10 August 2018 – cupidity

10 August 2018

cupidity

[kyoo-pid-i-tee]

noun

eager or excessive desire, especially to possess something; greed; avarice.

Origin of cupidity

1400–50; late Middle English cupidite (< Middle French) < Latin cupiditās, equivalent to cupid(us) eager, desirous (cup(ere) to desire + -idus -id4) + -itās -ity

Related forms

cu·pid·i·nous [kyoo-pid-n-uh s] /kyuˈpɪd n əs/, adjective

Synonyms

covetousness, avidity, hunger, acquisitiveness.

Dictionary.com

Examples of cupidity

Contemporary Examples

Colonialists like Robert Clive, victor of the seminal Battle of Plassey in 1757 that is seen as decisively inaugurating British rule in India, were unashamed of their cupidity and corruption. On his first return to England, Clive took home £234,000 from his Indian exploits (£23 million pounds in today’s money, making him one of the richest men in Europe).
Inglorious Empire: what the British did to India
Shashi Tharoor

Historical Examples

A new look flashed into her eyes, not cupidity, but purpose.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart

Romance, more than cupidity, is what attracts the gold-brick investor.
Wild Justice: Stories of the South Seas
Lloyd Osbourne

“I am that,” exclaimed the other, with a gleam of cupidity in his shifty eyes.
The Golden Woman
Ridgwell Cullum

He was about to let her carry out her threat if she saw fit when his cupidity overcame him.
The Harbor of Doubt
Frank Williams

The curses of Heaven light on the cupidity that has destroyed such a race.
The Pioneers
James Fenimore Cooper

Anagram

I cup tidy
I’d up city


Today’s quote

The library is the temple of learning, and learning has liberated more people than all the wars in history.

– Carl T. Rowan


On this day

10 August 587BC – Solomon’s Temple (also known as the ‘First Temple’) destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzer II during the Siege of Jerusalem. The temple was later rebuilt.

10 August 70AD – Solomon’s Temple (also known as the ‘Second Temple’) set alight by Roman Army, led by future Emperor Titus.

10 August 1628 – Swedish warship, Vasa, sinks only 1300 metres into her maiden voyage after a light gust of wind blew her over. 53 lives were lost. The Vasa had been commissioned by the King of Sweden in 1625, in order to compete in the war against Poland. In a case study that is the nightmare of project managers, the Vasa has come to represent scope-creep at its worst. The King continued adding and changing the scope of the design, including numerous changes to the length of the ship (108 feet, 111 feet, 120 feet, 135 feet). However, the most damaging scope changes were in relation to the guns. After increasing the size to 120 feet to carry 32 x 24-pound guns on a single deck, the King learned that Denmark was building a ship with twin gun decks, so he ordered the ship builder to scale up to 135 feet with two enclosed gun decks. Numerous changes to the quantity of guns were made, with the King finally settling on 64 x 24-pound guns, with 32 on each deck, plus several smaller guns. The upper deck had been built for 12-pound guns, so in the end 48 x 24-pound guns were installed (24 on each deck). The King then decided the Vasa had to look regal and demanded it be covered in hundreds of ornate, gilded carvings depicting biblical, mythical and historical themes. The heavy oak carvings added further weight to the already top-heavy ship. In a rush to get the ship into service, no stability tests were conducted. A test in 1961 indicated that the ship was so unstable that it would have listed at 10o. On its maiden voyage, it took a wind gust of 8 knots to blow it over. A lesson in poor project management and a warning against scope creep.

10 August 1960 – birth of José Domínguez Banderas, Spanish actor, otherwise known as Antonio Banderas.

10 August 1964 – Following the Gulf of Tonkin incidents on 2 and 4 August 1964, the US Congress passes ‘The Southeast Asia Resolution’ (the ‘Gulf of Tonkin Resolution’), which authorised the United States ‘to take all necessary steps, including the use of armed force, to assist any member or protocol state of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty requesting assistance in defense of its freedom‘. The passage of this Resolution led to US involvement in the Vietnam War.

9 August 2018 – sine qua non

9 August 2018

sine qua non

[sahy-nee kwey non, kwah, sin-ey; Latin si-ne kwah-nohn]

noun

1. an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential:
Her presence was the sine qua non of every social event.

