Tuesday, February 11, 2020

boîte \bwaht; Fr. bwat\, noun: 

• a nightclub; cabaret.

Boîte entered English in the early 1900s from the French word of the same spelling, which literally means "box" but is also used to refer to a nightclub, from the phrase boîte de nuit which means "box of the night."

carcolepsy

• a condition affecting buddies on a trip who fall asleep as soon as the car starts moving, providing no company or driving help

Joe slept the whole way here, I think he suffers from carcolepsy.

History

• gerrymandering: Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting law that favored his party, the Democratic-Republicans (known now as the Democrat party that still uses this cheating tactic to steal elections) (1812)
• Bernadette Soubirous: as a teenager, St. Bernadette saw her first vision of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes (1858)
• Lateran Treaty: pact between Italy and the Vatican was signed, in which Roman Catholicism was declared the state religion of Italy and Italy recognized Vatican City as independent and sovereign (1929)
• Yalta Agreement: plan signed by FDR, Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin, dealing with attacks on Germany and the establishment of the UN (1945)
• Natan Sharansky: Soviet dissident was released after 10 years in prison (1986)
• Nelson Mandela: political prisoner was freed after 27 years in detention; he went on to dismantle apartheid and become South Africa's first black president (1990)

Birthdays

• Lydia Child 1802
• Thomas Alva Edison 1847 - Inventor and businessman. His inventions included the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb
• John Mills (The Mills Brothers) 1889
• Josh White 1908
• Joseph Mankiewicz 1909
• Matt Dennis 1914
• Sidney Sheldon 1917
• Eva Gabor 1921 - Actress
• Lloyd Bentsen 1921
• Kim Stanley 1925
• Dr. Virginia Johnson 1925
• Leslie Nielson 1926 - Actor
• Conrad Janis 1928 - Actor ("Mork and Mindy")
• Larry Merchant 1931
• Mary Quant 1934
• Tina Louise 1934 - Actress ("Gilligan's Island")
• Gerry Goffin 1935 - Songwriter
• Gene Vincent 1935
• Sergio Mendes 1935 - Band leader
• Burt Reynolds 1936 - Actor ("Smokey and the Bandit")
• Bobby "Boris" Pickett 1938
• Otis Clay 1942
• Jeb Bush 1953 - Governor of Florida, brother of U.S. President George W. Bush
• Phillip Anglim 1953
• Catherin Hickland 1956
• Carey Lowell 1961 - Actress ("Law and Order")
• Sheryl Crow 1962 - Singer, musician
• Sarah Palin 1964 - Governor of Alaska
• Jennifer Aniston 1969 - Actress ("Friends")
• Damian Lewis 1971 - Actor ("Band of Brothers")
• D'Angelo 1974
• Brice Beckham 1976
• Michael Kenji "Mike" Shinoda 1977 - Musician (Linkin Park)
• Brandy (Norwood) 1979 - Singer
• Matthew Lawrence 1980 - Actor
• Kelendria "Kelly" Rowland 1981 - Singer (Destiny's Child)
• Taylor Lautner 1992 - Actor ("Twilight", "New Moon")