Wednesday, September 2, 2009

abecedarian \ay-bee-see-DAIR-ee-uhn\, noun:

1. One who is learning the alphabet; hence, a beginner.
2. One engaged in teaching the alphabet.
3. Pertaining to the letters of the alphabet.
4. Arranged alphabetically.
5. Rudimentary; elementary.

Abecedarian derives from Latin abecedarius, from the first four letters of the alphabet.
amscray

• Pig latin for "scram," which means "leave."

(Mom and Dad are having sex when Little Johnny walks in)
Johnny: Hi Mom! Hi Dad!
Dad: WTF?! AMSCRAY!
Trivia

Swallows return annually to San Juan Capistrano, California, on March 19th, but when do they leave—and where do they go?

• They leave on October 23rd, and fly to Goya, Argentina—7,500 miles away.

Today in History:

• United States Department of the Treasury: was established by an act of Congress (1789)
• "Speak softly and carry a big stick": policy was enunciated by US vice president Theodore Roosevelt at the Minnesota State Fair (1901)
• Japan's surrender: WWII officially came to an end with a ceremony aboard the USS Missouri (1945)
• Principality of Sealand: North Sea micronation located off the coast of Suffolk was established by Paddy Roy Bates, who has ruled it ever since (1967)

Today's Birthdays:

• Liliuokalani (1838-1917): last reigning queen of Hawaii
• Peter Ueberroth (72): businessman, former baseball commissioner and 1984's Time "Man of the Year"; high-tech executive Andrew Grove shares this birth date (73)
• Nate Archibald (61): NBA hall-of-famer; other athletes born on this date include John Thompson (68), Terry Bradshaw (61), Jimmy Connors (57) and Eric Dickerson (49)
• Christa McAuliffe (1948-1986): teacher who died in the Challenger space shuttle explosion
• Mark Harmon (58): Jethro Gibbs of NCIS; also, actors Linda Purl (54), Keanu Reeves (45), Salma Hayek (43), and Cynthia Watros and Kristen Cloke (both 41)