Tuesday, June 22, 2010

proliferate \pruh-LIF-uh-reyt\, verb:

1. To increase or spread at a rapid rate.

2. Biology. To grow or produce by multiplication of parts, as in budding or cell division, or by procreation.

Proliferate is a back-formation from the biology term proliferation, circa 1873.

Aluminum Digger

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  A younger version of a gold digger.

That girl is fifteen and after that boy's lunch money. What an aluminum digger.

Trivia

For what trade did Revolutionary War hero Thomas Paine serve a six-year apprenticeship as a teenager in England?

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  Corset making, which was his father’s trade.

History

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  Henry Hudson: English explorer was set adrift with his son and several others by the mutinous crew of his ship; the castaways perished (1611)
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  Galileo Galilei: was compelled by the Church to recant his heliocentric view of the universe (1633)
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  G.I. Bill of Rights: law that helped veterans go to college was signed by FDR (1944)
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  Okinawa: the WWII campaign for the island ended; over 12,000 Americans and 110,000 Japanese lost their lives during the 83-day battle (1945)
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  voting age: President Richard Nixon signed a measure allowing 18-year-olds to vote (1970)
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  Charon: largest moon of Pluto was discovered (1978)

Berfdays, yo!

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  Gower Champion (1921-1980): choreographer and director; choreographer Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) and theatrical producer/director Joseph Papp (1921-1991) shared this birth date
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  Bill Blass (1922-2002): fashion designer
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  Brit Hume (67): broadcast journalist
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  Cyndi Lauper (57): singer, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun"; also, musicians Howard Kaylan (63), Todd Rundgren (62), Alan Osmond (61), Jimmy Somerville (49) and Steven Page (40)
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  Dan Brown (46): author of Angels and Demons; writers Julian Huxley (1887-1975), Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970), Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001) and Octavia Butler (1947-2006) were all born on this date
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  Meryl Streep (61): actor who garnered her 16th Oscar nod for Julie and Julia; also, actors Ralph Waite (82), Kris Kristofferson (74), Lindsay Wagner (61), Graham Greene (58), Bruce Campbell (52), Tracy Pollan (50), Amy Brenneman (46), Mary Lynn Rajskub (39), Donald Faison (36) and Jai Rodriguez (31)