Origin of sine qua non

Late Latin. From the Late Latin word sine quā (causā) nōn without which (thing) not
causa sine qua non. Literally, a cause without which not

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for sine qua non

Contemporary Examples

That accumulation of identities is already a sine qua non when speaking of Hispanics, like Zimmerman.
George Zimmerman, Hispanics, and the Messy Nature of American Identity
Ilan Stavans
April 6, 2012

In the land of the industrial revolution, foreign ownership and management is the sine qua non of industrial success.
Britain is in No Position to Rule the Waves
Noah Kristula-Green
March 8, 2012

This unsmoked, wet-cured ham is the sine qua non of Parisian butcher shops: a light, ephemeral meat, sweet but umami.
Easter’s Top Five Hams
Mark Scarbrough
March 30, 2010


Today’s quote

Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

– Theodor Seuss Geisel


On this day

9 August – World Indigenous Day – to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous populations. It also recognises the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues.

9 August 1936 – Jesse Owens, an African-American athlete, wins his 4th gold medal at the Berlin Olympics – much to Adolf Hitler’s chagrin. Hitler had hoped the games would show-case white Aryan ideals, and was disgusted that a black athlete had achieved more than the white athletes.

9 August 1945 – USA drops an atomic bomb, called ‘Fat Boy’ on Nagasaki, Japan. It is estimated that between 60,000 to 80,000 people died within four months of the bombing, with half that number dying on the day of the bombing.

8 August 2018 – craw

8 August 2018

craw

[kraw]

noun

1. the crop of a bird or insect.
2. the stomach of an animal.
Idioms
3. stick in one’s craw, to cause considerable or abiding resentment; rankle:
She said I was pompous, and that really stuck in my craw.

Origin of craw

Middle English

1350-1400; Middle English crawe, probably akin to crag2

Can be confused

craw, crow.
craw, crawl.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for craw

Contemporary Examples

One image in the film also stuck in my craw : a shot of a little boy in the audience holding up his white stuffed unicorn.
The Stacks: Pauline Kael’s Talking Heads Obsession
Pauline Kael
November 22, 2014

The seizure of this particular spring sticks in the craw of Palestinian activists—see the “infographic.”
The Settlement Movement and The Environmental Card
Kathleen Peratis
August 21, 2012

But what really stuck in my craw was that Pope mindlessly repeated a spate of spurious claims about ethanol and Brazil.
How Wall Street Will Ruin the Environment
Robert Bryce
June 26, 2009

Historical Examples

The seed came from the craw of a wild swan that they had shot.
Old Rail Fence Corners
Various

Something stuck in his craw, and he couldn’t figure out what it was.
The Bramble Bush
Gordon Randall Garrett

“He ain’t got the sand in his craw to make a killing,” said one of the listeners.
Rimrock Trail
J. Allan Dunn

“Just the same, he’s got something in his craw,” replied the sheriff.
Rimrock Trail
J. Allan Dunn

Fill the craw of the fowl, &c.; but do not cram it so as to disfigure its shape.
The Cook’s Oracle; and Housekeeper’s Manual
William Kitchiner

It was pumping up the food from its craw, in the same way that a pigeon does.
In a Cheshire Garden
Geoffrey Egerton-Warburton


Today’s quote

When the President does it, that means that it is not illegal.

– Richard Nixon


On this day

8 August 1864 – Formation of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland.

8 August 1879 – birth of Emiliano Zapata Salazar, Mexican revolutionary. Died 10 April 1919.

8 August 1945 – The Soviet Union declares war on the Empire of Japan and invades the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. In late, July 1945 Japan, naively, had been petitioning the neutral Soviets to broker a peace deal favourable to the Japanese. While the invasion violated the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact, it was in accordance with the secret Yalta Agreements that the Soviet Union made with the United States and the United Kingdom at the Crimea Conference held between 4-11 February 1945, in which Stalin agreed to attack Japan within 3 months of Germany’s surrender.

8 August 1953 – conclusion of negotiations for the 1953 London Debt Agreement which had begun on 27 February 1953, when West Germany was given debt relief by creditor nations, which included Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Greece, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Pakistan, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, the United States, Yugoslavia and others. The debt of 32 billion marks (16 billion owed to the United States and 16 billion to other nations) had accumulated since the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The London Agreement halved the debt to 15 billion marks to be paid out over 30 years. The repayments were capped at 3% of export earnings and were only required while West Germany had a trade surplus. This significantly boosted West Germany’s export market and directly resulted in Germany becoming an economic powerhouse.

