Word of the Day for Sunday, June 22, 2008

malediction \mal-uh-DIK-shun\, noun:

• A curse or execration.

sporn

• Porn created with the game Spore.

"Hurry up and watch that sporn on Youtube before it gets removed."

Trivia
Which countries were the first to use daylight saving time?

• Germany and Austria. To conserve fuel during World War I, they moved their clocks ahead an hour on April 30, 1916, with other countries soon following suit.

Today in History

• Galileo Galilei: was compelled to recant his heliocentric view of the universe (1633)
• G.I. Bill of Rights: law that helped veterans go to college was signed by FDR (1944)
• Charon: largest moon of Pluto was discovered (1978)

Today's Birthdays

• Gower Champion (1921-1980): choreographer and director
• Bill Blass (1922-2002): fashion designer
• Dianne Feinstein (75): US senator
• Brit Hume (65): broadcast journalist
• Meryl Streep (59): record holder for Academy Award nominations — 14; also, actors Ralph Waite (80), Kris Kristofferson (72), Lindsay Wagner (59), Tracy Pollan (48), Carson Daly (35), Donald Faison (34) and Jai Rodriguez (29)
• Dan Brown (44): author of The Da Vinci Code; writers Julian Huxley (1887-1975), Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970), Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001) and Octavia Butler (1947-2006) were all born on this date