Wednesday, February 27, 2013

quittance \KWIT-ns\, noun:

1. recompense or requital.
2. discharge from a debt or obligation.
3. a document certifying discharge from debt or obligation, as a receipt.

Quittance is derived from the Old French quit meaning "free, clear." The root did not take on its negative connotation, "to give up," until the 1600s.

Eyeolating

• When you're checking out a girl (or guy) so vigorously that you violate them.

Friend: Could anyone notice me checking out that dime that walked by?

Me: Dude, you could go to jail, that's how hard you were eyeolating her.

Trivia
What was the top handicap attained by England’s Prince Charles on the polo field, where the highest rating is a 10-goal handicap?

• A respectable four goals. Beginning players start with a handicap of –2.

History

• Dominican Republic: became independent of Haiti (1844); then got its first elected president after 38 years of dictatorship (1963)
• Leaning Tower of Pisa: the Italian government requested aid in preventing the tower from toppling; however, it was considered important to retain the tilt (1964)
• carbon-14: radioactive isotope that is the basis of radiocarbon dating was discovered at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (1940)
• Kuwait: oil-rich Arabian Peninsula country was liberated from Iraqi occupation during the Gulf War (1991)

Birthdays

• Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 - Poet
• Enrico Caruso 1873 - Opera singer
• Hugo (Layfayette) Black - U.S. Supreme Court Justice
• Marian Anderson 1897 - Opera singer
• John Steinbeck 1902 - Writer ("The Grapes of Wrath")
• Gene Sarazen 1902 - Golfer
• James T. Farrell 1904 - Author
• Franchot Tone 1905 - Actor ("Mutiny on the Bounty")
• Joan Bennett 1910 - Actress ("Little Women [1933]", "House of Dark Shadows")
• Ted Horn 1910 - Auto racer
• Irwin Shaw (Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff) 1913 - Novelist ("The Young Lions")
• John Connally 1917 - Governor of Texas, was shot during the JFK assassination.
• Guy Mitchell (Al Cernick) 1927 - Singer
• James Herlihy 1927 - Actor ("Four Friends"), writer ("Midnight Cowboy")
• Joanne Woodward 1930 - Actress ("The Three Faces of Eve")
• Elizabeth Taylor 1932 - Actress ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?")
• Ray Berry 1933 - Football player, coach
• Ralph Nader 1934 - Consumer advocate
• Chuck Glaser 1936 - Singer (Glaser Brothers), songwriter
• Jay Silvester 1937 - Discus athlete, first to throw over 60m
• Barbara Babcock 1939 - Actress
• Peter Revson 1939 - Auto racer
• Howard Hesseman 1940 - Actor ("WKRP in Cincinnati")
• Mary Frann (Mary Frances Luecke) 1943 - Actress ("Newhart")
• Wil (Wilbur) Jones 1947 - Basketball player, coach
• Eddie Gray 1948 - Musician (Tommy James & The Shondells)
• Debra Monk 1949 - Actress
• Steve Harley (Nice) 1951 - Musician (Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel)
• Dwight Jones 1952 - Basketball player
• Neal Schon 1954 - Musician (Journey)
• Reinhard Fendrich 1955
• Garry Christian 1955 - Musician (The Christians)
• Johnny Van Zant 1957 - Country singer
• Adrian Smith 1957 - Musician (Iron Maiden)
• Paul Humphreys 1960 - Musician (OMD)
• Grant Show 1962 - Actor ("Melrose Place", "Beverly Hills 90210")
• Adam Baldwin 1962 - Actor ("Wyatt Earp", "Ordinary People")
• Mike Cross 1965 - Musician (Sponge)
• Chili 1971 - Singer (TLC)
• Roderic Clark 1973
• Tony Gonzalez 1976 - Football player
• Chelsea Clinton 1980 - Daughter of U.S. President Clinton
• Bobby Wilson 1981 - Musician (Mista)
• Josh Groban 1981 - Singer
• Liz Chavez 1985