Monday, December 5, 2011

frondescence \fron-DES-uhns\, noun:

1. Leafage; foliage.

2. The process or period of putting forth leaves, as a tree, plant, or the like.

Frondescence is from the Latin root frondēre meaning “to have leaves.” It is clearly related to frond meaning “leaves.”

moreplay

• The postcoital acitivities that are performed after sex but resemble foreplay, may lead to more sex.

Who needs foreplay, when you can have moreplay.

Trivia

What was the first war waged by the U.S. outside its national boundaries?

• The First Barbary War (1801–05), which was fought to end piracy against U.S. ships by North Africa’s four Barbary states—Tripoli, Morocco, Algiers, and Tunis.

History

• Phi Beta Kappa: oldest collegiate honors society was founded as a secret club at the College of William and Mary (1776)
• Gold Rush: President James Polk confirmed that gold had been found in California and triggered the mass move West (1848)
• Prohibition: the 21st Amendment was passed, repealing the 18th Amendment and ending the ban on alcoholic beverages in the US (1933)
• Bermuda Triangle: US Navy squadron disappeared in the mysterious area, as did aircraft sent to search for it (1945)
• AFL-CIO: George Meany led the newly formed federation of labor unions (1955)
• "irrational exuberance": former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan warned that the market might be dangerously overvalued (1996)

Birthdays

• Martin Van Buren (1782-1862): 8th POTUS and a founder of the Democratic Party
• George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876): general who lost the battle of Little Bighorn
• Walt Disney (1901-1966): animator, filmmaker and the creator of Disneyland; plus, filmmakers Fritz Lang (1890-1976) and Otto Preminger (1906-1986)
• Little Richard (79): singer/songwriter; also, musicians Chad Mitchell (76), J.J. Cale (73), Jim Messina (64), John Rzeznik (46) and Gary Allen (44)
• Joan Didion (77): novelist and essayist, The Year of Magical Thinking; writers Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) and Calvin Trillin (76) share this birth date
• Frankie Muniz (26): actor, Malcolm in the Middle; also, actors Jeroen Krabbe (67), Morgan Brittany (60), Brian Backer (55), Alex Kapp Horner (42), Margaret Cho (43), Paula Patton (36), Nick Stahl (32) and Amy Acker (35)