Saturday, June 11, 2016

Saturday, JUNE 11, 2016

kowtow \KOU-TOU\, verb:
1. To act in a subservient manner.
2. To kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in expression of deep respect, worship, or submission, as formerly done in China.
noun:
1. An act of servile deference.
Kowtow is from the Mandarin k'o-t'ou, the custom of touching the ground with the forehead to show respect or submission, literally "knock the head."
 
rocket surgery (n.)
  • a play on words which mixes two common metaphors: "rocket science" and "brain surgery"
[A line in a hilarious Chris Rock comedy act states that one shouldn't eat green meat. No kidding.] It doesn't take a degree in rocket surgery to figure out something like that! ;oD

History
  • Great Barrier Reef: Capt. James Cook discovered the world's largest coral reef (1770)
  • Triple Crown: horse racing's top honor was won by Sir Barton (1919) and Seattle Slew (1977)
  • sugar: US rationing ended after five bitter years (1947)
  • Stand in the Schoolhouse Door: in a bid to resist racial integration, Alabama Governor George Wallace tried to block African-Americans Vivian Malone and James Hood from attending the University of Alabama; later that day he gave in (1963)
  • immolation: Buddhist monk Quang Duc set himself afire on a Saigon street to protest the South Vietnamese government led by president Ngo Dinh Diem (1963)
  • E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: heartwarming sci-fi blockbuster film opened (1982)
  • American Idol: the British spinoff debuted with judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson (2002)
Birthdays
  • Ben Johnson 1572 - English Renaissance Dramatist
  • John Constable 1776 - English Romantic painter
  • Jeannette Rankin 1880 - First woman to be elected to the United States House of Representatives
  • Bartolomeo Vanzetti 1888 - Known for his conviction of robbery and executed along with Nicola Sacco after a controversial trial in Massachusetts.
  • Lawrence Spivak 1900 - Publisher, journalist
  • Jacques Cousteau (Jacques-Yves Cousteau) 1910 - Naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker
  • Risë Stevens 1913 - Opera singer
  • Vince Lombardi 1913 - Football coach
  • Richard Todd 1919 - Actor, soldier
  • Shelly Manne (Sheldon Manne) 1920 - Drummer
  • William Styron 1925 - Novelist and essayist
  • Gene Wilder 1935 - Actor
  • Chad Everett 1936 - Actor
  • Johnny Brown 1937 - Actor
  • Wilma Burgess 1939 - Country music singer
  • Jackie Stewart (Sir John Young Stewart OBE) 1939 - Racing driver, team owner, nicknamed The Flying Scot
  • Luciana Paluzzi 1939 - Actress
  • Joey Dee (Joseph DiNicola) 1940 - Musician (Joey Dee and The Starliters)
  • Adrienne Barbeau (Adrienne Jo Barbeau) 1945 - Actress, author
  • John Lawton 1946 - Singer (Uriah Heep, Les Humphries Singers)
  • Henry Cisneros (Henry Gabriel Cisneros) 1947 - Politician, businessman
  • George Willig 1949 - Known as "the human fly" or "the spiderman," known for climbing the South Tower of the World Trade Center
  • Ingrid Newkirk 1949 - Founder of PETA
  • Frank Beard 1949 - Musician (ZZ Top)
  • Pancho Carter 1950 - Race car driver
  • Bonnie Pointer 1951 - Musician (Pointer Sisters)
  • Connie Van Zandt 1952 - Musician (.38 Special)
  • Peter Bergman 1953 - Actor ("All My Children," "Young and the Restless")
  • Joe Montana 1956 - Football player
  • Hugh Laurie 1959 - Actor ("House M.D.")
  • Dan Lavery 1969 - Musician (Tonic)
  • Smilin' Jay McDowell 1969 - Musician (BR5-49)
  • Joshua Jackson 1978 - Actor
 


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