Friday, April 8, 2011

futz \FUHTS\, verb:

• To pass time in idleness (usually followed by around).

noun:

• A fool; a simpleton.

Futz is an Americanism of unknown origin, though it may be derived from Yiddish slang.

Friday

• The day after Thursday and before Saturday, according to Rebecca Black. Also the most annoying day of the week now.

It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday

Trivia

From whom did the New Orleans Mardi Gras borrow its official colors—purple, green, and gold?

• From Russia’s royal house of Romanov. The colors were officially adopted after New Orleans organized its first Mardi Gras in 1872 to honor the visiting grand duke Alexis Romanov.

History

• Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.: the US Supreme Court ruled that the income tax in effect at the time was unconstitutional (1895)
• Times Square: Manhattan area was renamed in honor of then-tenant The New York Times (1904)
• WPA: Congress approved FDR's program to alleviate joblessness during the Great Depression (1935)
• League of Nations: assembled for the last time (1946)
• Hank Aaron: hit his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth's record (1974)
• Clint Eastwood: movie star was elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea (1986)

Birthdays

• Harvey Cushing (1869-1939): Pulitzer Prize-winning neurosurgeon who created techniques that made certain brain surgeries possible
• Sonja Henie (1912-1969): figure-skating champion
• Betty Ford (93): former FLOTUS and founder of the Betty Ford Center
• Kofi Annan (73): former UN secretary-general
• John Havlicek (71): NBA All Star; other ball players born today include: Catfish Hunter (1946-1999) and Gary Carter (57)
• Steve Howe (64): guitar virtuoso, YES, Asia, GTR
• Barbara Kingsolver (56): author of The Bean Trees and The Poisonwood Bible
• Patricia Arquette (43): Emmy-winning actor, Medium; also, actors Mary Pickford (1893?-1979), John Schneider (51), Robin Wright Penn (45), Emma Caulfield (38), Katee Sackhoff (31), Taylor Kitsch (30), and Taran Noah Smith and Kirsten Storms (both 26)