Fun Fact Friday, Number One Hundred Three!

The category for today’s trivial imponderable is “physics.”  Do you know . . . the color of water?

Water is actually an extremely faint blue.  This color is most visible through the ice of a frozen waterfall.  The color can be more strikingly blue when looking “at” the water rather than “through” the water due to the reflection color of the sky.  Algae and other microscopic plants can also affect the appearance (or color) of water by reflecting and scattering the light as it returns to the surface.

Source: Sorry, Wrong Answer: Trivia Questions That Even Know-It-Alls Get Wrong, by Dr. Rod L. Evans.

Commonly Misspelled and Confused – Letter C!

Here is a list of some of the more commonly misspelled/misused words (courtesy of the Internet Accuracy Project) beginning with the letter “C.”  Enjoy!

Commonly misspelled words

C – calendar, camouflage, cantaloupe, carburetor, Caribbean, cartilage, category, cemetery, chagrined, challenge, characteristic, changing, chauvinism, chief, chili, chocolaty, cigarette, climbed, coliseum, collectible, colonel, colossal, column, congratulations, coming, commemorate, committee, commitment, comparative, competent, completely, concede, conceive, condemn, condescend, conscientious, conscious, consciousness, consensus, consistent, continuous, controlled, coolly, corollary, convenient, correlate, correspondence, counselor, courteous, courtesy, criticize.

Commonly Confused Words

CAPITAL – an upper case letter; seat of government; assets, funds or financial resources His company had sufficient capital to open new facilities in the state capital of Topeka. CAPITOL – the actual building in which the legislature of a country or state meets The governor gave a speech on fighting crime at the capitol. CENT – a 100th of certain monetary units, such as the dollar; a coin of this value; a penny Bananas are on sale for just 29 cents a pound. SENT – past tense and past participle of send He sent a postcard, but forgot all about the recent postage increase. SCENT – a smell; aroma; a clue by which something is tracked or discovered The scent was captivating in the perfume bottle, but smelled like rotten onions once applied. SENSE – any of the five senses; a feeling or perception; sound judgment He ended up in Two Egg, Florida, due to his terrible sense of direction. CITE – refer to; to quote; document The research paper would ultimately cite twelve sources that were later proven not to exist. SIGHT – vision; spectacle The snow-covered peaks surrounding Mammoth Mountain are a sight to behold. SITE – location; position; place The site of the new bank will be just down the street from its current location. COMPLEMENT – something that completes; brings to perfection; is in harmony with The wine complemented the lavish feast. COMPLIMENT – an expression of praise or flattery She received many compliments on her new book, until they discovered it was all plagiarized. CONSCIENCE – principles; a sense of right and wrong; ethics The politician claimed his conscience kept him from cheating on his wife. CONSCIOUS – awake; aware; cognizant Both passengers remained conscious following the auto accident. COUNCIL – a group that consults or advises The city council voted unanimously to outlaw smoking in bars and restaurants. COUNSEL – to advise The student was counseled before deciding which course she would take.

Source: Internet Accuracy Project’s commonly misspelled, confused and misused words is a helpful collection of some of the most commonly misspelled, confused and misused words.

Amazing Adjectives, Number Forty-Three!

Here is a word from the Greek hermeneútikós, meaning “skilled in interpreting”; from hermeneús, meaning “an interpreter”;  from Hermes, messenger of the gods.  As exemplified in The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate.

“The hermeneutic skill he showed in his celebrated lecture on interpreting poetry dazzled the entire faculty.”

hermeneutic

\ hur-muh–noo-tik or hur-muh–noo-ti-kuh l; –nyoo– \, adjective;

1. of or relating to hermeneutics; interpretative; explanatory.

Source: The Highly Selective Dictionary of Golden Adjectives for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich and http://www.dictionary.com.

Ancient History, Number Four!

By “ancient history,” I will be referencing events from November 26th, that occurred pre-1492 (i.e., before “Columbus sailed the ocean blue”).  Note: most of these will be from the medieval world (476 AD – 1492 AD) as many earlier events don’t always have specific dates.

• Saladin, aspiring to take over the late Nurad-Din’s Zangid empire, takes possession of the Syrian city of Damascus.  (1174 AD)
• King Alfonso X of Castile and León and King Philip III of France make a truce by the mediation of King Edward I of England.  (1279 AD)
• Pope Urban V dismisses Cardinal Albornozas legate in the papal states.  (1363 AD)

Source: Volume 1 of the Chronology of World History: Prehistory — AD 1491: The Ancient and Medieval World.

College Basketball 2019, Week Three!

The 2018-2019 college basketball season has official kicked off!  Earlier this week, the Spartans played in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational where they faced the Bruins of UCLA (#17).  The Spartans cruised to a 20-point victory.  Michigan State then played unranked Texas (who had defeated #7 North Carolina on their side of the bracket) in the tournament final.  The Spartans once again prevailed by double digits. The Big Ten currently has six (6) teams among the AP top-25:  Michigan [#9], Michigan State [#11], Iowa [#20], Ohio State [#23], Purdue [#24], and Wisconsin [#25].

