Thursday, July 22, 2010

morganatic\ mawr-guh-NAT-ik \ , adjective;

• Of or pertaining to a form of marriage in which a person of high rank, as a member of the nobility, marries someone of lower station with the stipulation that neither the low-ranking spouse nor their children, if any, will have any claim to the titles or entailed property of the high-ranking partner.

Origin: Morganatic relates to the Latin morganaticam , "a gift given by bride or groom the day after marriage."

TV face

• A condition in which a person's face becomes too relaxed from starting the same thing too long (watching TV). Symptoms are: open mouth, dropped jaw, eyes glazed over and occasional drooling.

I don't think he heard a thing I said. He has total TV face right now.

Trivia

Why are pistachio nuts classified as a dangerous cargo by international maritime officials?

• Pistachios are considered flammable solids because they tend to heat spontaneously when stored in large amounts, and can burst into flames under pressure.

History

• Cleveland: the Forest City was named after Gen. Moses Cleaveland, the superintendent of the group that surveyed the area (1796)
• Wiley Post: American aviator completed the first round-the-world solo flight (1933)
• John Dillinger: bank robber known as Public Enemy No. 1 was killed in a shootout with federal agents after seeing a movie in Chicago (1934)
• King David Hotel: Jerusalem landmark was bombed by the Irgun in an attack on the British (1946)
• Iraq: Saddam's sons Uday and Qusay were killed by US forces in Mosul; POW Pvt. 1st Class Jessica Lynch returned home to West Virginia (2003)

Birthdays

• Gregor Mendel (1822-1884): botanist monk who discovered the basic principles of genetics
• Emma Lazarus (1849-1887): penned "Give me your tired, your poor"; also, writers Oskar Maria Graf (1894-1967), Stephen Vincent Benét (1898-1943) and Paul Schrader (64)
• Alexander Calder (1898-1976): sculptor who specialized in mobiles; plus, artist Edward Hopper (1882-1967)
• Oscar de la Renta (78): fashion designer
• Don Henley (63): composer and co-founder of the Eagles; plus, composer Alan Menken (61)
• David Spade (45): comic actor, Just Shoot Me!, Rules of Engagement; also, actors Orson Bean (82), Louise Fletcher (76), Terence Stamp (71), Albert Brooks (63), Danny Glover (62?), Willem Dafoe (55), Rob Estes (47), John Leguizamo (46), Patrick Labyorteaux (44), Rhys Ifans (42), Franka Potente (36) and Selena Gomez (18)