Wednesday, March 17, 2010

potable \POH-tuh-buhl\, adjective:

• Fit to drink; suitable for drinking; drinkable.

noun:

• A potable liquid; a beverage, especially an alcoholic beverage.

Potable comes from Late Latin potabilis, from Latin potare, "to drink."
singletasker

• Opposite of multitasker, a singletasker is one who only takes upon one task at a time, and follows it through to completion. Often used sardonically when someone is bragging about their supreme multitasking skills.

Bobby: "Today I'm only going to focus on finishing my TPS reports and not to answer the phone, email, text, IM, staple, and make breakfast simultaneously."

Jeffy: "You are such the singletasker!"

Trivia

Which U.S. president was living in a house on San Juan Hill when he received news of his election as commander in chief?

• Herbert Hoover, in 1928. The 57-room house—on San Juan Hill in Palo Alto, California—was the first and only permanent residence Hoover and his wife, Lou, shared. Now a national historic site, it serves as the home of the president of Stanford University.

History

• Tri-State Tornado: the deadliest tornado in US history hit Missouri, Illinois and Indiana; nearly 700 were killed (1925)
• Gideon v. Wainwright: the US Supreme Court ruled that poor defendants in felony cases have the right to a court-appointed lawyer (1963)
• art theft: the largest museum heist in history took place at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, with the thieves dressed as police officers; it remains unsolved and a $5 million reward is still offered (1990)

Birthdays

• Dane Cook (38): actor/comedian; also, actors Peter Graves (1926-2010), Kevin Dobson (67), Brad Dourif (60) and Vanessa Williams (47)
• Grover Cleveland (1837-1908): POTUS No. 22 and 24; other world leaders born on this date include Neville Chamberlain (1869-1940), Chiang Ching-kuo (1910-1988) and F.W. de Klerk (74)
• John Updike (1932-2009): Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Rabbit, Run; plus, writers Friedrich Nicolai (1733-1811), George Plimpton (1927-2003)
• Brian Griese (35): quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; plus, speed skater Bonnie Blair (46)
• Queen Latifah (40): musician/actress who starred in Chicago, Mad Money; Chicago composer John Kander (83) and musicians Charley Pride (72), Wilson Pickett (1941-2006), Bill Frisell (59), Irene Cara (51), Jerry Cantrell (44) and Adam Levine (31) were also born on this date