8 August 1959 – death of Albert Namatjira, Australian Aboriginal artist. Born 28 July 1902.

8 August 1974 – USA President Richard Millhouse Nixon resigns because of his impending impeachment for ‘obstruction of justice’, ‘abuse of power’, and ‘contempt of congress’, in relation to the Watergate Scandal.

8 August 1981 – birth of Roger Federer in Switzerland, champion tennis player.

8 August 1988 – The ‘8888’ Uprising in Burma, from which Aung Sun Suu Kyi gains popularity and becomes a national hero.

7 August 2018 – Parousia

7 August 2018

Parousia

[puh-roo-zee-uh, -see-uh, pahr-oo-see-uh]

noun

1. advent (def 4).
2. (lowercase) Platonism. the presence in any thing of the idea after which it was formed.

Origin of Parousia

Greek

1870-1875; < Greek parousía a being present, presence, equivalent to par- par- + ous- (stem of ôn, present participle of eînai to be) + -ia -ia

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for Parousia

Historical Examples

They also betray the expectation of the early coming of the Parousia.
Sources of the Synoptic Gospels
Carl S. Patton

They betray the conviction that the time of the Parousia is near.
Sources of the Synoptic Gospels
Carl S. Patton

Luke (xvii, 34) wishes to suggest that the Parousia may occur in the night.
Sources of the Synoptic Gospels
Carl S. Patton

Furthermore, it is not only in the earlier epistles that expressions occur which seem to suggest that the Parousia is near.
The Literature and History of New Testament Times
J. Gresham (John Gresham) Machen

The thought of an incarnation or a Parousia of Wisdom is absolutely foreign to Jewish thought.
The Origin of Paul’s Religion
J. Gresham Machen

Luke, or his source, wishes to indicate that the Parousia may be in the night, and so adds the words and .
Sources of the Synoptic Gospels
Carl S. Patton


Today’s quote

You can expect what you inspect.

– William Deming


On this day

7 August 1876 – birth of Mata Hari, (born Margaretha Geertruida Zelle), Dutch dancer, courtesan and spy. She was charged with espionage and executed by firing squad in France, after being accused of spying for Germany during World War I. Died 15 October 1917.

7 August 1964 – birth of John Birmingham, Australian author.

7 August 1987 – US long distance swimmer, Lynne Cox, swims the freezing Bering Strait from Alaska to the Soviet Union in an effort to warm the relationship between the USA and the USSR. Unlike the reception that Matthius Rust received in May 1987 for illegally entering the Soviet Union, Lynne Cox was welcomed by the Eskimos of the Diomede Islands and Soviet soldiers stationed there. Her effort was praised by the both US President Ronald Reagan and USSR General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev.

6 August 2018 – withershins

6 August 2018

withershins or widdershins

[with -er-shinz]

adverb, Chiefly Scot.

1. in a direction contrary to the natural one, especially contrary to the apparent course of the sun or counterclockwise: considered as unlucky or causing disaster.

Also wid·der·shins [wid-er-shinz] /ˈwɪd ərˌʃɪnz/.

Compare deasil.

Origin of withershins

1505–15; Middle Low German weddersin(ne)s, Middle High German widdersinnes, equivalent to wider (Old High German widar) opposite (see with) + sinnes, genitive of sin way, course (cognate with Old English sīth); see send1, -s1

Dictionary.com

Historical Examples

But this is telling our tale “withershins about,” as they say in Netherby.
Cleg Kelly, Arab of the City
S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett

To go ‘withershins’ seems to have been reserved for cursing and excommunication.
Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I.
Sir James George Frazer

To go round the person in the opposite direction, or “withershins,” is an evil incantation and brings ill-fortune.
The Kath Sarit Sgara
Somadeva Bhatta

A weak man like his learned brother Withershins was not a judge to keep the high-roads safe, and make crime tremble.
In a Glass Darkly, v. 1/3
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

Having arrived at their rendezvous, they danced round it ‘withershins’—that is, in reverse of the apparent motion of the sun.
Witch, Warlock, and Magician
William Henry Davenport Adams

Anagram

shrewish nit
whist shrine


Today’s quote

Once you ‘got’ Pop, you could never see a sign again the same way again. And once you thought Pop, you could never see America the same way again.

