Wednesday, September 30, 2009

gaucherie \goh-shuh-REE\, noun:

1. A socially awkward or tactless act.
2. Lack of tact; boorishness; awkwardness.

Gaucherie comes from the French, from gauche, "lefthanded; awkward," from Old French, from gauchir, "to turn aside, to swerve, to walk clumsily."

The book off

• The act of getting a book out on the train, tube bus or plane in order to avoid talking to the person next to you. Substitutes include a newspaper, phone or iPod.

Person one: "Blablabla isn't the weather terrible blablabla"
Person two: (gets book out thus giving Person one "The book off") Person one stops talking.
Trivia

What country’s currency is named for its national bird, which was sacred to the ancient Mayans and Aztecs?

• Guatemala’s. The quetzal—the national bird and monetary unit—is also pictured on the coat of arms on the Guatemalan flag.

Today in History

• Little Women: Louisa May Alcott's classic novel of four sisters growing up during the US Civil War was published (1868)
• Munich Agreement: France, Italy, Germany and Britain signed a pact allowing Germany's annexation of the Sudetenland; it became synonymous with appeasement (1938)
• James Dean: Rebel Without a Cause star died in a car crash at age 24 (1955)
• Republic of Botswana: African nation declared its independence from Britain (1966)

Today's Birthdays

• Hans Geiger (1882-1945): physicist who invented the Geiger counter; also, physicists Jean Perrin (1870-1942) and Nevill Mott (1905-1996)
• Truman Capote (1924-1984): author of Breakfast at Tiffany's and In Cold Blood
• Elie Weisel (81): Nobel laureate who writes and lectures about his experiences during the Holocaust
• Johnny Mathis (74): pop crooner; other musicians born on this date include Marilyn McCoo (66), John Lombardo (57), Deborah Allen (56), Marty Stuart (51), Marley Marl (47), and Robby Takac and Trey Anastasio (both 45)
• Marion Cotillard (34): Oscar-winning star of La Vie En Rose; also, actors Len Cariou (70), John Finn (57), Fran Drescher (52), Eric Stoltz (48), Andrea Roth (42), Monica Bellucci (41?), Jenna Elfman (38) and Kieran Culkin (27)
• Martina Hingis (29): tennis star; baseball greats Robin Roberts (83), José Lima (37) and Carlos Guillen (34) share this birth date