Wednesday, October 6, 2010

acta \AK-tuh\, noun:

• Official records, as of acts, deeds, proceedings, transactions, or the like.

Acta relates to the Latin agere, "to do." Act and many other English words share this source.

Alltheist 

• A person who tries to claim ties to every religion out of fear of picking the "wrong" one. This in turn forms a paradox because some religions, such as Hinduism and Judiasm contradict each other as the former is polytheistic and the latter explicitly states that there is only one God. A typical Alltheist may believe in Jesus, Hindu gods, and even the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Guy: I don't want to go to hell, so I'll just become an Alltheist

Girlfriend: Why am I even going out with you?

Trivia

What literary classic is about a man who was imprisoned on the tiny Mediterranean island of If?

• The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas père. If, located two miles off the port city of Marseille, France, was home to a fortified 16th-century castle that was later used as a prison.

History

• Moulin Rouge: France's most famous cabaret opened in the Montmartre section in Paris (1889)
• The Jazz Singer: first full-length talkie debuted with songs and 291 spoken words (1927)
• The Curse of the Billy Goat: began when Billy Sianis and his goat were ejected from Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series; Sianis predicted that the Cubs would never again win a World Series, and, so far, they haven't even been in one since then (1945)
• Yom Kippur War: Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish year (1973)
• Anwar Sadat: Egypt's president was assassinated by Islamic fundamentalists while reviewing a military parade in Cairo (1981)

Birthdays

• Wenceslas III (1289-1306): king of Hungary
• James McGill (1744-1813): Canadian businessman whose bequest founded McGill University in Montreal
• Jenny Lind (1820-1887): the "Swedish Nightingale"
• George Westinghouse (1846-1914): inventor of the air brakes first used in trains
• Le Corbusier (1887-1965): city planner and painter who was also one of the most influential architects of the 20th century
• Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002): ethnographer and adventurer who went on the Kon Tiki expedition
• Jeremy Sisto (36): Detective Cyrus Lupo on Law & Order; also, actors Britt Ekland (68), Elisabeth Shue (47), Emily Mortimer (39) and Ioan Gruffudd (37)