Answer of the Day
Is there any room at the inn? Conrad Hilton answered yes to that question, and became one of the world's wealthiest men. When he was a child, Hilton helped his father welcome business travelers to the rooms they had set up in their home in San Antonio. He learned well what the travelers were looking for in a temporary home. In 1919, Hilton bought his first hotel and several years later he opened his first Hilton Hotel, the Dallas Hilton. America's first coast-to-coast hotel chain opened inns overseas in the 1940s. Conrad Hilton was born on December 25, 1887.

Quote
"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." — Conrad Hilton

Word of the day
cookie-cutter
(KOOK-ee kuht-uhr)

adjective
Mass-produced; identical; unimaginative; lacking individuality.

Etymology
After a tool used to cut out cookie dough in various shapes.

Usage
"On the other side of the tracks is a long line of cookie-cutter bungalows stretching as far as the eye can see." — Marie Wadden; Where Tragedy Falls Off Canada's Map; Toronto Star (Canada); Nov. 18, 2006.

Weekly theme
Desserts used metaphorically
(© Wordsmith.org)

Holiday
Christmas

Today's History

William the Conqueror

• William the Conqueror: monarch also known as William the Bastard was crowned king of England (1066)
• George Washington: crossed the Delaware River to attack Hessian forces in New Jersey (1776)
• Nicolae Ceauşescu: Romanian leader and his wife, Elena, were executed (1989)

Today's Birthdays

Anwar al-Sadat

• Jesus of Nazareth (c.4 BCE-c.30 CE): teacher and prophet, considered by Christians to be the Messiah; his birth is celebrated today
• Isaac Newton (1643-1727): physicist who explained gravity
• Clara Barton (1821-1912): nurse who founded the American Red Cross
• Robert L. Ripley (1890-1949): cartoonist, Ripley's Believe it or Not!; also, writer of the bizarre Rod Serling (1924-1975)
• Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957): tough-guy actor; also, actors Sissy Spacek (60) and CCH Pounder (57)
• Anwar al-Sadat (1918-1981): president of Egypt who signed a peace treaty with Israel; also, founder of Pakistan Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876-1948)
• Larry Csonka (63): NFL hall-of-famer
• Jimmy Buffett (63): singer/songwriter and author; plus, musicians Cab Calloway (1907-1994), Tony Martin (97), Barbara Mandrell (61), Annie Lennox (55) and Dido (38)