Sunday, May 1, 2011

incommodious \in-kuh-MOH-dee-uhs\, adjective:

• Inconvenient, as not affording sufficient space or room; uncomfortable

Incommodious begins in the Latin commodus, "convenient."

parade wave

• A slight hand gesture used to wave for prolonged periods of time (like during a parade)or as a casual non-verbal greeting to friends. With the arm bent at the elbow, the waver turns their wrist back and forth exposing the front and then the back of the hand in a single motion.

I didn't feel like talking so I gave her a quick parade wave as I walked by.

Trivia

How many filaments are there in a three-way bulb?

• Two. In a lamp equipped with a 50-100-150-watt bulb, the 50-watt filament would be used at the first setting; the 100-watt filament at the second setting; and both at the third and brightest setting.

History

• Act of Union: England and Scotland joined to form Great Britain (1707)
• Marriage of Figaro: Mozart's opera premiered in Vienna (1786)
• North Korea: was established with Kim Il Sung as premier; he maintained power for the next 46 years (1948)
• Iraq War: George W. Bush declared the successful end of major combat operations in Iraq (2003)

Birthdays

• Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852): general who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo
• Mary Harris Jones (1830-1930): labor organizer known as "Mother Jones" (she claimed her birth date was May 1)
• Joseph Heller (1923-1999): author, Catch-22; and, writers Joseph Addison (1672-1719) and José de Alencar (1829-1877) and Terry Southern (1924-1995)
• Scott Carpenter (86): one of the original Project Mercury astronauts, he was the second American to orbit Earth
• Tim McGraw (44): country music star, actor; also, musicians Kate Smith (1907?-1986), Judy Collins (72), Rita Coolidge (66), Ray Parker Jr. (57), Wayne Hancock (46) and D'Arcy (43)
• Wes Anderson (42): director and screenwriter, The Royal Tenenbaums; plus, directors John Woo (65) and Douglas Barr (62)
• Julie Benz (39): actor, Dexter; also, actors Stephen Macht (69), Dann Florek (61), Maia Morgenstern (49), Charlie Schlatter (45) and Darius McCrary (35)

Saturday, April 30, 2011

effloresce \EF-luh-res\, verb:

1. To burst into bloom; blossom.

2. In chemistry, to change either throughout or on the surface to a mealy or powdery substance upon exposure to air, as a to change either throughout or on the surface to a mealy or powdery substance upon exposure to air, as a crystalline substance through loss of water of crystallization.

Effloresce combines the Latin roots ex-, "out of", and florescere, "to blossom."

Braggadouche noun.

• A braggart, but one without the credibility to back up his or her claims. A braggadocio. Lame boasting.

Mike thinks he's badass because he took home the ugly chick at the bar. What a braggadouche.

Trivia

How much cashmere fiber—in ounces—does the average Kashmir goat produce annually?

• Only four to six. It takes from 10 to 12 ounces of the goat’s soft fine undercoat to make a woman’s single-ply cashmere sweater.

History

• George Washington: took the oath of office to become the first POTUS (1789)
• Louisiana Purchase: France agreed to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States for $15 million, thereby doubling the size of the US (1803); eight years later on the same date, Louisiana became the 18th state
• A Tale of Two Cities: Charles Dickens' novel was first published as a serial in a literary magazine (1859)
• Vietnam War: officially ended when Saigon (now called Ho Chi Minh City) fell and South Vietnam surrendered (1975)

Birthdays

• Ashley Dupré (26) former high-class hooker who took down the NYS Gov Eliot Spitzer, NY Post Columnist
• Johann Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855): one of world's greatest mathematicians, proved the fundamental theorem of algebra
• Cloris Leachman (85): the actress with the most prime-time Emmy Awards; other actors born today include Jill Clayburgh (1944-2010), Perry King (63), Adrian Pasdar (46), Johnny Galecki (36), Kirsten Dunst (29) and Dianna Agron (25)
• Willie Nelson (78): "outlaw country" singer/songwriter; plus, musicians Franz Lehár (1870-1948), Bobby Vee (68), Merrill Osmond (58), Carolyn Dawn Johnson (40) and Jeff Timmons (38)
• Stephen Harper (52): Canadian prime minister; other world leaders born on this date include Mary II (1662-1694), Juliana of the Netherlands (1909-2004) and Carl XVI Gustav (65)
• Isiah Thomas (50): former Detroit Pistons point guard

cred: Answers.com