Tuesday, December 1, 2009

intrepid \in-TREP-id\, adjective:

• Fearless; bold; brave; undaunted; courageous; as, an intrepid soldier; intrepid spirit.

Intrepid comes from Latin intrepidus, "calm," from in-, "not" + trepidus, "anxious, disturbed."
airplane mode

• When someone cuts themselves off from the world by not logging on to Facebook or checking their cell phones. Usually occurs after a breakup or a rough work week.Derived from the cell phone setting of the same name in which incoming messages or phone calls cannot be received.

"Dan won't answer your calls. He's in airplane mode."
"Sarah went into airplane mode for three days after Charlie dumped her."
Trivia

What is the preferred alcoholic beverage of the Oompa Loompas, the little people in the children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

• Butterscotch and soda is their favorite tipple, but they also like butter gin and tonic, according to the book by Roald Dahl.

Today in History

• Sherlock Holmes: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective appeared for the first time, in A Study in Scarlet (1887)
• Nancy Astor: American-born society hostess became the first female member of the UK Parliament(1919)
• Rosa Parks: was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking the Montgomery bus boycott (1955)
• Antarctic Treaty: was opened for signature; it said Antarctica "shall continue forever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes" (1959)
• Chunnel: workers digging from both ends — Folkstone, England, and Calais, France — met 132 feet/40 meters beneath the English Channel (1990)

Today's Birthdays

• Martin Klaproth (1743-1817): chemist who discovered uranium
• Marie Tussaud (1761-1850): proprietor of Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum
• Woody Allen (74): writer/director/actor whose latest movie is Whatever Works; plus, author ofNero Wolfe mysteries Rex Stout (1886-1975)
• Lee Trevino (70): pro golfer
• Sarah Silverman (39): stand-up comic, actor; also, actors Mary Martin (1913-1990), Paul Picerni (87), Richard Pryor (1940-2005), Bette Midler (63), Treat Williams (58), Carol Alt (49), Jeremy Northam (48) and Nestor Carbonell (42)
• Brad Delson (32): rocker, Linkin Park; also, musicians Dianne Lennon (70), John Densmore (65) and Gilbert O'Sullivan (63)