Monday, March 2, 2009

sanguine \SANG-gwin\, adjective, noun;
Also used as a noun, red iron-oxide crayon used in making drawings:

1. cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident
2. reddish; ruddy
3. (in old physiology) having blood as the predominating humor and consequently being ruddy-faced, cheerful, etc.
4. blood-red; red
5. Heraldry. a reddish-purple tincture.
6. a red iron-oxide crayon used in making drawings

by 1319, "type of red cloth," from Old French sanguin (feminine form, sanguine), from Latin sanguineus "of blood," also "bloody, bloodthirsty," from sanguis "blood." Meaning "blood-red" is recorded from 1382. Meaning "cheerful, hopeful, confident" first attested 1509, since these qualities were thought in medieval physiology to spring from an excess of blood as one of the four humors.

parade maker (n).

• A driver and/or car that goes consistently under the speed limit, causing a backup of 20+ cars, creating frustration and your ability to be where you want to be on time.

Gee boss, I'm very sorry that I'm 10 minutes late, but I was in a long line of cars stuck behind this parade maker.

It was a double line for several miles. no one could even attempt to pass the parade maker.

Trivia

What did famed chef Julia Child cook up for the U.S. Navy during World War II, when she was working as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services?

• A shark repellent that kept sharks from bumping into and setting off underwater explosives planted by the Navy to disable German U-boats. The repellent, developed by Child and her OSS team, was used to coat the explosives.

Today in History:

• Puerto Rico: became a US territory; its residents gained US citizenship (1917)
• Bill of Rights: the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution were finally ratified by Massachusetts, 147 years after having gone into effect (1939)
• B-50 Superfortress: became the first aircraft to fly around the world nonstop, landing in Fort Worth, Texas, after a flight time of 94:01 (1949)
• Morocco: gained independence from France (1956)
• 100-point game: Wilt Chamberlain set the NBA's single-game scoring record in a Philadelphia Warriors-New York Knicks game; he had not slept and had a hangover (1962)

Today's Birthdays:

• Tom Wolfe (78): writer, The Right Stuff, Bonfire of the Vanities; plus, novelist John Irving (67)
• Mikhail Gorbachev (78): last president of the Soviet Union; another political leader born on this date was Sam Houston (1793-1863)
• Daniel Craig (41): actor, James Bond, Defiance; also, actors Jennifer Jones (90), John Cullum (79), Jon Finch (68), Cassie Yates (58), Laraine Newman (57), Bryce Dallas Howard (28) and Robert Iler (24)
• Chris Martin (32): frontman for Coldplay; also, musicians Kurt Weill (1900-1950), John Cowsill (53), Jon Bon Jovi (47) and Alvin Youngblood Hart (46)
• Ben Roethlisberger (27): Steelers' quarterback; Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush (24) also celebrates his birthday today