Thursday, May 27, 2010

waxing \WAK-sing\, verb:

1. To increase in extent, quantity, intensity or power.

2. (Of the moon) to increase in the extent of its illuminated portion before the full moon.

3. To grow or become.

Waxing often refers specifically to the moon (the increase in the size of its illuminated portion prior to the full moon), but is often put to general use. Often paired with wane, "to decrease in intensity."

junk shot

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  An attempt to stop a hole or leak by filling it with trash.

The BP oil engineers are trying to stop the oil leak by doing a junk shot and filling the blow-out preventer with golf balls and shredded tires.

Trivia

Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was nicknamed The Iron Lady. What 20th-century female political figure was known as The Steel Butterfly?

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  Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos.

History

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  St. Petersburg: city was founded by Peter the Great as his "window on Europe" (1703 N/S)
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  Survivor: won the first running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico (1873)
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  Golden Gate Bridge: opened to pedestrians; bicycles and wheelchairs are also allowed on the bridge's sidewalks (1937)
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  Bismarck: German warship was attacked and sank; nearly 2,000 crew members died (1941)
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  Alexander Solzhenitsyn: Soviet dissident novelist returned to Russia after 20 years in exile (1994)

Birthdays

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  Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910): abolitionist, writer of "Battle Hymn of the Republic"; women's rights activist Amelia Bloomer (1818-1894) shared this birth date
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  Herman Wouk (95): Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Caine Mutiny and The Winds of War; writers Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961), Rachel Carson (1907-1964) and John Cheever (1912-1982) were also born on this date
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  Henry Kissinger (87): US diplomat and Nobel laureate; US vice-president Hubert Humphrey (1911-1978) shared this birth date
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  Joseph Fiennes (40): Mark Benford in FlashForward; also, actors Christopher Lee (88), Lee Meriwether (75), Lou Gossett Jr. (74), Bruce Weitz (67), Richard Schiff (55), Peri Gilpin (49), Paul Bettany (39) and Jack McBrayer (37)
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  Jamie Oliver (35): celebrity chef