Wednesday, February 24, 2010

arcanum \ar-KAY-nuhm\, noun;
plural arcana \-nuh\:

1. A secret; a mystery.
2. Specialized or mysterious knowledge, language, or information that is not accessible to the average person (generally used in the plural).

Arcanum is from the Latin, from arcanus "closed, secret," from arca, "chest, box," from arcere, "to shut in."

Mutually Assured Distraction

• The practice of distracting others in a manner assuring that neither party gets any work done.

We were both working on our papers but then she started chatting with me on Facebook and it was mutually assured distraction after that.

Trivia

What did fictional detective Travis McGee christen the 52-foot houseboat he kept docked at the Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida?

• The Busted Flush. McGee, the creation of writer John D. MacDonald, won the boat in a poker game.

History

• Gregorian calendar: solar calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in a papal bull known as Inter gravissimas, to correct the Julian calendar (1582)
• Marbury v. Madison: established judicial review, giving the Supreme Court power to overturn acts of Congress it deems unconstitutional(1803)
• Andrew Johnson: became the first US president to be impeached, for defying the Tenure of Office Act (1868)
• National Public Radio: the home of All Things Considered and Car Talk was created (1970)

Berfdays

• Ibn Batuta (1304-1377?): Medieval Muslim explorer who traveled some 75,000 mi (120,675 km) over 30 years and wrote about the Muslim world of the 14th century
• Abe Vigoda (89): actor, Fish in Barney Miller, Tessio in The Godfather; also born today are actors Steven Hill (88), Dominic Chianese (79), James Farentino(72), Barry Bostwick (65), Edward James Olmos (63), Debra Jo Rupp and Helen Shaver (both 58), Kristin Davis (45) and Billy Zane (44)
• Mike Lowell (36): World Series MVP; other athletes born today include Honus Wagner (1874-1955), Fred Dean (58), Alain Prost (55), Eddie Murray (54), Jeff Garcia (40), Manon Rheaume (38), Simeon Rice (36) and Lleyton Hewitt (29)