Sunday, February 15, 2009

pinchbeck \PINCH-bek\, noun, adjective:

1. an alloy of zinc and copper used to imitate gold in jewelry-making; by extension, something counterfeit; an imitation
2. not genuine; fake

by 1734, named for Christopher Pinchbeck (c1670-1732), London watchmaker, who developed the alloy

lol theory

• The theory that the internet phrase lol,meaning "laugh out loud", can be placed at any part in any sentence and make said sentence lose all credibilty and seriousness.

ex 1 Doc: We need to operate on your colon lol, you have cancer.
ex 2 Jesus: Take this all of you and eat it, it is my body, lol.
ex 3 Me: Will you marry me? Lol.
^Lol theory in action
Trivia

Why were dockworkers in Elizabethan times required to have their pockets sewn closed when ships from the Orient were being unloaded?

• To keep them from stealing pepper, which at the time was a highly prized commodity—and used as currency.

Today in History:

• USS Maine: exploded and sank in Havana harbor, helping to provoke the Spanish-American War (1898)
• Decimal Day: the UK and Ireland switched their currencies to a decimal system (1971)
• Canadian flag: red and white maple leaf banner was adopted (1965)
• YouTube: video sharing website launched in the US (2005)

Today's Birthdays:

• Galileo Galilei (1564-1642): physicist and mathematician who is considered the father of modern astronomy; plus, mathematician Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)
• Louis XV (1710-1774): King of France
• Henry Steinway (1797-1871): piano man
• Cyrus McCormick (1809-1884): inventor of the mechanical reaper; also, Tiffany's founder Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902)
• Matt Groening (55): creator of The Simpsons
• Joseph R. Gannascoli (50): Vito Spatafore on The Sopranos; also, actors Kevin McCarthy (95), Allan Arbus (91), Harvey Korman (1927-2008), Claire Bloom (78), Christopher McDonald (54), Michael Easton (42), Renee O'Connor (38) and Sarah Wynter (36)