– Andy Warhol


On this day

6 August 1661 – Holland sells Brazil to Portugal for 8 million guilders.

6 August 1806 – The Holy Roman Empire comes to an inglorious end at the hands of Napoleon.

6 August 1928 – birth of Andy Warhol. (Born Andrew Warhola). American artist who was a pioneer of pop art. American writer, Gore Vidal, once said, ‘Andy Warhol is the only genius I’ve ever known with an IQ of 60‘. Died 22 February 1987.

6 August 1945 – USA drops an atomic bomb, called ‘Little Boy’ on Hiroshima, Japan. It is estimated that between 70,000 to 140,000 people died within the four months of the bombing, with half that number dying on the day of the bombing.

6 August 1965 – President Lydon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act which removed discriminatory voting practices against African Americans. Essentially it meant African Americans could vote freely, without having to meet qualifications that white Americans didn’t need to meet, such as literacy tests.

5 August 2018 – gage

5 August 2018

gage

[geyj]

noun

1. something, as a glove, thrown down by a medieval knight in token of challenge to combat.
2. Archaic. a challenge.
3. Archaic. a pledge or pawn; security.
verb (used with object), gaged, gaging.
4. Archaic. to pledge, stake, or wager.

Origin of gage

Middle English, Middle French, Germanic

1350-1400; Middle English < Middle French < Germanic; see wage

Examples from the Web for gage

Contemporary Examples

That means six years, at least, of 30-hour gym days and, at gage, $600-a-month training costs.
Gabby Douglas, Ryan Lochte: Why Families of America’s Olympics Athletes Are Broke
Kevin Fallon
August 7, 2012

But Grimes estimates that there are roughly 20 girls at gage training at elite levels, and writing those accompanying checks.
Gabby Douglas, Ryan Lochte: Why Families of America’s Olympics Athletes Are Broke
Kevin Fallon
August 7, 2012


Today’s quote

“It’s about how some people carelessly squander what others would sell their souls to have: a healthy, pain-free body. And why? Because they’re too blind, too emotionally scarred, or too self-involved to see past the earth’s dark curve to the next sunrise. Which always comes, if one continues to draw breath.”

– Stephen King (from “End of Watch (The Bill Hodges Trilogy Book 3)”


On this day

5 August 910 – Battle of Tettenhall, in which King Edward and Earl Aethelred defeat the last of the Viking armies to raid England.

5 August 1305 – Scottish revolutionary, William Wallace, captured by English forces near Glasgow. He was transported to London for trial and execution.

5 August 1861 – the United States Army abolishes flogging and increases enlistment terms from 3 months to 2 years.

5 August 1884 – construction of the Statue of Liberty commences in New York City with the laying of the cornerstone.

5 August 1930 – birth of Neil Armstrong, astronaut, first man on the moon. Died 25 August 2012.

5 August 1944 – The Cowra Breakout – The largest prisoner-of-war escape in World War 2, when 1104 Japanese prisoners attempted to breakout of the Australian internment camp at Cowra, New South Wales. Four Australian soldiers and 231 Japanese prisoners were killed during the manhunt. The remaining prisoners were captured and returned to prison.

5 August 1957 – the ‘Andy Capp’ comic strip makes its debut.

5 August 1962 – Marilyn Monroe found dead. She was 36 years old. It is believed she deliberately over-dosed on drugs, but questions remain around whether she administered it voluntarily or someone murdered her. Born 1 July 1926.

5 August 1966 – Datebook magazine quotes John Lennon controversially declaring that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus. Lennon had made the comment on 4 March 1966 in England, where no-one paid attention to it. When Datebook published it in August in the United States it caused an uproar. The full quote was ‘Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn’t argue about that; I’m right and I’ll be proved right. We’re more popular than Jesus now; I don’t know which will go first—rock ‘n’ roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me‘.

4 August 2018 – modish

4 August 2018

modish

[moh-dish]

adjective

1. in the current fashion; stylish.

Origin of modish

1650-1660, First recorded in 1650-60; mode2+ -ish1

Related forms

modishly, adverb
modishness, noun
unmodish, adjective
unmodishly, adverb

Synonyms

smart, chic, fashionable, trendy.

