Sunday, April 08, 2012

Sunday, April 8, 2012

apotropaic \ap-uh-truh-PEY-ik\, adjective:
  • Intended to ward off evil.
Apotropaic came into common usage in the 1880s. It comes from the Greek word apotrópai meaning "averting evil."
Does a Catholic Priest make a good babysitter?
  • A slightly rude way of saying "no".
Friend 1: You and Jen have been broken up for 6 months now... would it be cool if I asked her out?
Friend 2: Does a Catholic Priest make a good babysitter? Asshole.
Trivia
By what name do we know the South Pacific island that’s called Rapa Nui by its Polynesian inhabitants?
  • Easter Island, which is what Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen named it when he came upon it on Easter Sunday in 1722.
Holiday
  • Easter
History
  • Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co.: the US Supreme Court ruled that the income tax in effect at the time was unconstitutional (1895)
  • Times Square: Manhattan area was renamed in honor of then-tenant The New York Times (1904)
  • WPA: Congress approved FDR's program to alleviate joblessness during the Great Depression (1935)
  • League of Nations: assembled for the last time (1946)
  • Hank Aaron: hit his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth's record (1974)
  • Clint Eastwood: movie star was elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea (1986)
Birthdays
  • Guatama Buddha 563 BC - 'The Enlightened One' in the Buddhist faith
  • Philip IV (Spain and Portugal) 1605
  • Ray (O. Raymond) Knight 1872 - 'Father of Canadian Rodeo'
  • Mary Pickford 1893 - Actress ("Coquette", "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm")
  • Sonja Henie 1910 - Ice skater
  • Elizabeth "Betty" Ford (Bloomer) 1918 - Wife of 38th U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, founder of the Betty Ford Clinic
  • Carmen McRae 1922 - Jazz singer
  • Franco Corelli 1923 - Tenor
  • Edward Mulhare 1923 - Actor ("Megaforce", "Knight Rider")
  • Ruth Gaines 1872 - Playwright
  • Shecky Greene (Sheldon Greenfield) 1926 - Comedian, actor ("Laverne and Shirley", "Northern Exposure")
  • Charlie (Charles Richard) ‘Smokey’ Maxwell 1927 - Baseball player
  • John Gavin (Anthony Golenour) 1928 - Actor ("Psycho")
  • Monty Sunshine 1928 - Jazz musician
  • Jacques Brel 1929 - Singer, songwriter
  • Dorothy Tutin 1930 - Actress
  • Fred Ebb 1936 - Lyricist
  • Klaus Löwitsch 1936 - Actor
  • Symore Hersh 1937 - Investigative reporter
  • Kofi Annan 1938 - United Nations secretary-general
  • John Havlicek 1940 - Basketball player
  • J.J. Jackson 1941 - Singer
  • Peggy Lennon 1941 - Singer (Lennon Sisters)
  • Darlene Gillespie 1941 - TV personality ("The Mickey Mouse Club")
  • John (Frederick) Hiller 1943 - Baseball player
  • Roger Chapman 1944 - Singer
  • Hywel Bennett 1944 - Actor
  • Stuart Pankin 1946 - Actor ("Irreconcilable Differences", "Arachnophobia")
  • Jim (James Augustus) "Catfish" Hunter 1946 - Baseball player
  • Peter Case 1947 - Musician (Yes)
  • Steve Howe 1947 - Musician (Yes, Asia)
  • Mel Schacher 1951 - Musician (Grand Funk Railroad)
  • Chris Frantz 1951 - Musician (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club)
  • John Schneider 1954 - Singer, actor ("Dukes of Hazzard", "Smallville")
  • Gary Carter 1954 - Baseball player
  • Barbara Kingsolver 1955 - Writer
  • Donita Sparks 1961 - Musician (L7)
  • Izzy Stradlin 1962 - Musician (Gun's 'N Roses)
  • Julian Lennon 1963 - Musician, son of John Lennon (Beatles), Today in Beatles History
  • Dave Rountree 1963 - Musician (Blur)
  • Donita Sparks 1963 - Musican (L7)
  • Biz Markie 1964 - Rapper
  • Robin Wright Penn 1966 - Actress
  • Patricia Arquette 1968 - Actress ("True Romance", "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors"), sister of Roseanna Arquette
  • Craig Honeycutt 1970 - Singer (Everything)
  • Darren Jessee 1971 - Musician (Ben Fold Five)
  • Emma Caulfield 1973 - Actress ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Beverly Hills 90210")
  • Taylor Kitsch 1981 - Actor ("John Carter")
  • Taran Noah Smith 1984 - Actor ("Home Improvement")
  • Kirsten Storms 1984 - Actress ("Days of Our Lives")

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