DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF ESPERANZA AQUINO
Thursday November 25th, 2004
In Today's Edition
Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I hope you all have a blessed day and a very pleasant weekend.
Born On November 25th
Christina Applegate (1971)
Amy Grant (1960)
John F. Kennedy, Jr. (1960)
John Larroquette (1947)
Ricardo Montalban (1920)
Joe DiMaggio (1914)
Carry Nation (1846)
Esther Fogata
Born On November 27th
Destini Watson
Thanksgiving Jokes
What did the mother turkey say to her disobedient children?
If your father could see you now, he'd turn over in his gravy!
If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
Pilgrims!
Why did the police arrest the turkey?
They suspected it of fowl play
Today's useless fact - Why does Swiss cheese have holes in it?
According to the links in the Lukol Cheese Making category, gassy bacteria are behind all that holey cheese. In order to make cheese, you need the help of bacteria. Starter cultures containing bacteria are added to milk, where they create lactic acid, essential for producing cheese. Various types of bacteria can be used to make cheese, and some cheeses require several different bacteria to give them a particular flavor. "Propionibacter shermani" is one of the three types of bacteria used to make Swiss cheese, and it's responsible for the cheese's distinctive holes. Once P. shermani is added to the cheese mixture and warmed, bubbles of carbon dioxide form. These bubbles become holes in the final product. Cheesemakers can control the size of the holes by changing the acidity, temperature, and curing time of the mixture. Incidentally, those holes are technically called "eyes," and the proper Swiss name for the cheese is Emmentaler (also spelled Emmental or Emmenthaler).
Swiss cheese has been in the news recently because the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) created new guidelines that regulate the hole size of domestically produced Swiss cheese. The USDA reduced the standard size of the holes by half because new cheese-slicing machinery got caught on larger holes. The Swiss weren't pleased by the revised guidelines and insist that Emmentaler must have large holes. Considering how iconic those eyes are, we think they have a good point.
What's The Buzzword For November 25th?
sage \SAYJ\ noun
What does it mean?
1 : a mint with fragrant leaves that is used especially to
flavor meat
2 : sagebrush
How do you use it?
On Thanksgiving morning, the house was filled with the
pungent smells of rosemary, thyme, sage, and the other herbs
that flavored our traditional stuffing recipe.
Are you a word wiz?
"Sage" is the name of an herb, but there is another noun
"sage" that means "a very wise person." Which of the
following do you think correctly states the relationship
between these two words?
A. The herb was thought to make people wise, which gave
rise to the "wise person" sense.
B. A man famous for intelligence popularized the herb,
and it was named in honor of his wisdom.
C. Both words trace back to a Greek word for "brain."
D. Their histories are unrelated.
Answer:
You're a word sage if you picked answer D. The two nouns
"sage" share spelling and pronunciation, but not word
histories. The "sage" that names an herb traces through
French to the Latin word "salvia." "Salvia" derives from
"salvus," meaning "healthy," a reference to the herb's
medicinal uses. The noun "sage" that means "a wise person"
derives from the adjective "sage," meaning "wise." It too
traces back through French to Latin, but this time to the
Latin word "sapere," meaning "to have good taste" or "to be
wise."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
Click Here
Pumpkin Pie
That's all for today. See you Monday.
The following is what appeared in Wednesday's edition.
In Today's Edition
Macy's Thanksgiving Parade drops more than 1,000 pounds of confetti, and the balloon figures are up to 5 stories high.
Born On November 24th
Katherine Heigl (1978)
William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925)
Dale Carnegie (1888)
Scott Joplin (1868)
Bat Masterson (1853)
Zachary Taylor (1784)
Contented Cows
Farmer Jones had heard that the best milk comes from contented cows. Therefore, he'd visit them every morning and tell them jokes. The cows laughed and laughed, and they gave excellent milk. However, the news got around and no one else was much amused. Thus, his cows became the laughing stock of the community.
Today's useless fact - How do water towers work? Do they hold all of the water for the town, and how does the water get into the tower?
