Monday, May 30, 2011

avoirdupois \av-uhr-duh-POIZ; AV-uhr-duh-poiz\, noun:

1. Avoirdupois weight, a system of weights based on a pound containing 16 ounces or 7,000 grains (453.59 grams).
2. Weight; heaviness; as, a person of much avoirdupois.

Avoirdupois is from Middle English avoir de pois, "goods sold by weight," from Old French aveir de peis, literally "goods of weight," from aveir, "property, goods" (from aveir, "to have," from Latin habere, "to have, to hold, to possess property") + de, "from" (from the Latin) + peis, "weight," from Latin pensum, "weight."

meatox

• the act of abstaining from eating meat for a period of time, usually after heavily indulging.

dude, after that day we went to korean BBQ, AND to the hotdog stand, i'm gonna have to meatox.

Trivia

What now standard piece of automobile equipment was introduced 100 years ago today at the very first Indianapolis 500 race?

• The rearview mirror. It was on the winning car, a single-seat Marmon Wasp driven by Ray Harroun. All other cars in the race had a mechanic in the passenger seat serving as the rearview mirror.

Today in History:

• Joan of Arc: French heroine was burned at the stake for heresy (1431)
• Indy 500: the first was held; it was won by Ray Harroun driving a car fitted with a revolutionary rear-view mirror (1911)
• Lincoln Memorial: US presidential memorial, styled after a Greek temple, was established to honor Abraham Lincoln (1922)
• Goddess of Democracy: 30-ft. statue was erected by demonstrators at Tiananmen Square, Beijing (1989)
• Ground Zero: recovery effort officially ended with the removal of the last remaining piece of structural steel (2002)

Today's Birthdays:

• Alexander Archipenko (1887-1964): cubist sculptor
• Howard Hawks (1896-1977): classic filmmaker, Bringing up Baby; and, movie executive Irving Thalberg (1899-1936)
• Mel Blanc (1908-1989): voice of Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig and dozens of other cartoon characters
• Alexey A. Leonov (77): cosmonaut who became the first person to walk in space
• Gale Sayers (68): youngest NFL hall-of-famer; also, team player Manny Ramirez (39)
• Wynonna Judd (47): country singer; plus, musicians Benny Goodman (1909-1986), Lenny Davidson (67) and Cee-Lo (37)
• Idina Menzel (40): actor, Wicked, Enchanted; other actors born on this date include Clint Walker (84), Keir Dullea and Ruta Lee (both 74), Michael J. Pollard (72), Stephen Tobolowsky (60), Colm Meaney (58) and Tonya Pinkins (49)