Sunday, October 18, 2009

turbid \TUR-bid\, adjective:

1. Muddy; thick with or as if with roiled sediment; not clear; -- used of liquids of any kind.
2. Thick; dense; dark; -- used of clouds, air, fog, smoke, etc.
3. Disturbed; confused; disordered.

Turbid comes from Latin turbidus, "confused, disordered," from turba, "disturbance, commotion."

broner

• A slang term used to explain the phenomenon during which a fiercly heterosexual male achieves an erection (or, "boner") for or while in the company of one of his male friends (or, "bros"). This may only occur while engaging in all-male activities, particularly those which include feats of strength or displays of hyper-masculinity. Upon achieving a broner, the man in question is often known to exclaim, "dude, suck that shit!" or "meet me in the shower."

The way you creamed that linebacker gave me a total broner.
Trivia
Who was the only artist to participate in all eight exhibitions held in Paris by the Impressionists?

• Camille Pissarro. The exhibits were held between 1874 and 1886.

Today in History

• Great Basel Earthquake: Swiss city was destroyed, along with parts of France and Germany (1356)
• Edict of Nantes: law that had granted religious liberties to Protestants was revoked by Louis XIV and replaced with the Edict of Fontainebleau; many Protestants left France as a result (1685)
• Mason-Dixon Line: the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania, which, before the US Civil War, separated the slave states from the free states, was established (1767)
• Moby-Dick: Herman Melville's novel about Captain Ahab's quest was published; it was originally entitled The Whale(1851)
• Alaska: territory known as "Seward's Folly" was purchased by the US from Russia for approximately $7 million in gold bullion (1867)

Today's Birthdays

• Pierre Trudeau (1919-2000): former Canadian PM
• Lee Harvey Oswald (1939-1963): accused assassin of JFK
• Mike Ditka (70): football legend; Wimbledon champ Martina Navratilova (53) shares this birth date
• Terry McMillan (58): author of Waiting to Exhale; plus, writer Ntozake Shange (61)
• Ne-Yo (30): R&B singer/songwriter; also, musicians Chuck Berry (83) and Wynton Marsalis(48)
• Zac Efron (22): teenybopper hero of High School Musical; also, actors Melina Mercouri (1920?-1994), George C. Scott(1927-1999), Pam Dawber (58), Erin Moran and Jean-Claude Van Damme (both 49), Vincent Spano (47) and Joy Lauren(20)