Monday, May 25, 2020

baksheesh \bak-SHEESH\, noun:

1. A gratuity, present or tip.

2. A gratuity, tip, or bribe paid to expedite service.

verb:

1. To give a tip.

Baksheesh originally was a common term for a tip in Near Eastern countries such as India and Egypt. The Persian bakhshish, "gift," derives from the verb bakhshidan, "to give."

Deuce of Spades

• An unusually black and tarry load of feces. Extension of drop a deuce. Origination: Deuce = "#2"; Spades = a suit of 13 cards in a standard 52-card deck

Matt dropped a deuce of spades that was so black and sticky, the highway department could've paved over that pothole on Elm Street with it.

Holiday

• Memorial Day, holiday in the United States observed in late May. Previously designated Decoration Day, it was inaugurated in 1868 by Gen. John A. Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves of Civil War veterans and has since become a day on which all war dead are commemorated.
• Towel Day: (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
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History

• Constitutional Convention: convened in Philadelphia; George Washington presided (1787)
• Monkey Trial: John T. Scopes was indicted in Tennessee for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution (1925)
• Babe Ruth: hit his 714th home run, setting a record that held until 1974, when Hank Aaron broke it (1935)
• track and field: at the Big Ten Track and Field Championships, Jesse Owens tied one world record and broke three others, all within 45 minutes (1935)
• OAU: was founded at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the goals of encouraging African unity, promoting development and fighting neocolonialism (1963)
  STAR WARS first opened on 32 screens across the USA. (1977)

   

  

  
  
• ALIEN, In Space No One can Hear You Scream, was released in 1979.

  

  
  Hands Across America: more than five million people joined hands in a line that stretched for 4,000 mi/6,400 km from New York City to Long Beach, CA; participants raised money for the fight against hunger and homelessness (1986)
• Erik Weihenmayer: became the first blind man to climb Mt. Everest (2001)

Birthdays

• Ralph W. Emerson 1803 - Essayist, philosopher, poet
• Luther 'Bill' Robinson (Bill "Bojangles" Robinson) 1878 - Tap dancer, actor
• Philip Murray 1886 - Steelworker, labor leader
• Igor Sikorsky (Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky) 1889 - Pioneer in aviation with helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft
• Ginny Simms 1916 - Singer
• Claude Akins 1926 - Actor
• Lindsey Nelson 1919 - Sportscaster
• Hal David 1921 - Lyricist
• John Weitz 1923 - Fashion and industrial designer
• Jeanne Crain 1925 - Actress
• Miles Davis 1926 - Trumpeter, bandleader, composer
• Kitty Kallen 1926 - Singer

  
• Norman Petty 1927 - Musician, songwriter, record producer
• Robert Ludlum 1927 - Author (The Jason Bourne series of books)
• Beverly Sills 1929 - Opera singer
• K.C. Jones 1932 - Basketball player
• Ron Nessen 1934 - White House Press Secretary for President Gerald Ford
• Tom T. Hall 1936 - Country singer, songwriter
• Donnie Elbert 1936 - Singer
• Raymond Carver 1938 - Short story writer, poet
• Dixie Carter 1939 - Actress ("Designing Women," "Desperate Housewives")
• Ian McKellen 1939 - Actor
• Jessi Colter 1943 - Country musician
• Leslie Uggams 1943 - Actress, singer
• John "Poli" Palmer 1943 - Musician (Family)
• Frank Oz 1944 - Actor, puppeteer (many Muppets characters, Yoda's voice)
• Karen Valentine 1947 - Actress ("Room 222")
• Mitch Margo 1947 - Musician (Cross Country)
• Clarence Burke Jr. 1949 - Musician (Five Stairsteps)
• Patti D'Arbanville-Quinn 1951 - Actress, model
• Connie Sellecca 1955 - Actress, model
• John Grimaldi 1955 - Musician (Argent)
• Sugar Minott 1956 - Reggae singer
• Klaus Meine 1958 - Musician (Scorpions)
• Paul Weller 1958 - Musician (The Jam, Style Council)
• Mike Myers 1963 - Actor, comedian, screenwriter, cast member on "Saturday Night Live," ("Austin Powers" movies)
• Anne Heche 1969 - Actress ("Volcano")
• Jamie Kennedy 1970 - Actor, comedian, rapper
• Justin Henry 1971 - Actor ("Kramer vs. Kramer" [1979])
• Molly Sims 1973 - Actress
• Miguel Tejada 1974 - Baseball player
• Lauryn Hill 1975 - Musician (The Fugees)
• Cillian Murphy 1976 - Actor
• Brian Urlacher 1978 - Football player
• Shawne Merriman 1984 - Football player
  Zazie Beetz 1991 - actress