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