Tuesday, December 7, 2010

estivate \ES-tuh-veyt\, verb:

1. To spend the summer, as at a specific place or in a certain activity.

2. In zoology, to spend a hot, dry season in an inactive, dormant state, as certain reptiles, snails, insects, and small mammals.

Estivate derives from the Latin aestivare, with aestivus meaning "relating to the summer."

cool story bro

• A phrase sarcastically used to indicate one's disgust or indifference towards a tl;dr story.

Person A: (lengthy tale about how Person A tragically broke up with his/her mate the other day)

Person B: cool story bro

Trivia

What was 17th-century English scientist Robert Hooke looking at through the newly invented microscope when he discovered—and coined the word—cells?

• A thin slice of cork. He came up with the word cells because the tiny boxlike shapes he saw reminded him of the tiny chambers—known as cells—in a monastery.

Holiday

• Pearl Harbor Day: a day to commemorate when Japan launched an unprovoked cowardly sneak-attack on a sleeping naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, drawing the US into WWII (1941)History

• Delaware: the First State ratified the US Constitution and was admitted to the Union (1787)
• New York Philharmonic: America's oldest symphony orchestra debuted; they played Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (1842)
• "The Blue Marble": famous photograph was taken by the crew of the Apollo 17 as NASA's last moon mission flew away from Cape Canaveral (1972)

Birthdays

• Gian Bernini (1598-1680): sculptor
• Joseph Cook (1860-1947): Australian prime minister
• Willa Cather (1873-1947): novelist who wrote stories of prairie life, O Pioneers!; other writers born today include Allan Cunningham (1784-1842), Joyce Cary (1888-1957) and Heywood Broun (1888-1939)
• Noam Chomsky (82): linguist
• Tom Waits (61): Grammy-winning singer/ songwriter/ actor, Mule Variations; musicians Bobby Osborne (79), Harry Chapin (1942-1981) and Aaron Carter (23) were also born on this date
• Larry Bird (54): MVP basketball player and coach; hall-of-famers Gerry Cheevers (70) and Johnny Bench (63) also celebrate birthdays today
• Jeffrey Wright (45): stage and screen actor, Angels in America; actors Eli Wallach (95) and Ellen Burstyn (78) share this birth date