Saturday, February 18, 2017

libation \ly-BAY-shun\, noun:

1. The act of pouring a liquid (usually wine) either on the ground or on a victim in sacrifice to some deity; also, the wine or liquid thus poured out.

2. A beverage, especially an alcoholic beverage.

3. An act or instance of drinking.

Libation is from Latin libatio, from libare, "to take a little from anything, to taste, to pour out as an offering."

Unbrella

• An umbrella turned inside out by forceful wind.

It won't keep you dry but if you want to, you can stand under my unbrella-ella-ella.

History 

• Jefferson Davis: became head of the Confederate States of America (1861)
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Mark Twain's most popular novel — controversial for its colorful language and its depiction of blacks — was published (1885)
• Academy Awards: first winners were announced (Wings was Best Picture); the awards banquet was held in May (1929)
• Elm Farm Ollie: became the first cow to fly in an airplane; the trip took place in Missouri and she was milked mid-flight (1930)
• Pluto: the icy rock demoted from planet to dwarf planet was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh (1930)
• Robert Philip Hanssen: FBI agent was arrested on charges of spying for the Soviet Union and, later, Russia; he was sentenced to life without parole (2001)
• Shani Davis: became the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history; he won the men's 1,000-meter speed skating race in Turin (2006)

Birthdays

• Mary Tudor 1516 - The Queen of England known as "Bloody Mary"
• Count Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta 1745
• Louis Comfort Tiffany 1848 - Glass maker and interior designer
• Sholem Aleichem 1859
• Andres Segovia 1894
• Enzo Ferrari 1898
• Billy deWolfe 1907
• Pee Wee King 1914
  

  
• Bill Cullen 1920
• Jack Palance 1919
• Helen Gurley Brown 1922 - Author, editor
• George Kennedy 1925 - Actor
• Jim McElreath 1928
• Gahan Wilson 1930
• Toni Morrison 1931 - Author
• Milos Forman 1932 - Director
• Yoko Ono 1933 - Artist, singer (Plastic Ono Band), wife of John Lennon (Beatles)
• Mary Ure 1933
• Irma Thomas 1941
• Herman Santiago 1941 - Musician (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers)
  

  
• Dennis DeYoung 1947 - Musician (Styx)
• Sinead Cusack 1948 - Actress
• John Hughes 1950
• Cybil Sheppard 1950 - Actress
• Randy (Veronica) Crawford 1952
• Juice Newton (Judy Cohen) 1952 - Singer
• Robbie Bachman 1953 - Musician (Bachman-Turner Overdrive)
• Marty Howe 1954
• John Travolta 1954 - Actor ("Pulp Fiction")
• Vanna White 1957 - Game show host ("Wheel of Fortune")
• Greta Scacchi 1960 - Actress
• Matt Dillon 1964
• Dr. Dre (Andre Romelle Young) 1965 - Rapper, music producer, actor
• Molly Ringwald 1968 - Actress ("Sixteen Candles)
• Tommy Scott (Space) 1968
• Yevgeny Kafelnikov 1974 - Tennis player
• Dorzell Burton 1979