Word of the Day for Saturday, May 17, 2008

latitudinarian \lat-uh-too-din-AIR-ee-un; -tyoo-\, adjective:

1. Having or expressing broad and tolerant views, especially in religious matters.
2. A person who is broad-minded and tolerant; one who displays freedom in thinking, especially in religious matters.
3. [Often capitalized] A member of the Church of England, in the time of Charles II, who adopted more liberal notions in respect to the authority, government, and doctrines of the church than generally prevailed.

tifosi

• Italian hardcore soccer/football/footie hooligan or supporter. In a lot of cases politically extreme winged (right or left).

Inter of Milan tifosi threw several flares to the pitch during the Champions League match.

Trivia
How much did an original Andy Warhol Dollar Sign print fetch at auction in 2006?

• About $4.5 million ($4,503,912, to be exact). The print, which measured 90 ⅞ by 70 ⅛ inches, was of a black-and-purplish dollar sign on a red background. The seller had purchased it three years earlier for about $567,000.

Today in History

• Buttonwood Agreement: 24 prominent brokers created the foundation of the NYSE (1792)
• Norway: became a constitutional monarchy (1814)
• Aristides: won the first Kentucky Derby (1875)
• segregation: was outlawed unanimously by the US Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
• Watergate: Senate began hearings about the scandal (1973)
• Laurent Kabila: rebel leader declared himself president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), deposing Mobutu (1997)

Today's Birthdays

• Edward Jenner (1749-1823): physician who helped create the smallpox vaccine
• Dennis Hopper (72): actor/filmmaker, Easy Rider, 24; other screen personalities who were born on this date include Maureen O'Sullivan (1911-1998), Bill Paxton (53), Bob Saget (52), Craig Ferguson (46) and Thom Filicia (39)
• Enya (47): Irish singer of whimsical new-age Celtic music; other musicians who share this birth date are Erik Satie (1866-1925) and Birgit Nilsson (1918-2005)