Wednesday, June 27, 2012

chockablock \CHOK-uh-BLOK\, adjective:

1. Extremely full; crowded; jammed.
2. Nautical. Having the blocks drawn close together, as when the tackle is hauled to the utmost.

adverb:

1. In a crowded manner: books piled chockablock on the narrow shelf.

Chockablock is of uncertain origin. It is likely related to the word chock-full which means "crammed". The word chock refers to a wooden block that holds something in place.

Gherkinson's Disease

• The condition which compels men to overcompensate their lack of manhood by overachieving in other areas, bodybuilding, for example,

Gherkinson's Disease, I'm 6 foot 5 and washboard abs. Black belt in karate and drive a Maserati and my name is Marty Green.

Trivia

Who introduced the first oranges and lemons to Florida?

• Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, in 1513. They were planted in St. Augustine.

History

• Joseph Smith: the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was killed by an anti-Mormon mob in Illinois (1844)
• Joshua Slocum: Canadian adventurer landed at Newport, Rhode Island, becoming the first to circumnavigate the world on his own (1898)
• Newbery Medal: was first awarded, to Hendrik Willem van Loon for The Story of Mankind (1922)
• paintball: the first game was played, in New Hampshire (1981)
• US National Do Not Call Registry: opened for business; almost ¾ of a million phone numbers were signed up on its first day in a stand against unwanted telemarketing (2003)

Birthdays

• Louis XII (France) 1462
• Charles XII (Sweden) 1682
• Charles Stewart Parnell 1846
• Mildred J. Hill 1859
• Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872
• Helen Keller 1880
• John McIntire (actor) 1907
• Audrey Christie 1911
• Willie Mosconi 1913
• Ben Homer 1917
• I.A.L. Diamond 1920
• Elmo Hope 1923
• Rosalie Allen 1924
• Jerome ‘Doc’ Pomus 1925
• Bob "Captain Kangaroo" Keeshan 1927
• H. Ross Perot 1930
• Charles Bronfman 1931
• Anna Moffo 1934
• Shirley Anne Field 1938
• Sandra Smith 1940
• Frank Mills 1942
• Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys) 1944
• Norma Kamili 1945
• Julia Duffy 1951
• Isabelle Adjani 1955
• Lorrie Morgan 1959
• Brian Dillinger 1960
• Tobey Maguire 1975
• Leigh Nash (Sixpence None the Richer) 1976
• Madylin Sweeten 1991