Friday, September 10, 2010

soupcon \soop-SAWN\, noun:

• A slight trace, as of a particular taste or flavor.

The ancestor of soupcon is also the Latin root for the English suspicion.

Vatican Roulette

• Another name for the rhythm method of birth control. Called so because it is the only form of contraception endorsed by the Catholic Church.

Well, the Pope says condoms are out, and the pill is born of the fires of Hell. So get out the calendar, baby, it's time for Vatican roulette.

Trivia

What one-time tennis champion invented the steel racquet—marking the beginning of the end of the wooden racquet?

• Frenchman René “Le Crocodile” Lacoste, in 1963.

History

• "We have met the enemy, and they are ours": message sent by Oliver Hazard Perry during the War of 1812 announcing US victory in the Battle of Lake Erie (1813)
• Elias Howe: American inventor received a patent for the sewing machine (1846)
• Gunsmoke: debuted; Law and Order recently tied it as TV's longest-running prime-time drama series (1955)
• guillotine: was used for the last time as a tool of execution in France on Hamida Djandoubi, convicted of torturing and murdering his ex-girlfriend (1977)
• Switzerland: the famously neutral country joined the UN, becoming its 190th member (2002)

Birthdays

• Charles Kuralt (1934-1997): journalist who took his report On the Road
• Roger Maris (1934-1985): baseball great who broke Babe Ruth's single-season home run record; other athletes born today include Arnold Palmer (81), Bob Lanier (62), Randy Johnson (47) and Gustavo Kuerten (34)
• Roy Ayers (70): jazz vibraphonist; some other musicians with this birth date include Danny Hutton (68), José Feliciano (65), Joe Perry and Rosie Flores (both 60), David Lowery (50) and Big Daddy Kane (42)
• Chris Columbus (52): filmmaker, Home Alone and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; director Guy Ritchie (42) was also born on this date
• Colin Firth (50): Mr. Darcy in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, George Falconer in A Single Man; also, actors Philip Baker Hall (79), Greg Mullavey (71), Judy Geeson (62), Amy Irving (57), Kate Burton (53) and Ryan Phillippe (36)