We referred to the Lukol Drinking Water category. Water towers are very simple structures -- large, elevated containers of water. The height of the tower, coupled with the massive amounts of water contained therein, create water pressure. Water towers don't hold all of a town's water -- they generally hold just a day's worth. The water in your tap usually starts off in a reservoir, travels to a treatment plant, then is pumped into the water system. Any extra water that isn't needed travels up into the water tower.
Water towers act as back-up tanks during peak usage hours. They're also incredibly effective during fires, when the water system is overloaded. If you live in a town with a water tower, chances are your fire insurance premium is lower. The famous water towers on the roofs of New York City create water pressure for buildings higher than six stories.
What's The Buzzword For November 24th?
hibachi \hih-BAH-chee\ noun
What does it mean?
: a charcoal grill
How do you use it?
When their oven broke down right before Thanksgiving,
Ethan's family used the hibachi to grill their holiday turkey.
Are you a word wiz?
From what language do you think English borrowed the word
"hibachi"?
A. Persian
B. Italian
C. Japanese
D. Algonquian
Answer:
Answer C is the one that sizzles! Although it is Japanese
in origin, "hibachi" shares something with Thanksgiving. The
first known print appearance of "hibachi" in English occurred
in 1863, the year the U.S. declared Thanksgiving a national
holiday. Almost a century later, English speakers started
using "teriyaki" to refer to a Japanese dish of grilled meat
or fish soaked in soy sauce. You might use a hibachi to make
teriyaki, but you wouldn't use one to prepare sushi. Another
word of Japanese origin, "sushi" was first used in English
in the late 1800s. It names cold rice shaped in small cakes
and topped or wrapped with bits of raw seafood or vegetables.
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's all for today. See you tomorrow.
The following is what appeared in Tuesday's edition.
In Today's Edition
91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day. Of the 300 million turkeys raised annually, 45 million are consumed at Thanksgiving.
Born On November 23rd
Harpo Marx (1888)
Boris Karloff (1887)
Billy the Kid (1859)
Franklin Pierce (1804)
Accident at the Brewery
Brenda O'Malley is home making dinner as usual, when Tim Finnegan arrives at her door."Brenda, may I come in?" he asks. "I've somethin' to tell ya."
"Of course you can come in. You're always welcome, Tim. But where's my husband?"
"That's what I'm here to be tellin' ya, Brenda. There was an accident down at the Guinness brewery."
"Oh, God no!" cries Brenda. "Please don't tell me..."
"I must, Brenda. Your husband Shamus is dead and gone. I'm sorry."
Finally, she looked up at Tim. "How did it happen, Tim?"
"It was terrible, Brenda. He fell into a vat of Guinness Stout and drowned."
Oh my dear Jesus! But you must tell me true, Tim. Did he at least go quickly?"
"Well, no Brenda, no.""No?"
"Fact is, he got out three times to pee."
Today's useless fact - What are the five most popular names for pets?
We began our quest for top pet monikers by paying a visit to the Lukol Pets category. We sniffed around the links, convinced we were barking up the right tree.
BowWowMeow.com offers a list of the 20 most popular pet names based on orders they receive for their pet identification tags. The list is divided into four categories (male dogs, female dogs, male cats, and female cats), which makes it difficult to come up with an overall top five. And since it only includes cats and dogs, the list leaves a wide array of pet species out in the cold. But if you need to name the new stray that has adopted you, this is the place to look.
Lostdogs.com also offers a list of popular pet names, but it, too, is limited to the usual furry, four-legged varieties -- cats and dogs.
Undaunted, we headed to iVillage's Pet Name Finder. We clicked on the link titled favorite names and dug up a list of the top 10 pet names. We can't vouch for the methodology, but according to this list, the top five are:
1. Rocky
2. Amber
3. Jasper
4. Cinnamon
5. Max
Next, we decided headed to the study page by the ASPCA. They surveyed veterinarians around the country to compile their list. Their top five were:
1. Max
2. Sam
3. Lady
4. Bear
5. Smoky
Sadly, old standbys like Fido, Rover, and (our personal favorite) Rex were nowhere to be found. Apparently, there is no consensus when it comes to the top five names, but you can't go wrong with Max (although you may summon every pet on the block next time you call for yours!).
