Sunday, August 28, 2011

homologate \huh-MOL-uh-geyt\, verb:

1. To approve; confirm or ratify.

2. To register (a specific make of automobile in general production) so as to make it eligible for international racing competition.

Homologate is based on the Greek homologos, "of the same word."

Guilt Wave

• The wave given by a driver who just cut in ahead of you in traffic or knowingly did something that is completely wrong on the road.

I was about to make a turn when this dude comes speeding by almost hitting me. He stopped at the last second and gave me a guilt wave.

Trivia

What island is the largest in the Caribbean?

• Cuba, the main island in the Republic of Cuba.

History

• Scientific American: pop-science magazine began publication (1845)
• Peace Palace: the home of the International Court of Justice and other institutions was inaugurated in the Hague (1913)
• filibuster: the longest solo one — 24 hours, 18 minutes — began on this day by Sen. Strom Thurmond in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (1957)
• "Please Mr. Postman": song by the Marvelettes was released; it became the first Motown No. 1 (1961)
• "I have a dream": Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his famous civil rights speech at the Lincoln Memorial (1963)

Birthdays

• Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821): America's first native-born saint
• Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990): developmental psychologist, The Uses of Enchantment
• Roger Tory Peterson (1908-1996): ornithologist
• Lou Piniella (68): Chicago Cubs manager
• Rita Dove (59): first African-American US poet laureate; plus, writers Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) and Robertson Davies (1913-1995)
• Scott Hamilton (53): Olympic gold-medalist in figure skating
• Shania Twain (46): country music singer; plus, singer LeAnn Rimes (29)
• Jack Black (42): actor/musician, School of Rock, Tropic Thunder; also, actors Charles Boyer (1899-1978), Donald O'Connor (1925-2003), Ben Gazzara (81), Ken Jenkins (71), David Soul (68), Debra Mooney and Alice Playten (both 63), Daniel Stern (54), Emma Samms (51), Billy Boyd (43), Jason Priestley (42) and Carly Pope (31)

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