Tuesday, April 3, 2012

zeitgeber \ TSAHYT-gey-ber \ , noun;

• An environmental cue, as the length of daylight, that helps to regulate the cycles of an organism's biological clock.

Origin: Zeitgeber comes directly from the German word which literally means "time-giver." It entered into English in the 1970s.

Turds With Friends

• Playing the popular online game Words With Friends....while going to the bathroom.

Everytime I go to the bathroom, I bring my cell phone so I can catch up on my Turds with Friends games.

Trivia

What was the original use of the term “tabloid”?

• It was the name created and trademarked in 1844 by Burroughs, Wellcome & Company for a small pill containing a concentration of different ingredients. The term was soon being applied to anything in compressed form, and eventually became associated with newspapers with short condensed articles.

History

• Jesse James: outlaw met his end, shot in the back by Robert Ford, a member of his own gang (1882)
• Marshall Plan: President Truman signed over some $13 billion in aid for post-war Europe (1948)
• TV Guide: was published for the first time, with the infant Desi Arnaz, Jr., on the cover (1953)
• Super Outbreak: the largest spate of deadly tornadoes to hit the US began; 148 tornadoes rampaged across 13 states (1974)
• Unabomber: mail-order anti-technology terrorist Theodore Kaczynski was arrested in his cabin outside Lincoln, Montana (1996)
• iPad: Apple's version of a touch-screen tablet PC was first released (2010)

Birthdays

• Washington Irving 1783 - Author ("Rip Van Winkle", "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow")
• Edward Everett Hale 1822
• William M. (Marcy) "Boss" Tweed 1823 - Political boss, known for his Tweed "Ring" that stole millions of dollars from New York City
• John Burroughs 1837 - Author
• Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey 1888
• George Jessel 1898 - Comedian, actor
• Sally Rand 1904
• Herb Caen 1916
• Jan Sterling (Adriance) 1923 - Actress
• Doris Day (Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff) 1924 - Singer, actress
• Marlon Brando 1924 - Actor ("The Godfather", "Apocalypse Now")
• Don Gibson 1928 - Songwriter, singer
• Miyoshi Umeki 1923 - Actress
• Helmut Kohl 1930 - Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1982-1998
• Rod Funseth 1933 - Golfer
• Jane Goodall 1934 - Anthropologist, author
• Jimmy McGriff 1936
• Sandra Spuzich 1937 - Golfer
• Jeff Barry 1938
• Jan Barry 1941 - Songwriter, singer (Jan and Dean)
• Marsha Mason 1942 - Actress
• Wayne Newton 1942 - Singer
• Jonathan Lynn 1943 - Actor, director, writer
• Tony Orlando (Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis) 1944 - Singer
• Barry Pritchard 1944 - Musician (The Fortunes)
• Bernie (Bernard) Parent 1945 - Hockey goalie
• Richard Manuel 1945 - Musician (The Band)
• Dee Murray 1946 - Musician (Elton John's band)
• Donny Anderson 1949 - Football player
• Richard Thompson 1949 - Musician (Fairport Convention)
• Mel Schacher 1951 - Musician (Grand Funk Railroad)
• Mick Mars 1956 - "Musician" (Motley Crue)
• Alec Baldwin (Alexander Rae Baldwin III) 1958 - Actor
• David Hyde Pierce 1959 - Actor ("Frasier")
• Eddie Murphy 1961 - Comedian ("Saturday Night Live"), actor ("48 Hrs.", "Beverly Hills Cop", "Doctor Doolittle")
• Sebastian Bach 1968 - Singer (Skid Row)
• Wes Berggren 1971 - Musician (Tripping Daisy)
• Jennie Garth 1972 - Actress ("Beverly Hills 90210")
• Leona Lewis 1985 - Singer
• Amanda Bynes 1986 - Actress