Saturday, August 6, 2011

moxie \MOK-see\, noun:

1. Vigor; verve; pep.

2. Courage and aggressiveness.

3. Skill; know-how.

Moxie enters common speech from the 1908 Moxie, a trademark name registered 1924 for a bitter non-alcoholic beverage; it was used as far back as 1876 as the name of a patent medicine advertised to "build up your nerve," and it is perhaps ultimately from a New England tribal word.

platonic relationship

• When a woman officially declares a man to be in her 'friend zone'.

Man: "I love you"

Woman: "I love you, too"

Man: *leans in for a kiss*

Woman: *magically turns it into a hug* "You're such a great friend."

Man: *is now in a forced platonic relationship*

Trivia

What symbols were combined to create the antiwar peace symbol?

• The naval semaphore signals for “N” and “D”—shorthand for nuclear disarmament.

History

• Holy Roman Empire: came to an end with the abdication of Francis II (1806)
• Bolivia: declared independence from Spain (1825)
• electric chair: was first used as method of execution, on murderer William Kemmler at New York's Auburn Prison (1890)
• Gertrude Ederle: became the first woman to swim the English Channel (1926)
• Enola Gay: US bomber dropped an atomic weapon on Hiroshima, killing over 60,000 instantly; it was the first-ever use of nuclear warfare (1945)
• Voting Rights Act: was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson; it prohibited states from imposing racial discrimination at the polls based on literacy or financial ability (1965)
• Gerry Adams: the Sinn Féin president and British PM Tony Blair meet; it's the first time in 76 years that a British leader met with an IRA ally (1997)

Birthdays

• Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892): Victorian age poet, "The Lady of Shalott"
• Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955): bacteriologist who discovered penicillin
• Richard Hofstadter (1916-1970): Pulitzer Prize-winning historian
• Andy Warhol (1928-1987): pop artist who had his "fifteen minutes of fame"
• Jeremy Ratchford (46): actor, Cold Case; also, actors Lucille Ball (1911-1989), Robert Mitchum (1917-1997), Peter Bonerz (73), Dorian Harewood (61), Catherine Hicks (60), Michelle Yeoh (49), Merrin Dungey (40), David Campbell (38), Vera Farmiga and Ever Carradine (both 37), Soleil Moon Frye (35), and Stepfanie Kramer (54)
• Geri Halliwell (39): the former Ginger Spice; musicians Charlie Haden (74), Pat MacDonald (59) and Patsy and Peggy Lynn (both 46) were also born on this date

Read more: http://www.answers.com/