Sunday, December 10, 2023

adytum \ad-i-tuhm\, noun:

1. A sacred place that the public is forbidden to enter; an inner shrine.

2. The most sacred or reserved part of any place of worship.

Adytum is from the Greek roots a- meaning “not” and -dyton meaning “to enter.”

 

first nap of the day

• Euphemism for sleeping late.

Where's Deb? Her breakfast is getting cold.

She's taking the first nap of the day.

 

History

• Mississippi: the Magnolia State became America's 20th state (1817)
• Spanish-American War: conflict ended with Spain renouncing its claim to Cuba and ceding Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines to the US (1898)
• Nobel Prizes: were first awarded in Stockholm in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace (1901)
• "The Gift of the Magi": O. Henry's short story was first published (1906)
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights: was adopted by the UN; it became the world's most translated document (1948)
• 300 million yen robbery: Japan's biggest heist was perpetrated; it remains unsolved (1968)

Birthdays

• Thomas H. Gallaudet 1787 - Pioneer of educating the deaf
• Emily Dickinson 1830 - Writer
• Melvil Dewey 1851 - Created the "Dewey Decimal Classification" system
• William Plomer 1903
• Olivier Messiaen 1908
• Chet Huntley 1911
• Dorothy Lamour 1914 - Actress
• Harold Gould 1923 - Actor
• Dan Blocker 1928
• Mako 1930 - Actor
• Tommy Kirk 1941 - Actor
• Fionnula Flannagan 1941 - Actress ("Waking Ned Devine")
• Chad Stuart (Chad and Jeremy) 1943 - Singer
• Gloria Loring 1946 - Actress-singer
• Ralph Tavares 1948 - Singer
• Walter "Clyde" Orange (The Commodores) 1948
• Jessica Cleaves (Friends of Distinction) 1948 - Singer
• Johnny Rodriguez 1951 - Singer
• Susan Dey 1952 - Actress ("L.A. Law," "The Partridge Family")
• Paul Hardcastle 1958 - Jazz keyboardist
• Kenneth Branagh 1960 - Actor-director
• Nia Peeples 1961 - Actress
• Michael Clarke Duncan 1963 - Actor ("The Green Mile")
• Bobby Flay 1964 - TV chef
• J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.) 1965
• Kevin Sharp 1970 - Singer
• Scot Alexander (Dishwalla) 1971 - Musician
• Puff Johnson 1972 - Singer
• Meg White (The White Stripes) 1974 - Musician
• Emmanuelle Chriqui 1977
• Sarah Chang 1980 - Violinist
• Raven-Symone 1985 - Actress ("That's So Raven," "The Cosby Show")