Sunday, August 13, 2017

palindrome, noun [pal-in-drohm] 

1. a word, line, verse, number, sentence, etc., reading the same backward as forward, as Madam, I'm Adam or Poor Dan is in a droop.
2. Biochemistry. a region of DNA in which the sequence of nucleotides is identical with an inverted sequence in the complementary strand: GAATTC is a palindrome of CTTAAG.

ORIGIN: The earliest known palindrome was found at Herculaneum, which was buried along with neighboring Pompeii in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79 a.d. The palindrome was written in Latin and is known as the “Sator Square.” The square is also a word square, that is, when the words are arranged one beneath another in a square, they read the same horizontally and vertically. The square reads "SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS" and is capable of several translations, the most plausible being “The sower Arepo holds the wheels with care.” Its significance and purpose have been vigorously debated since the late 19th century. The word palindrome was coined by the English poet and dramatist Ben Jonson (c1573–1637). 

Okay, chief

• Usually said to someone who is being bossy or persistent about something.

Person 1: Dude, take out the garbage. I'm not gonna ask you again. Seriously.

Person 2: Okay, chief.

 

Trivia

What 1950s-era car featured a speedometer that glowed when a preset speed was reached?

• The ill-fated Ford Edsel, in 1958.

History

• Mexico City: city then known as Tenochtitlán fell to Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, along with the entire Aztec Empire (1521)

  
• taxicabs: first appeared on the streets of New York City (1907)
• Bambi: the animated Disney movie opened at Radio City Music Hall (1942)
• Echo 1: the first balloon satellite was launched, allowing the first two-way phone conversation via satellite (1960)
• Berlin: was divided by barbed wire, which soon became the Berlin Wall (1961)

Birthdays

• William Caxton 1422
• Lucy Stone 1818
• Annie Oakley 1860
• Bert Lahr 1895
• Alfred Hitchcock 1899
• Regis Toomey 1902
• "Buddy" Charles Rogers 1904
• Gene Raymond 1908
• Ben Hogan 1912
• Rex Humbard 1919
  
• George Shearing 1919
• Neville Brand 1920
• Fidel Castro 1926
• Pat Harrington 1929
• Don Ho 1930
• Joycelyn Elders 1933
• Son Seals 1942
• Kevin Tighe 1944
• Gretchen Corbett 1947
• Kathleen Battle 1948
• Bobby Clarke 1949
• Cliff Fish (Paper Lace) 1949
• Dan Fogelberg 1951
• Feargal Sharkey (Undertones) 1958
• Danny Bonaduce 1959
• Quinn Cummings 1967
• Andy Griggs 1973
• Vicca 1974 - t3h pr0n