~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
July 22nd, 2011

★~ Today’s Quote: The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug. ~ Mark Twain

★~ Spoonerism Day:

I think Mr. Spooner and I might be kindred spits. We both understand what it is like to be pit nicked for turning words inside out

William Archibald Spooner was an Oxford professor who famously mixed up his words and phrases, switching around letters or syllables to create whacky outcomes that came to be called ‘spoonerisms.’  Today we celebrate the man whose slips of the tongue led to the coinage of the term spoonerism to describe them. A few examples: blushing crow (for crushing blow), tons of soil (for sons of toil), queer old dean (for dear old queen), swell foop (for fell swoop) and half-warmed fish (for half-formed wish). Enjoy your slips of  tongue today in honor of Mr. Spooner.

★~ Hammock Day:

Summer is in full swing, and it’s time to slow down and relax! There is no better way to slow down and relax than to stretch out in a hammock, snoozing to the swoosh of a gentle breeze. If you don’t own a hammock, consider napping on your chez lounge under a shady tree.

★~ Penuche Fudge:

Penuche fudge is chocolate free; instead it has a golden brown color and a caramel flavor that comes from brown sugar. It’s lighter than its siblings — chocolate fudge and white (blonde) fudge — making it the perfect summer time fudge.

Celebrate Penuche Fudge day by indulging in a nibble or two of this soft, sweet and smooth treat, or whipping up a batch in your own kitchen.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1376 –  The anniversary of the legendary feat of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who used his musical prowess to play a little ditty and lead the rats out of town. Rat catcher are honored today for riding towns of the dirty low down varmints.

♥~ 1934 – Public enemy number one, the notorious John Dillinger, was gunned down and mortally wounded by FBI agents at the Biograph Theatre in Chicago, IL.

♥~ 1967 – The Billboard singles chart showed that Windy, by The Association, was the most popular record in the U.S. for the fourth straight week. The Los Angeles-based sextet would make way for Jim Morrison and The Doors a week later when Light My Fire became the hottest record of the mid-summer.

♥~ 1989 – The youngest pilot to fly around the world, 11-year-old Tony Aliengena, completed his globe-circling trip. The 4th grader returned to John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA, nearly seven weeks and 21,567 miles after taking off in a Cessina 210 Centurion.

♥ ~ 2006 – 3,000 people gathered at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas for the annual Lifestyles conference, a five-day, $700-per-couple event that offers a mix of seminars, socializing and sex.

★~ Born Today:

♥~ 1898 – Alexander (Stirling) Calder sculptor: wood, bronze, mobiles; 1898. Internationally acclaimed American abstract artist who invented the mobile.  Calder took a degree in mechanical engineering but was drawn into art in the 1920s. By the 1930s he was the most famous American artist in the world. Editors of Chase’s Calendar of Events (2010). Chase’s Calendar of Events, 2011 Edition (Kindle Locations 26095-26097). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.

♥~ 1908 –  Amy  Vanderbilt: American journalist and etiquette expert born at New York, NY. Her Amy Vanderbilt’s Complete Book of Etiquette (1952) became the bible for manners of courtesy and society. Vanderbilt also hosted the television program “It’s in Good Taste” from 1954 to 1960.

♥~ 1932 – Oscar De La Renta fashion designer

♥~ 1947 – Albert Brooks (Einstein) actor: Broadcast News, Lost in America, Private Benjamin, Taxi Driver

♥~ 1947 – Don Henley drummer, singer: groups: Shiloh; The Eagles: Hotel California; solo: Dirty Laundry, All She Wants to Do is Dance, The End of the Innocence; songwriter: The Boys of Summer

★~ Did You Know: Word Roots:

♥~  Dr Seuss coined the word nerd in his 1950 book If I ran the zoo.

♥~  In  the 1700’s trappers could get a dollar for a buckskin: dollar for a buck.

♥~  How did hammocks first get their names? They were made from the fibers of a hamack tree.

♥~ The slang term for an emergency room patient who isn’t sick enough to justify being there: Gomer (get out of my emergency room)

♥~ People use to say “wil I, nil I?” when they could not make up their minds: willy-nilly

♥~ Theaters spotlights use to burn lime for light–limelight.

★~ Today’s Giggle:

Problems with my laptop required calling the dreaded company help line. The service rep, based in another country, did not speak English very well. So I tried to explain it as simply as possible:

“I can’t get the computer to work.”

“Ah, I see,” he responded. “You are unable to transport your computer to your place of employment.”

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Happy Friday!  I will be back in a bit to muse about, yesterdays,  junk food day. If you have a morno moment drop us a comment.  Odd loves company.