Thursday, November 11, 2010

whilom \HWAHY-luhm\, adjective:

1. Former; erstwhile.

adverb:

1. At one time.

Whilom was a conjugation of while in Old English (the dative case.)

me gusto

A Spanish phrase that literally translates into "I please myself." Gringos mistakenly think it means "I like that".

Gringo: Me gusto!

Spaniard: Estas un gringo.

Trivia

What was the modern aerosol can’s first use after it was invented by scientists working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the early 1940s?

• As a “bug bomb” used by U.S. soldiers in the Pacific to spray malaria- and other disease-carrying insects.

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)
• Armistice Day: WWI fighting came to an end when the Allies and Germany signed a peace treaty (1918)
• Tomb of the Unknowns: the first unknown soldier in this tomb was interred in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery (1921); a nameless soldier who died on the Somme during WWI was entombed in the New Zealand Tomb of the Unknown Warrior — his tomb now reads ""An Unknown New Zealand Warrior/ He Toa Matangaro No Aotearoa" (2004)
• U.S. Route 66: "the Main Street of America," stretching from Chicago to California, was established (1926)

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 (82)
• Jonathan Winters (85): madcap comedian
• Fuzzy Zoeller (59): champion golfer
• Leonardo DiCaprio (36): actor and environmentalist, Inception; also, actors Stanley Tucci (50), Demi Moore (48), Calista Flockhart (46), Frank John Hughes (43), David DeLuise (39), Adam Beach (38)