Tuesday, July 28, 2009

sapid \SAP-id\, adjective:

1. Having taste or flavor, especially having a strong pleasant flavor.
2. Agreeable to the mind; to one's liking.

Sapid comes from Latin sapidus, "savory," from sapere, "to taste."
Birther

• A conspiracy theorist who believes that Barack Obama is ineligible for the Presidency of the United States, based on any number of claims related to his place of birth, birth certificate, favorite birthday, or whether or not he has heard the song Africa by Toto.

"Did you know that Barack Obama's parents concealed the location of his birth because they knew he would grow up to be President? What? Of course it makes sense, I'm a birther!"

Trivia
Which sport was being played and what teams were competing when the instant replay was used on TV for the first time?

• Football was the game, and Army and Navy were the teams playing at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia on December 7, 1963. CBS replayed an Army touchdown, warning its viewing audience, “This is not live. Ladies and gentlemen, Army did not score again.”

Today in History:

• Maximilien Robespierre: Reign of Terror leader was guillotined in Paris during the French Revolution (1794)
• Peru: declared independence from Spain (1821)
• 14th Amendment: granted full citizenship to former US slaves; introduced new civil rights safeguards, due process, equal protection (1868)
• Austria-Hungary: declared war on Serbia, precipitating World War I (1914)
• Kennewick Man: prehistoric remains were discovered on the banks of the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, sparking a debate between scientists and Native Americans (1996)
• IRA: ended its armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland in favor of "exclusively peaceful means" (2005)

Today's Birthdays:

• Beatrix Potter (1866-1943): the author of the Peter Rabbit stories
• Earl Tupper (1907-1983): the inventor of Tupperware
• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994): the First Lady who gave Americans a TV tour of the White House
• Bill Bradley (66): pro basketball player and Rhodes scholar who became a US senator and ran for president
• Jim Davis (64): creator of Garfield
• Sally Struthers (61): actor, All in the Family and Gilmore Girls; actors Georgia Engel (61) and Elizabeth Berkley (37) also have birthdays today
• Hugo Chavez (55): lunatic president of Venezuela
• Delfeayo Marsalis (44): jazz trombonist; also, musicians Rick Wright (1943-2008), Steve Morse (55) and Afroman (35)