Word of the Day for Wednesday, August 6, 2008

spoony \SPOO-nee\, adjective:

1. Foolish; silly; excessively sentimental.
2. Foolishly or sentimentally in love.

Spoony is from the slang term spoon, meaning "a simpleton or a silly person."

NIMBY

• Not In My Back Yard; someone who opposes anything built right by where they live.

NIMBYs cause a lot of things to not get done.

Trivia

What is an onychophagist?

• A nail-biter.

Today in History

• Holy Roman Empire: came to an end with the abdication of Francis II (1806)
• Bolivia: declared independence from Spain (1825)
• electric chair: was first used as method of execution, on murderer William Kemmler at Auburn Prison in New York (1890)
• Enola Gay: US bomber dropped an atomic weapon on Hiroshima, killing over 60,000 instantly; it was the first-ever use of nuclear warfare (1945)
• Voting Rights Act: was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson; it prohibited states from imposing poll discriminations based on race, color, linguistic minority (1965)

Today's Birthdays

• Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892): poet of Victorian England, "The Charge of the Light Brigade"
• Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955): bacteriologist who discovered penicillin
• Lucille Ball (1911-1989): red-headed comedienne and star of I Love Lucy; also, actors Robert Mitchum (1917-1997), Peter Bonerz (70), Dorian Harewood (58), Catherine Hicks (57), Michelle Yeoh (46), Ever Carradine (34) and Soleil Moon Frye (32)
• M. Night Shyamalan (38): writer/director, The Sixth Sense
• Geri Halliwell (36): the former Ginger Spice; musicians Charlie Haden (71), Pat MacDonald (56), Patsy and Peggy Lynn (both 44) and David Campbell (35) were also born on this date