Word of the Day for Sunday, August 3, 2008

brummagem \BRUHM-uh-juhm\, adjective:

• Cheap and showy, tawdry; also, spurious, counterfeit.

Brummagem is an alteration of Birmingham, England, from the counterfeit groats produced there in the 17th century.

Wiper

• In the sport of paintball, someone who "wipes" the paint off of them if they are hit, in order to stay in the game.

Man, I know i hit that dude like 3 times!
Yea, hes a cheatin' wiper!

Trivia
Who wrote an autobiography entitled Enter Whining?

• Fran Drescher, star of the TV sitcom The Nanny, in 1996.

Today in History

• USS Nautilus: the world's first nuclear-powered submarine sailed over the North Pole underwater in a journey under the Arctic ice cap (1958)
• Air Traffic Controllers Strike: PATCO workers walked out, leading to the firing of nearly all air traffic controllers by President Ronald Reagan two days later; in the wake of this event, US labor unions were weakened (1981)
• Statue of Liberty: pedestal reopened to public for first time since 9/11 (2004)

Today's Birthdays

• Stanley Baldwin (1867-1947): British three-term prime minister
• Maggie Kuhn (1905-1995): founder of the Gray Panthers
• P.D. James (88): mystery writer
• Tony Bennett (82): singer, "(I Left My Heart) in San Francisco"; also, musicians Beverly Lee (67), B.B. Dickerson (59) and James Hetfield (45)
• Martin Sheen (68): Josiah Bartlet on The West Wing; actors John C. McGinley (49), Isaiah Washington (45), Brigid Brannagh (36) and Evangeline Lilly (29) were also born on this date
• Martha Stewart (67): homemaker guru who's become a household name
• Tom Brady (31): New England Patriots quarterback

From yesterday:
Word of the Day for Saturday, August 2, 2008

sapient \SAY-pee-uhnt\, adjective:

• Wise; sage; discerning.

Sapient comes from Latin sapiens, sapient-, present participle of sapere, "to taste, to have sense, to know."

leanover

• A small-sized hangover, usually comes with merely a mild headache, a vague fatigue, and little or no sense of regret and/or shame.

I didn't really drink that much last night, but I think I've got a leanover. Wtf!

Trivia

Who was the king of England during the American Revolution? How is Queen Elizabeth II related to him?

• The king was George III. Queen Elizabeth II—who is descended from him through his wife, Queen Charlotte—is his great-great-great-great-granddaughter.

Today's History:

• Declaration of Independence: members of the Continental Congress began putting their John Hancocks on "The Unanimous Declaration of the 13 United States of America" (1776)
• census: first US tally showed a population close to 4 million; it is now over 300 million (1790)
• Marihuana Tax Act: US law doused marijuana use, sale and possession with sheer legal intricacy (1937)
• Gulf of Tonkin: the Pentagon reported attacks on US ships by North Vietnamese; the incident led to a Congressional resolution and expansion of the war effort (1964)
• Kuwait: was invaded by Iraq, triggering the Gulf War five months later (1990)

Today's Birthdays:

• Rómulo Gallegos (1884-1969): novelist and president of Venezuela
• James Baldwin (1924-1987): novelist, essayist and short story writer who penned Go Tell It On The Mountain
• Peter O'Toole (76): award-winning star of stage and screen; other actors born on this date include Max Wright (65), Joanna Cassidy (63), Kathryn Harrold (58), Butch Patrick (55), Victoria Jackson (49), Cynthia Stevenson (46), Mary-Louise Parker (44), Edward Furlong (31) and Hallie Kate Eisenberg (16)
• Wes Craven (69): director, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream; director Kevin Smith (38) shares his birth date