Word of the Day for Wednesday, October 1, 2008

slugabed \SLUHG-uh-bed\, noun:

• One who stays in bed until a late hour; a sluggard.

Slugabed is from slug, "sluggard" + abed, "in bed."
October Surprise

• When, in a last minute effort to become re-elected, a political figure happens upon a bit of "lucky coincidence."

News from October 31: We found Osama! ... although we really had his ass in a cell under the Pentagon the last three years.

Trivia
What is Major League Baseball's Darren Baker Rule?

• It sets the minimum age for bat boys at 14. The rule was implemented following the 2002 World Series after Darren Baker, the three-year-old son of San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker, was nearly mowed down at home plate when he wandered out of the dugout to retrieve a bat.

Today's Holiday

• Rosh Hashana (Judaism)

Today in History

• Treaty of San Ildefonso: secret pact in which Spain ceded Louisiana to France was signed (1800)
• Yosemite National Park: central California preserve called "the greatest marvel of the continent" was established (1800)
• Henry Ford introduced the first mass-produced automobile on the market a century ago today, in 1908. The 2-seater Model T cost $825. By 1927, when the Model T was phased out, production had become so streamlined that dealers were able to reduce the price to $300. While Ford did not invent the assembly line, he made it so much more efficient that it revolutionized the industry. In the very early days, it took 12 hours to produce an automobile. By 1913, when Ford opened his new, more efficient Model T factory, it took only 93 minutes; by the time the last Model Ts rolled off the line in 1927, a car was produced every 24 seconds.

Today's Birthdays

• William Edward Boeing (1881-1956): aviation pioneer who founded the Boeing Company
• Jimmy Carter (84): 39th US president
• Julie Andrews (73): actress, Mary Poppins, The Princess Diaries, Shrek 2; also, actors Walter Matthau (1920-2000), James Whitmore (87), Tom Bosley (81), Stella Stevens (70), Stephen Collins (61), Randy Quaid (58), Yvette Freeman (50), Jurnee Smollett (22) and Brie Larson (19)
• Dave Holland (62): avant-garde jazz bassist and composer; other musicians born on this date include Vladimir Horowitz (1904-1989) and Roger Williams (84)
• Mark McGwire (45): baseball great who beat Roger Maris' home-run record; slugger Rod Carew (63) shares this birth date