Friday, November 25, 2011

Friday, November 25, 2011

dipsomania \dip-suh-MEY-nee-uh\, noun:
  • An irresistible, typically periodic craving for alcoholic drink.
Dipsomania literally means crazy thirst from the Greek dips (thirst) and mania (crazy).
Thanksgiving Hangover
  • The result of eating too much on Thanksgiving, and feeling like shit the next morning.
Person 1: I have a major Thanksgiving hangover right now.
Person 2: Yeah, me too, I ate so much yesterday.
Trivia
What term was used for the smiley face emoticon when computer scientist Scott Fahlman introduced it in 1982?
  • Joke marker. Fahlman, who is known as the father of the emoticon, created the :-) symbol so people would know when an e-mail was not intended to be taken seriously.
History
  • Hollywood Ten: screenwriters were blacklisted by producers for being suspected Communists (1947)
  • Iran-contra affair: arms-sales scandal blew open; US National Security Council aide Oliver North was fired for planning to ship arms secretly to Iran (1986)
  • Elián González: 6-year-old Cuban émigré was rescued by fishermen off Florida's coast, sparking a political asylum/child custody battle (1999)
  • Department of Homeland Security: was signed into law by George W. Bush; Tom Ridge was named the first department head (2002)
Birthdays
  • Lope de Vega (1562-1635): prolific dramatist; novelist Ba Jin (1904-2005) and Charlaine Harris (60) share this birth date
  • Pope John XXIII (1881-1963): 261st pontiff; he called the Second Vatican Council
  • Joe Dimaggio (1914-1999): legendary slugger; plus, team players Joe Gibbs (71) and Donovan McNabb (35)
  • imagebam.comJohn F. Kennedy, Jr. (1960-1999): lawyer and publisher, who was killed in the crash of an airplane that he was piloting; presidential daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush (30) were also born on this date
  • Amy Grant (51): country-gospel singer; other musicians born on this date include Virgil Thomson (1896-1989), Paul Desmond (1024-1977), Percy Sledge (71) and Stacy Lattisaw (45)
  • Christina Applegate (40): amnesiac titular star of Samantha Who?; also, actors Ricardo Montalban (1920-2009), Noel Neill (90), Matt Clark (75), Ben Stein (67), John Larroquette and Tracy Walter (both 63), Jill Hennessy (43) and Eddie Steeples (38)
  • Deborah Wells (43) t3h pr0n

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