Wednesday, November 11, 2009

forfend \for-FEND\, transitive verb;
also forefend:

1. a. (Archaic) To prohibit; to forbid.
b. To ward off; to prevent; to avert.
2. To defend; to protect; to preserve.

Forfend is from Middle English forfenden, from for-, "for-" + fenden, "to ward off."
cock block

• One who prevents another from scoring sexually.

Trudy and Dan frequently had time alone but her cockblocking roommate ruined any chances they had to have sex.

Trivia
What was the first use of duct—or duck—tape?

• Sealing U.S. Army ammunition boxes to keep moisture out during World War II. Developed for that use in the early 1940s by Johnson & Johnson’s Permacel division, the tape was colored Army green and came to be known as duck tape because it repelled water. After the war, when it was being widely used on heating and airconditioning ducts, the color was changed to silver and it became popularly referred to as duct tape.

Holiday

• Veterans Day, Armistice Day

Today in History

• Mayflower Compact: was signed by the 41 free male Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower, setting up the basis of the Plymouth colony government (1620)
• The Great Blue Norther of 11/11/11: freak temperature highs and lows were recorded across the US, many in the same cities (1911)
• Tomb of the Unknowns: the first unknown soldier in this tomb was interred in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery (1921)
• U.S. Route 66: "the Main Street of America," stretching from Chicago to California, was established (1926)
• New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior: an unknown warrior was interred in this Wellington tomb; the warrior died on the Somme during WWI and his tomb now reads, "An Unknown New Zealand Warrior/ He Toa Matangaro No Aotearoa" (2004)

Today's Birthdays

• Paracelsus (1493-1541): physician and alchemist
• George Patton (1885-1945): US Army general
• Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007): sci-fi author, Slaughterhouse-Five; authors who share this birth date include Feodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881), Howard Fast (1914-2003) and Carlos Fuentes(81)
• Jonathan Winters (84): madcap comedian
• Fuzzy Zoeller (58): champion golfer
• Leonardo DiCaprio (35): actor and environmentalist, The Aviator, Revolutionary Road; also, actors Stanley Tucci (49), Demi Moore (47), Calista Flockhart (45), David DeLuise (38), Adam Beach (37)