Monday, August 30, 2010

shenanigan \shuh-NAN-i-guhn\, noun:

1. Mischief; prankishness.

2. Remarks intended to deceive; deceit. Often used in the plural.

Shenanigan's origin is a mystery. The first recorded usage was in California. Possible sources for the term include Spanish, German and Iroquois.

nomonym

• When you eat something and it tastes like something else. Things often taste like chicken but chicken rarely tastes like other things.

"This tuna tastes just like your mom."

"Dude, that's a nomonym!"

Trivia

On the politically incorrect TV cartoon series South Park, what was the name of the hybrid car purchased by Kyle’s father, Gerald?

• Pious—a takeoff on the Toyota hydrid, the Prius. In the South Park episode, the Pious spewed a toxic gas called “smug.”

History

• Melbourne: Australian city named for British prime minister Lord Melbourne was founded (1835)
• Second Battle of Bull Run: in the US Civil War, the Confederates achieved a victory over Union forces (1862)
• hotline: a direct link between the Kremlin and the White House went into operation to reduce the chances of an accidental war (1963)
• Thurgood Marshall: was confirmed as the first black US Supreme Court justice (1967)
• The Late Show with David Letterman: late-night talk show premiered on CBS (1993)

Birthdays

• Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851): author of Frankenstein
• Jacobus Hoff (1852-1911): first winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry; other Nobel Prize winners born on this date include Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), E. M. Purcell (1912-1997) and Sir Richard Stone (1913-1991)
• Warren Buffett (80): businessman and billionaire
• Cameron Diaz (38): actress, the voice of Princess Fiona in Shrek; also, actors Shirley Booth (1898-1992), Fred MacMurray (1908-1991), Bill Daily (83), Elizabeth Ashley (71), Peggy Lipton (64), Lewis Black (62), Timothy Bottoms (59), David Paymer (56), Michael Chiklis (47) and Michael Michele (44)
• Lisa Ling (37): TV personality and journalist, The View, CNN News
• Andy Roddick (28): tennis pro; other sportsmen born on this date include Ted Williams (1918-2002), Jean-Claude Killy (67), Tug McGraw (66), Robert Parish (57) and Shaun Alexander (33)