Word of the Day for Saturday November 8, 2008

resplendent \rih-SPLEN-duhnt\, adjective:

• very bright or shining; splendid

by 1448, from Latin resplendentem "brilliant, radiant," prp. of resplendere "to glitter, shine," from re-, intensive prefix, + splendere "to shine, be splendid"

Flesh Forks

• Your bare fingers

Person A: "Dude, I don't have any forks."

Person B: "Just use your flesh forks."

Trivia

What is the origin of the word blockbuster?

• It was World War II military slang for a bomb powerful enough to demolish an entire city block of buildings. Now it’s used to describe a movie or book—or anything else—that makes a large impact.

Today in History

• Louvre: the former royal French palace opened as a museum; it is now the most-visited art museum in the world (1793)
• Days of Our Lives: long-running soap opera premiered on TV (1965)
• Three Gorges Dam: the Yangtze, China's largest river, was diverted in a massive ongoing construction project (1997)

Today's Birthdays

• Edmond Halley (1656-1742): astronomer who discovered Halley's Comet
• Margaret Mitchell (1900-1949): Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gone With the Wind; Dracula's creator Bram Stoker (1847-1912) has the same birth date
• Christiaan Barnard (1923-2001): surgeon who performed the world's first human heart transplant
• Morley Safer (77): broadcast journalist, 60 Minutes
• Bonnie Raitt (59): blues-rock musician; other singers born today include Patti Page (81), Rickie Lee Jones (54) and Leif Garrett (47)
• Parker Posey (40): actor, Best in Show; also, actors Norman Lloyd (94), June Havoc (92), Alfre Woodard (55), Courtney Thorne-Smith (41), Roxana Zal (39), Gretchen Mol (36), Tara Reid (33) and Chris Rankin (25)