Thursday, January 21, 2010

bibelot \BEE-buh-loh\, noun:

• A small decorative object without practical utility; a trinket.

Bibelot is from French, from Old French beubelot, beubelet, "a small jewel, a trinket," from a reduplication of bel, "beautiful," from Latin bellus, "pretty, handsome." It is related to bauble.

muffin top

• When a woman wears a pair of tight jeans that makes her flab spill out over the waistband, just like the top of a muffin sits over the edge of the paper case.

Jeez, check out the Muffin Top on that chick! *shudder
Trivia
How did four men named Oatah, Egingwah, Ookeah, and Seegloo make history in 1909?

• They are the Eskimos credited with reaching the North Pole with Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson. The expedition was Peary’s eighth bid to reach the pole.

History

• King Louis XVI: French monarch, husband of the profligate Marie Antoinette, was guillotined during the French Revolution (1793)
• USS Nautilus: first nuclear submarine was launched on theThames River in Connecticut by FLOTUS Mamie Eisenhower (1954)
• Eyak language: southcentral Alaskan language went extinct when its last native speaker died (2008)

Berfdays yo!

• Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863): Confederate general; plus, soldiers/ frontiersmen Ethan Allen (1738-1789) and John Fremont (1813-1890)
• Christian Dior (1905-1957): French fashion designer; also, fashion designer Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972)
• Paul Scofield (1922-2008): actor, A Man For All Seasons; also, actors Telly Savalas (1924-1994), Ann Wedgeworth (75), Jill Eikenberry (63), Geena Davis and Robby Benson (both 54), Marie Trintignant (1962-2003), John Ducey and Karina Lombard (both 41) and Izabella Miko (29)
• Plácido Domingo (69): one of the Three Tenors; singers Richie Havens (69), Mac Davis (68) and Billy Ocean (60) share this birth date
• Hakeem Olajuwon (47): NBA star; also, golfer Jack Nicklaus (70)