Sunday, February 6, 2011

verdant \VUR-dnt\, adjective:

1. Green with vegetation; covered with green growth.
2. Green.
3. Lacking experience or sophistication; naive.

Verdant comes from French verdoyant, present participle of verdoyer, "to be verdant, to grow green," from Old French verdoier, verdeier, from verd, vert, "green," from Latin viridis, "green," from virere, "to be green."

Strategic Dipping

• Not double dipping! When a chip (or other dippable food) is dipped, bitten, and then turned over so that the tainted, bitten, and saliva covered part isn't able to corrupt the dip.

Don: Hey man, no double dipping!

Mac: I'm not double dipping! I'm using strategic dipping!

Trivia

What is the world’s fastest racket sport?

• Badminton. In championship play, the shuttlecock has been sent flying at speeds exceeding 200 mph.

History

• Monopoly: the popular board game first went on sale (1935)
• Elizabeth II: became the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom upon the death of her father, George VI; she was formally crowned a year later (1952)
• Apollo 14: astronaut Alan Shepard became the first person to golf on the moon, while crewmate Edgar Mitchell threw a lunar scoop handle as a javelin (1971)

Birthdays

• Aaron Burr (1756-1836): Thomas Jefferson's vice president; he killed opponent Alexander Hamilton in a duel
• Babe Ruth (1895-1948): New York Yankee slugger
• Ronald Reagan (1911-2004): 40th POTUS, greatest president in generations, nationalist, cowboy, actor
• François Truffaut (1932-1984): New Wave film director and critic
• Mike Farrell (72): BJ Hunnicutt on M*A*S*H; other TV personalities born today include Zsa Zsa Gabor (94), Patrick Macnee (89), Rip Torn and Mamie Van Doren (both 80), Gayle Hunnicutt (68), Michael Tucker (67), Kathy Najimy (54) and Barry Miller (53)
• Tom Brokaw (71): broadcast journalist, longtime anchor of NBC Nightly News
• Axl Rose (49): rock singer with Guns 'N Roses; also, musicians Fabian (68), Bob Marley (1945-1981) and Natalie Cole (61)