What's The Buzzword For November 23rd?
prescience \PRESH-ee-unss\ noun
What does it mean?
: foreknowledge of events : human anticipation of the course
of events : foresight
How do you use it?
Grandma has uncanny prescience of her town's first snowfall.
Are you a word wiz?
One of the following scenarios is an example of "prescience."
Which one do you think it is?
A. finding where your friend is hidden in a game of
hide-and-seek
B. knowing what homework the teacher will give you before
it is assigned
C. learning to spell a very difficult word after trying
for a long time
D. climbing up into a tree until you are high enough to
see over roofs
Answer:
We knew ahead of time that some of you would pick B. If you
know what your homework will be before your teacher assigns
it, you have prescience. When "prescience" was first used in
the 14th century, it referred to the kind of foreknowledge
that a god has. Not long after that, however, the word was
used to refer to the knowledge humans sometimes have about
the future, like when they sense that something good or bad
is about to happen. "Prescience" traces back to the Latin
word "praescire," meaning "to know beforehand." "Preascire"
itself is an offspring of "scire," meaning "to know," also
the root word of "science."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's all for today. See you tomorrow.
The following is what appeared in Monday's edition.
In Today's Edition
I got a request to post this announcement:
Lisha and Keith are on holiday from London. They would really like to see the family while they are here. Tony and Robin will be having a lunch get-together on Sunday, November 28th. at 12:00 noon at their house. All you have to bring is yourself and something that you would like to drink. It will be a Mexican feast. Rumor has it that someone is practicing making tamales in preparation for the official bash. We look forward to seeing all family members. If you have any questions please call the Aquino's at 626-333-0354 . Hasta la Cheerio, baby !
Born On November 22nd
Stephen Geoffreys (1964)
Mariel Hemingway (1961)
Jamie Lee Curtis (1958)
Billie Jean King (1943)
Robert Vaughn (1932)
Rodney Dangerfield (1921)
Benjamin Britten (1913)
Hoagy Carmichael (1899)
Charles de Gaulle (1890)
Joe Villalba Jr.
Bet
A man is in the hospital after getting drunk and swallowing 120 coins on a bet.
Doctors monitoring his situation say, "So far, no change."
Today's useless fact - Alluring:
Especially in the world of entertainment, practically every female hopes to be described as alluring. If early use of the term means anything, this quality should be viewed with caution. When English and European gentry were enamored with falconry, every owner of birds experimented with lures. Such a device consisted of a cluster of feathers to which food could be attached while a hawk was in training. Associating feathers with feasting, a soaring bird usually flew back to its owner when a lure was conspicuously displayed.
A lure's function was to attract a hawk's attention and induce it to return to its master. Hence anything or anyone tempting, fascinating, or enticing came to be described as "alluring".
What's The Buzzword For November 22nd?
omelet \AHM-lut\ noun
What does it mean?
: beaten eggs cooked without stirring and served folded
in half
How do you use it?
Carole liked to fill her omelets with fresh seasonal
ingredients, such as asparagus in spring, zucchini in summer,
and fennel in fall.
Are you a word wiz?
We can trace "omelet" (which is also spelled "omelette")
back to its Latin roots in the word "lamina." What do you
think "lamina" means?
A. broken shell
B. hot meal
C. thin plate
D. yellow mush
Answer:
An omelet resembles a thin plate, and that is what "lamina"
means. The Romans used "lamella," a form of "lamina," to mean
"thin metal plate." French speakers borrowed the word as
"lemelle" and used it to mean "blade of a knife." Over time,
the French word became "alemelle," then "alumelle," and later
"alumette." It also acquired the meaning "dish made with
beaten eggs," since such a dish resembled a thin plate or
blade. In time, French speakers began to switch the "l" and
"m" sounds so that "alumette" became "amelette." It finally
became "omelette." The word entered English in the 1600s,
when an omelet was described as a "pancake of eggs."
Today's Jigsaw Puzzle
That's all for today. See you tomorrow.