Dictionary.com

Examples from the Web for modish

Contemporary Examples

It feels bizarrely out of place, and the horde of modish Angelenos decide to capture it on their iPhones and Androids.
Paris Hilton’s Trippy Los Angeles Release Party For Her Single With Lil Wayne
Jean Trinh
October 9, 2013

A group of modish young Angelenos has congregated at Eveleigh, a bistro off Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.
Andrew Bachelor, a.k.a. King Bach, Is the King of Vine—And Comedy’s Next Big Thing
Marlow Stern
August 29, 2013

Top-40 music is blaring and the crowd, most of whom are standing, is young, modish, and easy on the eyes.
Inside Beacher’s Madhouse, L.A.’s Craziest Nightclub
Marlow Stern
June 22, 2013

United received heaps of critical acclaim stateside and Phoenix became a favorite among the modish indie crowd.
Phoenix on New Album ‘Bankrupt!’ and Journey to Rock Superstardom
Marlow Stern
April 22, 2013

Historical Examples

There was evidence of great care and taste in every fold of her modish dress.
Wayside Courtships
Hamlin Garland

Tis modish to say women are tender, Phoebe; more modish than true.
The Maidens’ Lodge
Emily Sarah Holt

She wore a modish hat that was immensely becoming, and looked charming.
Langford of the Three Bars
Kate Boyles

Judge then, if to me a lady of the modish taste could have been tolerable.
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded
Samuel Richardson

Orson Vane’s bias toward the theatre did not displease the modish.
The Imitator
Percival Pollard

And Anne, neither classic nor modish, still vaguely resembled her!
The Gorgeous Isle
Gertrude Atherton


Today’s quote

Change is certain. Peace is followed by disturbances; departure of evil men by their return. Such recurrences should not constitute occasions for sadness but realities for awareness, so that one may be happy in the interim.

– Percy Bysshe Shelley


On this day

4 August 1181 – Supernova (not the rock band), SN1181, observed by Chinese and Japanese astronomers in the constellation Cassiopeia. It was visible for 185 days. A supernova is the explosive death of a star, resulting in a nebula of illuminated gas.

4 August 1792 – birth of Percy Bysshe Shelley, English romantic poet, considered to be one the finest lyric poets of all time. Died 8 July 1822.

4 August 1914 – World War I officially starts as Great Britain declares war on Germany in response to the German invasion of Belgium the day before.

4 August 1914 – United States declares its neutrality in World War I.

4 August 1929 – birth of Yasser Arafat, Palestinian leader. Died 11 November 2004.

4 August 1944 – German police and Gestapo officers arrest Jewish diarist, Anne Frank and her family, in Amsterdam. The family was eventually transported to the Auschwitz concentration camp. In March 1945 a typhus epidemic spread through the camp, claiming the Anne’s life. The camp was liberated only weeks later, in April 1945, by British troops. Anne Frank kept a diary which later was published and became a best seller.

4 August 1964 – the second Gulf of Tonkin Incident in which it was believed North Vietnamese troops fired on two US destroyers, the USS Maddox and the USS Turner Joy. It is now believed the second incident may have involved false radar images and not the North Vietnamese.

3 August 2018 – shamal

3 August 2018

Shamal

noun

A shamal (Arabic: شمال‎, ‘north’) is a northwesterly wind blowing over Iraq and the Persian Gulf states (including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), often strong during the day, but decreasing at night. This weather effect occurs anywhere from once to several times a year, mostly in summer but sometimes in winter. The resulting wind typically creates large sandstorms that impact Iraq, most sand having been picked up from Jordan and Syria.


Today’s quote

Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.

– Franz Kafka


On this day

3 August 1811 – birth of Elisha Graves Otis, American industrialist and founder of the Otis Elevator Company. In 1854, he put the finishing touches to his signature invention: a safety device to prevent elevators falling if the cable fails. Died 8 April 1861.

3 August 1905 – birth of Maggie Kuhn, activist and founder of the Gray Panthers, who campaigned for nursing home reform and opposed ageism. She also fought for human rights, social and economic justice, global peace, integration, and mental health issues. Died 22 April 1995.

3 August 1914 – World War I heats up: Germany invades Belgium and declares war on France, while Turkey signs a pact with Germany.

3 August 1914 – Formation of the World Alliance for International Friendship through the Churches. It’s purpose was to help churches promote peace, disarmament,rights of racial and religious minorities, conscientious objection, arms control, and the League of Nations.

3 August 1963 – birth of James Hetfield, US rock star, member of Metallica.

3 August 1973 – birth of Patrick Wilson, American actor, from movies such as ‘the Alamo‘, ‘Watchmen‘, ‘The A-Team‘, ‘Phantom of the Opera‘ – with Gerard Butler and Emma Rossum.

