Sunday, March 14, 2010

fulminate \FUL-muh-nayt\, intransitive verb:

1. To issue or utter verbal attacks or censures authoritatively or menacingly.
2. To explode; to detonate.

transitive verb:

1. To utter or send out with denunciations or censures.
2. To cause to explode.

Fulminate comes from Latin fulminare, "to strike with lightning," from fulmen, fulmin-, "a thunderbolt."
Pi Time

• The time of the day where a digital clock reads 3:14.

Dude, what time is? Dude, it's pi time.
Trivia
When it comes to measuring acidity and alkalinity, what do the letters pH represent?

• Power (or Potential) of Hydrogen.

History

• The Cradle of Liberty: Boston's Faneuil Hall hosted its first town meeting; the building hosted speeches byRevolutionary War figures who urged independence from Great Britain (1748)
• cotton gin: machine designed to extract seeds from cotton was patented byEli Whitney, contributing greatly to the economic development of the South (1794)
• Birmingham Six: Irishmen convicted in Birmingham pub bombings were freed after years in jail for pub bombings; the appeals court said police had fabricated evidence (1991)

Berfdays

• Albert Einstein (1879-1955): world's most famous scientist, came up with the theory of relativity; scientists Giovanni Schiaparelli (1835-1910) and Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) shared this birth date
• Diane Arbus (1923-1971): avant-garde photographer
• Frank Borman (82): commander of Apollo 8
• Quincy Jones (77): Grammy-winning musician, composer and producer; other musicians born on this date include Georg Telemann (1681-1767), Johann Strauss the Elder (1804-1849) and Taylor Hanson (27)
• Billy Crystal (62): actor, writer, comedian; also, actors Michael Caine (77), Steve Kanaly (64), Tamara Tunie (51), Penny Johnson Jerald (49) and Jamie Bell (24)
• Prince Albert of Monaco (52): ruler of Monaco; united Italy's first king Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878) was also born on this date