TGIF! Friday, May 6, 2016

perpend \per-PEND\, verb:

1. To ponder; deliberate.
2. To be attentive; reflect.

noun:

1. A large stone passing through the entire thickness of a wall.

While perpend as a noun means "a large stone passing through the entire thickness of a wall" (related to perpendicular), the verb form not only possesses a different pronunciation but also emerges independently from the Latin root perpendere, "to weigh carefully."

 

amirite

• Am I right?

Hay guys, taht is so cool amirite lol!

History

• Chinese Exclusion Act: barred Chinese laborers from the US for 10 years, despite President Chester Arthur's veto (1882)
• Eiffel Tower: was dedicated at the opening of the Universal Exposition in Paris (1889)
• Hindenburg: German dirigible caught fire as it landed in Lakehurst, New Jersey; 36 were killed (1937)
• Works Progress Administration: set out to employ scores of Americans in the post-Depression era (1935)
• Roger Bannister: Oxford medical student broke the four-minute mile, which was widely considered medically impossible (1954); in 1975, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II
• Chunnel: the tunnel connecting France and England opened to traffic (1994)

Birthdays

• Maximilien Robespierre 1758 - French revolutionary
• Sigmund Freud 1856 - Psychiatrist, originated psychoanalysis
• Robert E. Peary 1856 - Explorer, discovered the North Pole, Greenland and the Melville meteorite.
• Rabindranath Tagore 1861 - Hindu poet, musical composer

  
• Rudolph Valentino (Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina) 1895 - Actor
• Toots Shor (Bernard Shor) 1903 - Restaurateur
• Weeb (Wilbur Charles) Ewbank 1907 - Football player
• Carmel Caballaro 1913 - Pianist
• (George) Orson Welles 1915 - Actor ("War of the Worlds", "A Man for All Seasons", "Catch-22")
• Fred Randall 1921
• Pat Harder 1922 - Football player
• Elizabeth Sellars 1923 - Actress ("A Voyage Round My Father", "Never Let Go")
• Harry (Percival) Watson 1923 - Hockey player
• Marguerite Piazza 1926 - Singer 

  
• Willie (Howard) Mays 1931 - Baseball player
• Bill (William Alfred) Hands - Baseball player
• Bob Seger 1945 - Musician, singer
• Jimmie Dale Gilmore 1945
• Grier Jones 1946 - Golfer
• Alan Dale 1947 - Actor
• Ben Masters 1947 - Actor ("Noble House", "Dream Lover")
• Mary MacGregor 1948
• Dennis Havig 1949 - Football player
• Davey Johnstone 1951 - Musician (Elton John's trio)
• Fred McNeil 1952 - Football player
• Gregg Henry 1952
• Tony Blair 1953 - British Prime Minister
• Tom Bergeron 1955 - TV Host ("Dancing with the Stars")
• Mare Winningham 1959
• George (Timothy) Clooney 1961 - Actor (TV: "The Facts of Life", "E/R", Movies: "Batman & Robin", "Ocean's 11"), son of broadcast journalist Nick Clooney, nephew of singer Rosemary Clooney
• Lori Singer 1962
• Roma Downey 1963 - Actress ("Touched by an Angel")
• Mark Bryan 1967 - Musician (Hootie and the Blowfish)
• Martin Brodeur 1972 - Hockey player
• Adrianne Palicki 1972 - Actress ("Friday Night Lights")