Word of the Day for Monday, June 9, 2008

raconteur \rack-on-TUR\, noun:

• One who excels in telling stories and anecdotes.

iBrick

• Apple's iPhone before activation. Refers to how useless it is when it can't do anything, and its striking resemblance to a brick.

I can't activate my iPhone, so I'm sitting at my computer crying and staring at my iBrick.

Trivia

What did Albert Einstein do with the $32,000 he received as winner of the 1921 Nobel Prize in physics?

• He gave it all to his ex-wife, Mileva, as part of their divorce agreement.

What animal’s growl was used to create King Kong’s roar in the 2005 remake of the classic thriller?

• A lion’s. It was played backward and at half speed for the movie.

Today in History

• Hong Kong: was signed over to the British for 99 years (1898)
• Alice Huyler Ramsey: 22-year-old American housewife and mother set out — mapless — on a road trip that would make her the first woman to drive across the US; the trip took 59 days (1909)
• Donald Duck: debuted in The Wise Little Hen; for more than 50 years, his voice was provided by Clarence "Ducky" Nash (1934)
• Naruhito: Japanese crown prince married Harvard grad Masako Owada (1993)

Today's Birthdays

• Peter the Great (1672-1725): Russian czar who developed imperial Russia
• Bertha Suttner (1843-1914): pacifist author and the first woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize
• Cole Porter (1891-1964): composer/lyricist of Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate
• Les Paul (93): guitarist and inventor of the solid-body electric guitar
• Aaron Sorkin (47): writer/producer, The West Wing, Charlie Wilson's War
• Wayman Tisdale (44): jazz bassist
• Michael J. Fox (47): TV and film star who became a spokesman for Parkinson's Disease; also, actors Gloria Reuben (44), Johnny Depp (45) and Natalie Portman (27)