Sunday, December 5, 2010

hyaline \HAHY-uh-lahyn\, adjective:

1. Glassy or transparent.

noun:

1. In biochemistry, a horny substance found in hydatid cysts, closely resembling chitin.

adjective:

1. Of or pertaining to hyaline.

noun:

1. In biochemistry, a transparent substance found in cartilage, the eye, etc., resulting from the pathological degeneration of tissue.

Hyaline stems from the Greek hyalinos, "of glass."

Dungeon Tan

• the pale skin of a person who plays to much Xbox and doesn't get any sunlight.

yo tim hasn't come out in days.

yer he's playing Xbox working on his Dungeon Tan.

Trivia

What does a yellow rear bumper indicate in a NASCAR race?

• That the driver is in his or her first year of NASCAR competition. “Yellow bumper” or “yellow tail” is also auto racing slang for a rookie driver. (NASCAR stands for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing.)

History

• Phi Beta Kappa: oldest collegiate honors society was founded as a secret club at the College of William and Mary (1776)
• Gold Rush: President James Polk confirmed that gold had been found in California and triggered the mass move West (1848)
• Prohibition: the 21st Amendment was passed, repealing the 18th Amendment and ending the ban on alcoholic beverages in the US (1933)
• Bermuda Triangle: US Navy squadron disappeared in the mysterious area, as did aircraft sent to search for it (1945)
• AFL-CIO: George Meany led the newly formed federation of labor unions (1955)
• "irrational exuberance": former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned that the market might be dangerously overvalued (1996)

Birthdays

• Martin Van Buren (1782-1862): 8th POTUS and a founder of the Democratic Party
• George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876): general who lost the battle of Little Bighorn
• Walt Disney (1901-1966): animator, filmmaker and the creator of Disneyland; plus, filmmakers Fritz Lang (1890-1976) and Otto Preminger (1906-1986)
• Little Richard (78): singer/songwriter; also, musicians Chad Mitchell (75), J.J. Cale (72), Jim Messina (63), John Rzeznik (45) and Gary Allen (43)
• Joan Didion (76): novelist and essayist, The Year of Magical Thinking; writers Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) and Calvin Trillin (75) share this birth date
• Frankie Muniz (25): actor, Malcolm in the Middle; also, actors Jeroen Krabbe (66), Morgan Brittany (59), Brian Backer (54), Alex Kapp Horner (41), Margaret Cho (42), Paula Patton (35), Nick Stahl (31), and Amy Acker (34)