress it deems unconstitutional (1803)
• Andrew Johnson: became the first US president to be impeached (1868)

Today's Birthdays

• Ibn Batuta (1304-1377): Medieval Muslim explorer who traveled some 75,000 mi (120,675 km) over 30 years and wrote about the Muslim world of the 14th century
• Honus Wagner (1874-1955): the "Flying Dutchman," one of baseball history's greatest shortstops; other athletes born today include Eddie Murray (52), Manon Rheaume (36) and Lleyton Hewitt (27)
• Abe Vigoda (87): right! he IS still alive! actor, Fish in Barney Miller, Tessio in The Godfather, zombie; also born today are actors Steven Hill (86), Dominic Chianese (77), Edward James Olmos (61), Debra Jo Rupp and Helen Shaver (both 57) and Billy Zane (42)
• Joseph Lieberman (66): US senator from Connecticut, zombie
• Steve Jobs (53): co-founder of Apple and Pixar