Friday, February 23, 2024

 

plenum \PLEE-nuhm\, noun:

1. A full assembly, as a joint legislative assembly.

2. The state or a space in which a gas, usually air, is contained at a pressure greater than atmospheric pressure.

3. A space, usually above a ceiling or below a floor, that can serve as a receiving chamber for air that has been heated or cooled to be distributed to inhabited areas.

4. The whole of space regarded as being filled with matter (opposed to vacuum).

Plenum is literally the opposite of a vacuum. It came to be used in the sense of a full meeting of legislators in 1772 in Sweden.

 

carthritis

• Condition suffered by a car, where seemingly painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints can cause groaning in parts of the car that normally make no noise,

It's 2 degrees outside. My car started, but when I turn the wheel, there is this crunchy, groaning sound. I think my car may have carthritis.

History

• Cato Street Conspiracy: a plot to assassinate the British cabinet and prime minister was uncovered; the conspirators were later executed (1820)
• Tootsie Roll: the chewy chocolate candy was introduced by Leo Hirshfield (1896)
• Guantánamo Bay: Cuba leased the area to the US to use as a naval base in perpetuity; it now serves as an internment camp for suspected Islamic militants (1903)
• Rotary Club: the not-for-profit service organization held its first meeting, in Beverly Hills, led by Paul P. Harris and three friends; it now has 1 million-plus members in about 200 countries (1905)
• Iwo Jima: Marines raised the US flag over the Japanese island after severe fighting during WWII; a Pulitzer-winning photograph was taken by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal (1945)

Birthdays

• Samuel Pepys 1633 - English naval administrator and Member of Parliament, known for his diary of events and quotes
• George Frederic Handel 1685 - Composer
• Mayer Amschel Rothschild 1734
• Emma Willard 1787 - Educator, writer of textbooks
• Istvan Ferenczi 1792
• George Watts 1817
• W.E.B. DuBois 1868
• Agnes M. Royden 1876
• Norman Lindsay 1879
• Victor Fleming 1883
• William Shirer 1904 - Jornalist, author ("The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich", "Ghandi: A Memoir")
• Walter Ernest Allen 1911
• Elston Howard 1929 - Baseball player
• Lee Calhoun 1933 - Hurdler, won the 110-meter hurdles twice in Olympics
• Diana Varsi 1938 - Actress ("Peyton Place")
• Sylvia Chase 1938 - Newscaster ("ABC News", "20/20")
• Peter Fonda 1940 - Director, actor ("Easy Rider"), Jane Fonda's brother, Henry Fonda's son, Bridget Fonda's dad
• Bobby (Wayne) Mitchell 1943 - Golfer
• Fred Biletnikoff 1943 - Football player
• Johnny Winter (John Dawson III) 1944 - Musician
• Mike Maxfield 1944 - Musician (Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas)
• Allan Boesak 1945
• Rusty Young 1946 - Musician (Poco)
• Ken (Kenneth George) Boswell 1946 - Baseball player
• Terry "Tex" Comer 1949
• Larry Demps 1949 - Musician (Dramatics)
• Steve Priest 1950 - Musician (The Sweet)
• Jim Youngblood 1950 - Football player
• Eddie Dibbs 1951 - Tennis player
• Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones 1951 - Football player
• Patricia Richardson 1951 - Actess ("Home Improvement")
• Ray Oldham 1951 - Football player
• Brad Whitford 1952 - Musician (Aerosmith)
• Lorne Henning 1952 - Hockey player
• Howard Jones 1955 - Singer
• David Sylvian 1958 - Musician (Japan)
• Ria Brieffies 1958 - Musician (Dolly Dots)
• Michael Wilton 1962 - Musician (Queensryche)

  
• Robert Collins 1963 - Musician
• Bobby (Roberto Martin Antonio) Bonilla 1963 - Baseball player
• John Norum 1964
• Helen Sukova 1965
• Kristin Davis 1965 - Actress ("Sex and the City")
• Pam Blundell 1967
• Marc Price 1968
• Jeff Beres 1971 - Musician (Sister Hazel)
• Lasse Johansson 1973 - Musician (The Cardigans)
• Emily Blunt 1983 - Actress
• Dakota Fanning 1994 - Actress