Wednesday, August 19, 2009

furbelow \FUR-buh-low\, noun:

1. A pleated or gathered flounce on a woman's garment; a ruffle.
2. Something showy or superfluous; a bit of showy ornamentation.

Furbelow is perhaps an alteration of Italian faldella.

manstration

• When a man is going through his monthlies

"You are a bitch right now - are you on your manstration?"
Trivia
How fast can a trumpeter swan fly?

• Up to 80 miles an hour.

Today in History:

• Old Ironsides: the USS Constitution defeated the British ship HMS Guerrière off the coast of Newfoundland during the War of 1812 (1812)
• Sputnik 5: Soviet satellite entered orbit with dogs, rats, mice and plants aboard; all returned safely the next day (1960)
• Iraq War: a suicide truck bomb killed 22 at the UN compound in Baghdad, including envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello (2003)

Today's Birthdays:

• Orville Wright (1871-1948): aviation pioneer
• Coco Chanel (1883-1971): fashion designer who popularized the "little black dress"
• Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991): creator of Star Trek
• Frank McCourt (1930-2009): author of Angela's Ashes; writers John Dryden (1631-1700) and Ogden Nash (1902-1971) share this birth date
• Bill Clinton (63): first Democratic president since FDR elected to a second term
• Kyra Sedgwick (44): Brenda Johnson in The Closer; also, performers Jill St. John (69), Fred Thompson (67), Gerald McRaney (62), Jonathan Frakes (57), Peter Gallagher (54), Adam Arkin (53), Martin Donovan (52), John Stamos (46), Kevin Dillon (44), Matthew Perry (40), Tracie Thoms (34) and Lil' Romeo (20)