Wednesday, June 9, 2010

noctivagant \noc-tiv-A-gant\, adjective:

• Pertaining to going about in the night; night-wandering.

Noctivagant is formed from two Latin roots, noctis, "night", and vagans, "to wander about."

Duckface

• A term used to descibe the face made if you push your lips together in a combination of a pout and a pucker, giving the impression you have larger cheekbones and bigger lips.

"Oh christ, look at that horrific duckface"

"Stop doing that duckface. You look stupid"

Trivia

What famous explorer headed the first organized dig that found fossilized remains of mastodons and woolly mammoths in the United States?

• William Clark, of Lewis and Clark fame. He was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 to organize a paleontological dig in a salt marsh in what is now Big Bone Lick State Park in Kentucky.

History

• President and Fellows of Harvard College: aka, the Harvard Corporation, was established; it is the oldest corporation in the continent of America (1650)
• Hong Kong: was signed over to the British for 99 years (1898)
• Donald Duck: debuted in The Wise Little Hen; for more than 50 years, his voice was provided by Clarence "Ducky" Nash (1934)
• Bhumibol Adulyadej: became king of Thailand; in a largely ceremonial role, he is currently the world's longest-reigning head of state (1946)
• Millennium Bridge: pedestrian suspension bridge over the River Thames opened; found to be wobbly, it closed for repairs almost immediately (2000)

Berfdays

• Peter the Great (1672-1725): Russian czar who developed imperial Russia
• Bertha Suttner (1843-1914): pacifist author and the first woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize
• Les Paul (1915-2009): guitarist and inventor of the solid-body electric guitar; also, musicians Carl Nielsen (1865-1931), Cole Porter (1891-1964) and Wayman Tisdale (1964-2009)
• Aaron Sorkin (49): writer/producer, The West Wing, Charlie Wilson's War; writers S. N. Behrman (1893-1973) and Patricia Cornwell (54) share this birth date
• Johnny Depp (47): Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean; actors Gloria Reuben (46), Michaela Conlin (32) and Natalie Portman (29) were also born on this date