12 February 2013

serendipity

[ser-uhn-dip-i-tee]

noun

1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.
2. good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job she applied for.

Origin:
1754; Serendip + -ity; Horace Walpole so named a faculty possessed by the heroes of a fairy tale called The Three Princes of Serendip

Related forms
ser·en·dip·it·er, ser·en·dip·i·tist, ser·en·dip·per, noun

Today’s aphorism

‘Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience’.

– Mark Twain

On this day

12 February 1912 – the Last Emperor of China, Hsian-T’ung is forced to abdicate by republicans, ending 2000 years of imperial rule. The Republic of China formed on 1 January 1912, followed by the People’s Republic of China, which formed on 1 October 1949.