3 August 1973 – Fire kills 51 people at an amusement park on the Isle of Man.

2 August 2018 – gallus

2 August 2018

gallus

/ˈɡæləs/

adjective

1. (Scot) bold; daring; reckless

Word Origin

a variant of gallows used as an adjective, meaning fit for the gallows
Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Examples from the Web for gallus

Historical Examples

But gallus birds like you and your company, it’s best for us not to be seen in company with.
Romance
Joseph Conrad and F.M. Hueffer

The word gallus, a Gaul, is of course the same as the Irish gal, a stranger.
Notes and Queries, Number 219, January 7, 1854
Various


Today’s quote

Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.

– Salvador Dali


On this day

2 August 216BC – 2nd Punic War, Battle of Cannae, in which Hannibal defeats the much larger Roman army.

2 August 1776 – the United States Declaration of Independence officially signed by 56 Congressional delegates who were not present on 4 July 1776, when 34 Congressional delegates signed and ratified it.

2 August 1934 – the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in the United States, levying $1 on commercial dealers of cannabis. It did not outlaw cannabis, but included hefty penalties if the Act was violated, namely five years imprisonment and a $2,000 fine. The Act was repealed in 1970.

2 August 1964 – the first Gulf of Tonkin Incident in which North Vietnamese troops fired on a US destroyer, the USS Maddox (the second incident allegedly occurred on 4 August 1964). The incident gave rise to the US Congress passing the ‘Gulf of Tonkin Resolution’ – officially the ‘Southeast Asia Resolution – which eventually led to the Vietnam War.

2 August 1997 – death of William Seward Burroughs, otherwise known as William S. Burroughs or William Lee, Beat Generation author, painter, spoken word performer. The beat generation rose to prominence in the 1950s and experimented with innovation in art, style, rules and drugs. Burroughs work includes Junkie, Queer, and Naked Lunch. Born on 5 February 1914 .

1 August 2018 – tzimmes

1 August 2018

tzimmes

[tsim-is]

noun

1. Also, tsimmes. Jewish Cookery. any of various sweetened combinations of vegetables, fruit, and sometimes meat, prepared as a casserole or stew.
2. fuss; uproar; hullabaloo:
He made such a tzimmes over that mistake!

Origin of tzimmes

1890-1895; < Yiddish tsimes, akin to dialectal German (Swabia) zimmes, zimbes compote, stew, Swiss German zimis lunch; compound (orig. prepositional phrase) with Middle High German z, ze unstressed variant of zuo (German zu) at, to + Middle High German, Old High German imbiz, imbīz snack, light meal ( German Imbiss), noun derivative of Old High German enbīzan to take nourishment; see in-1, bite

Dictionary.com


Today’s quote

The propagandist’s purpose is to make one set of people forget that certain other sets of people are human.

– Aldous Huxley


On this day

1 August – the official birthday for all thoroughbred horses in the Southern Hemisphere.(see 1 January for Northern Hemisphere).

1 August 10BC – birth of Claudius, Roman Emperor. He was treated as an imbecile because he’d been born with a limp and slight deafness. As a result he was not seen as a threat by others and therefore survived the purges by Caligula and Tiberius. He was the last surviving man in his family following Caligula’s assassination, leading to him being declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard. He proved himself to be an able administrator and constructed many roads, aqueducts and canals across the empire. He successfully invaded Britain, something that previous emperors, including Caligula, had failed to do achieve. He was assassinated by poisoning, many believe by his wife. He was succeeded by his grand-nephew, Nero. Died 13 October 54AD.

1 August 1774 – Joseph Priestly discovers oxygen. Controversially, Carl Willhelm Scheele claims to have discovered oxygen in 1773, but did not publish his findings until 1777, well after Priestly published his own in 1775. Scheele claimed Priestly was an oxygen thief. Other claimants to the discovery of oxygen include Michal Sędziwój (in the 16th century) and Antoine Laurent Lavoisier who was working concurrently with Priestly and Scheele.

1 August 1794 – Whiskey Rebellion, which was a protest against a tax imposed by George Washington on the production of whiskey by grain growers.

1 August 1799 – France becomes the first country to introduce the metric system.

1 August 1834 – slavery officially abolished throughout the British Empire.

1 August 1882 – death of Henry Kendall, Australian poet. Born 18 April 1839.

1 August 1936 – Adolph Hitler opens the XI Olympiad in Berlin, Germany.