| Monday, December 15, 2008 |
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| Ludwik Zamenhof |
SpotlightFelican datrevenon! Happy Birthday to Dr. Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, the planned international language. Zamenhof was born on this date in 1859 in the part of Poland which was part of the Russian Empire; his native tongues were Russian and Yiddish, and he was fluent in German and Polish and later learned French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and English. Frustrated with the lack of understanding among people who didn't share a common language, he hoped that people would take Esperanto on as a universal second language.
Question of the DayHow do you learn Esperanto quickly?
Find other speakers quickly. It is really easy to pick up the basics and the consistency of the rules allow you to learn quickly.
Word of the dayrime
(hydrology) A white or milky and opaque granular deposit of ice formed by the rapid freezing of supercooled water drops as they impinge upon an exposed object; composed essentially of discrete ice granules, and has densities as low as 0.2-0.3 gram per cubic centimeter.
Schoolkids are commonly taught that the Eskimos of Alaska have dozens of words for snow. As it turns out, English has plenty, too.
Today's History
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Gable and Leigh in 'Gone With the Wind' |
- Bill of Rights: Amendments I-X of the US Constitution, granting substantial individual liberties, became law (1791)
- Sitting Bull: Lakota Sioux military and spiritual leader who defeated Gen. Custer at Little Bighorn was killed (1890)
- Gone With the Wind: epic Civil War-era film starring Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable premiered in Atlanta (1939)
Today's Birthdays
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| Tim Conway |
- Nero (37-68): emperor who "fiddled while Rome burned"
- Joseph Moses Levy (1812-1888): founder of London's Daily Telegraph; journalist Franklin Sanborn (1831-1917) shared this birth date
- Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923): designer of the eponymous tower in Paris
- Tim Conway (75): actor/comedian, described as the "world's greatest second banana"; also, actors Don Johnson (59), Helen Slater (45), Molly Price (42) and Adam Brody (29)
- Dave Clark (66): singer, The Dave Clark Five; singer Cindy Birdsong (69) of The Supremes also celebrates her birthday today
