Tuesday, December 20, 2011

lucent \LOO-suhnt\, adjective:

1. Shining.

2. Translucent; clear.

Lucent comes from the Latin word lucentum meaning “to shine.”

nowhere story

• A tale or recount of an event or events that doesn't ever reach a particular point or meaning.

Duder 1: "So the other day I went into Foot Locker and saw a girl working there so I thought it was Lady Foot Locker, but it turns out it wasn't."

Duder 2: "Wow dude, thanks for that nowhere story."

Trivia

On what surface is Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa painted? Hint: It’s not canvas.

• A solid panel of fine-grained white poplar.

History

• Louisiana Purchase: the United States officially took possession of the territory from France (1803)
• South Carolina: became the first state to secede from the Union (1860)
• It's a Wonderful Life: Frank Capra's drama was screened for the first time, in NYC's Globe Theatre (1946)
• Berlin Wall: was opened for the first time since it was erected in 1961 (1963)
• Operation Just Cause: the US invaded Panama to overthrow and capture military leader Manuel Noriega, who stood accused of corruption and drug trafficking (1989)

Birthdays

• Harvey Firestone (1868-1938): founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company; also, scientists Thomas Graham (1805-1869) and Robert Van de Graaff (1901-1967)
• Branch Rickey (1881-1965): baseball manager who developed the farm system and hired the first black players; plus, athletes Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman (1886-1974), Roy Williams (30) and David Wright (29)
• Robert Menzies (1894-1978): Australian prime minister
• Dick Wolf (65): creator and producer of Law and Order
• Uri Geller (65): illusionist
• David Cook (29): singer, American Idol winner; also, musicians Alan Parsons (63), Mike Watt and Billy Bragg (both 53), Kris Tyler (47), Chris Robinson (45) and JoJo (21)
• Jonah Hill (28): actor, Superbad, Cyrus; also, actors Charlie Callas (87), John Hillerman (79), Kathryn Joosten (72), Jenny Agutter (59) and Michael Badalucco (57)

Read more: http://www.answers.com/