Tuesday, April 19, 2011

akimbo \uh-KIM-boh\, adjective:

• With hand on hip and elbow bent outward.

Akimbo is the descendent of the Middle English kenebowe, which itself is a modification of the Old Norse i keng boginn, both meaning "bent into a crook."

cleptopenia

• The unconscious theft of Pens. Also known as Cleptopenamania.

The person who steals pens from the grocery store, bank, or post office must have cleptopenia (Klep-toe-pen-ee-uh)

Trivia

In the Old Testament, what is the second half of Moses’ demand that Pharaoh “Let my people go”?

• “That they may serve me in the wilderness” (Exodus 7:16).

History

• "shot heard 'round the world": was fired, starting the American Revolution (1775)
• Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: the Jews began an armed resistance against the Nazis (1943)
• "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away": General Douglas MacArthur bid farewell to Congress (1951)
• The Simpsons: the animated dysfunctional family debuted on The Tracy Ullman Show (1987)
• Oklahoma City Bombing: truck bomb exploded outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, killing 168 (1995)

Birthdays

• José Echegaray y Eizaguirre (1832-1916): Spanish politician, mathematician, economist and dramatist; he shared the 1904 Nobel Prize for Literature with Frédéric Mistral
• Getuúlio Vargas (1882-1954): Brazilian president
• Coco Chanel (1883-1971): influential designer of the little black dress
• Eliot Ness (1903-1957): head of the Untouchables who brought down Al Capone
• Mark "Flo" Volman (64): singer, The Turtles, Flo and Eddie; plus, musicians Alan Price (69), Dar Williams (44), Bekka Bramlett (43), Luis Miguel (41) and Madeleine Peyroux (37)
• James Franco (33): Oscar nominee for 127 Hours, who hosted this year's Academy Awards show; also, actors Hugh O'Brian (86), Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967), Dudley Moore (1935-2002), Elinor Donahue (74), Tim Curry (65), Tony Plana (59), Ashley Judd (43), Kate Hudson (32), and Hayden Christensen and Catalina Sandino Moreno (both 30)
• Maria Sharapova (24): tennis champ and one of the world's highest-paid female athletes; plus, racecar driver Al Unser Jr. (49)