Monday, June 7, 2010

fathom \FATH-uhm\, verb:

1. To penetrate to the truth of; comprehend; understand.

2. To measure the depth of water by means of a sounding line; sound.

noun:

1. A unit of length equal to six feet (1.8 meters): used chiefly in nautical measurements.

Fathom starts its history meaning a "length of the outstretched arm" (a measure of about six feet). The verb sense comes into being approximately 1600.

Inverse Midas

• The effect of turning everything into shit. The opposite of the Midas touch, where King Midas was said to turn everything he touched into gold. The act of fail, to blunder, to make a snafu, or catastrophe

1. Bill: That guy has the Inverse Midas touch. He can't do anything right

George: Nah, it's just a snafu. Could happen to anyone.

2. George: That guy's just like me, he's got the Inverse Midas touch. Everything he touches turns to shit.

Bill: No George, you fail way worse than this guy.

3. Barry: This oil spill is a catastrophe, BP's engineers really have the Inverse Midas touch

Kim: I have on my big boy glasses

Barry: Sure you do.

Trivia

What rock band took its name from a football term coined by former Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka?

• Smash Mouth. Ditka coined the phrase to describe hard-hitting, in-your-face football.

History

• Treaty of Tordesillas: divided the New World between Spain and Portugal (1494)
• Continental Congress: the delegates heard a motion to declare the United Colonies free and independent from England (1776)
• Vatican City: became an independent, sovereign state as the Lateran Treaty was signed in Rome (1929)
• The $64,000 Question: game show premiered on CBS (1955)

Birthdays

• Paul Gauguin (1848-1903): Post-Impressionist painter
• Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000): Illinois' Pulitzer Prize-winning poet laureate; other writers born on this date include Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973), Nikki Giovanni (67) and Louise Erdrich (56)
• Liam Neeson (58): actor, Schindler's List and his new release, The A-Team; also, actors Jessica Tandy (1909-1994), Colleen Camp (57), Anna Torv (31) and Michael Cera (22)
• Prince (52): musician, Purple Rain; singers Dean Martin (1917-1995) and Tom Jones (70) share this birthday
• Allen Iverson (35): basketball's shortest MVP and one of its fastest
• Anna Kournikova (29): tennis player and model