Tuesday, April 21, 2009

peccadillo \peck-uh-DIL-oh\, noun:

• A slight offense; a petty fault.

Peccadillo comes from Spanish pecadillo, "little sin," diminutive of pecado, "sin," from Latin peccatum, from peccare, "to make a mistake, to err, to sin." It is related to impeccable, "without flaw or fault."

ding dong ditch

• to knock on an anonymous door and run away

i'm bored let's go ding dong ditch someone
Trivia
How many eggs can a queen bee lay in a single day?

• Up to 2,000. A queen bee lives up to five years.

Today in History:

• Tiradentes: Brazilian hero nicknamed the "tooth puller" was executed in Rio de Janeiro for conspiring against Portuguese rule (1792)
• The Red Baron: German ace aviator Baron Manfred von Richthofen was shot down for the second time — this time, fatally (1918)
• Tiananmen Square: anti-communist protest grew to 100,000 in Beijing; troops suppressed it six weeks later, killing thousands (1989)

Today's Birthdays:

• Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852): founder of the kindergarten system
• Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855): author of Jane Eyre
• John Muir (1838-1914): naturalist, founder of national parks and the Sierra Club
• Elizabeth II (83): queen of Great Britain
• Iggy Pop (62): punk rock pioneer and possible zombie; rockers Robert Smith (50) and Glen Hansard (39) were also born on this date
• James McAvoy (30): actor, The Last King of Scotland, Wanted; also, actors Anthony Quinn (1915-2001), Elaine May (77), Charles Grodin (74), Patti LuPone (60) and Tony Danza (58), Andie MacDowell (51) and Nicole Sullivan (39)
• Tony Romo (29): NFL quarterback; running back Cadillac Williams (27) shares this birth date