Next up for the Spartans: on the road to face the Louisville Cardinals in the B1G/ACC challenge game (tomorrow) and the on the road at Rutgers (Friday).

The upsets this week included:
Duke (#1) losing to Gonzaga (#3) by two (2) points.
North Carolina (#7) losing to unranked Texas by three (3) points.
Florida State (#14) losing to unranked Villanova by six (6) points.
Mississippi State (#15) losing to unranked Arizona State by five (5) points.
Clemson (#16) losing to unranked Creighton by five (5) points.
TCU (#18) losing to unrankned Lipscomb.
LSU (#19) losing to unranked Oklahoma State.

The close calls this week (won by six points or less [two scores] or in overtime) included:
Duke (#1) defeating Auburn (#8) by six (6) points.
Kansas (#2) defeating Tennessee (#5) by points (6) in overtime..
Gonzaga (#3) defeating unranked Illinois by six (6) points.
Mississippi State (#15) defeating unranked Saint Mary’s by four (4) points.
Clemson (#16) defeating unranked Akron by three (3) points.

Top-25 match-ups won by the higher-ranked team included:
Kansas (#2) defeating Tennessee (#5) by six (6) points in overtime.
Virginia (#4) defeating Wisconsin (#25).
North Carolina (#7) defeating UCLA (#17).
Michigan State (#11) defeating UCLA (#17).
Florida State (#14) defeating LSU (#19) by three (3) points in overtime.

College Football 2018, Week Thirteen!

Well, the regular season has come to a close and the Spartans were able to rebound from back-to-back losses to pull out the victory against the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers.  The Big Ten continues to have four (4) teams ranked in the AP top-25 poll: Michigan [#4], Ohio State [#10], Penn State [#15], and Northwestern [#20]) and there are only four (4) undefeated teams remaining: Alabama [#1], Clemson [#2], Notre Dame [#3], and UCF [#8].

Next up for the Spartans, waiting to see which bowl game they will be invited to attend.  Go Green!

The upsets this week included:
Michigan (#4) losing to Ohio State (#10).
LSU (#7) losing to Texas A&M (#22) by two (1) points in overtime.
Washington State (#8) losing to Washington (#16).
Utah State (#21) losing to Boise State (#23).
Pittsburgh (#24) losing to unranked Miami.

The close calls this week (games that were won by a touchdown or less) included:
Notre Dame (#3) defeating unranked USC by seven (7) points.
Oklahoma (#6) defeating West Virginia (#13) by three (3) points.
Texas (#14) defeating unranked Kansas by seven (7) points.
Iowa State (#24) defeating unranked Kansas State by four (4) points.

Top-25 match-ups won by the higher-ranked team included:
Oklahoma (#6) defeating West Virginia (#13) by three (3) points.

Marriage Advice, Number Four!

Here is the fourth installment of advice on How to be Happy Though Married.  Enjoy!

The Pleasures of Marriage
“Romantic love is a species of drunkenness — even dullards are aware of this ; they are aware of it when they are not in love, and either forget it or disregard it when they are.”  (The Art of Making a Perfect Husband, 1929)

The Pains of Marriage
“Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.  Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.”  (Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900)

Hints for Husbands
“He that doth get a wench with child and marries her afterwards it is as if a man should shit in his hat and then clap it on his head.”  (Samuel Pepys, Diary, 1660)

Hints for Wives
“The Honeymoon is over; the die is cast.  You and you only stand between your husband’s and your starvation . . . Feeding a husband successfully starts with feeding him the things he likes to eat, for a clever bride cooks to please her man.”  (Happy Living!  A Guidebook for Brides, 1965)

The Marital Bed
“It may not be amiss to remind the bridegroom that the fair lasts all the year, and that he should be careful not to spend his stock lavishly, as women in general are better pleased in having a thing once well done than often ill done.”  (Aristotle’s Masterpiece, c. 1684)

Source: How to Be Happy Though Married: Matrimonial Strife Through the Ages, compiled by Emily Brand.

Fun Fact Friday, Number One Hundred Two!

Today’s real facts (courtesy of http://www.snapple.com) are all about lizards.  Did you know that . . .

• lizards communicate by doing push-ups?  (Real Fact #94)
• the only lizard that has a voice is the Gecko?  (Real Fact #758)

Source: http://www.snapple.com/real-facts

Happy Thanksgiving 2018!

Here is an infographic of “Thanksgiving by the numbers” (courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau).  Enjoy your day!

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Let Us Not Disparage!

The epitome of dirty politics  . . . the use of a canard.  “Before the election, the politician invented a canard about his rival and shared it with the media.”

canard

\ kuh–nahrd; French ka–nar \, noun;

1. a false or baseless, usually derogatory story, report, or rumor.
2. Cookery. a duck intended or used for food.
3. Aeronautics.
   1. an airplane that has its horizontal stabilizer and elevators located forward of tthe wing.
   2. Also called canard wing.one of two small lifting wings located in front of the  main wings.
   3. an early airplane having a pusher engine with the rudder and elevator  assembly in front of the wings.

Source: The Highly Selective Dictionary for the Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich, and http://www.dictionary.com.