Answer of the Day
Does radium have a color? Radium is nearly pure white. When it is exposed to air, though, it immediately oxidizes, turning black. The heaviest of the alkaline earth metals, radium is a chemical element whose atoms — like those of the other alkaline earth metals — have two electrons in their outermost shell; this causes them to react readily and form numerous compounds. The luminescent quality in radium made it ideal for use in self-luminous paints for watches, instrument dials, clocks and the like. Unaware of the danger of the extreme radioactivity of the element, many watch-dial painters who shaped their paintbrushes by putting them between their lips, died from the extended exposure to the radium in the paint. With its hazards come benefits. Today, radium is used medically to treat some kinds of cancer. On this date in 1898, scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discovered radium in pitchblende that came from the Czech Republic.

Quote
"A scientist in his laboratory is not a mere technician: he is also a child confronting natural phenomena that impress him as though they were fairy tales." — Marie Curie

Word of the day
flummery
(FLUHM-uh-ree)

noun
1. Any of various desserts made of flour, milk, eggs, etc.
2. Empty compliment; complete nonsense.

Etymology
From Welsh llymru, from llym (sour or sharp)

Originally, it was a kind of porridge or pap, made by soaking oatmeal in water for a long time, until it has turned sour. How did we get from Welsh llymru to English flummery? That's to do with how the Welsh "ll" sounds to others: variously as thl, chl, shl, fl, etc. In this case, it's fl. For the same reason the surname Lloyd is sometimes spelled as Floyd.

Usage
"Fox Broadcasting Co. aired its highly advertised special 'Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?' NASA, viewers were told, faked the Apollo missions on a movie set. Such flummery should not warrant a response." — Michael Shermer; Fox's Flapdoodle; Scientific American (New York); Jun 2001.

Weekly theme
Holiday season is the time for fun, frolic, and food. And the best part of food is desserts. The etymology of the word points at the time dessert is served — at the end of the meals. The term derives from French desservir (to clear the table). The English language has countless terms about food that are used metaphorically but this week we are offering just desserts.
(© Wordsmith.org)

Today's History

Crossword Puzzle

• Pilgrims: arrived in the New World, seeking religious freedom; they went ashore near Plymouth Rock, having traveled west after their initial settlement in Leiden, Holland, became unsustainable (1620)
• crossword puzzle: Liverpudlian journalist Arthur Wynne published the first "word-cross" puzzle, in The New York World (1913)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: film version premiered in Hollywood (1937)
• Pan Am Flight 103: went down over Lockerbie, Scotland, after a terrorist bomb exploded aboard, killing all 259 people on the plane and 11 on the ground (1988)

Today's Birthdays

Michael Tilson Thomas

• Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881): English PM
• Rebecca West (1892-1983): novelist and critic; novelist Heinrich Boll (1917-1985) shared this birth date
• Michael Tilson Thomas (65): composer and conductor; rock musician Frank Zappa (1940-1993) was also born on this date
• Jeffrey Katzenberg (59): a founder of DreamWorks SKG
• Kiefer Sutherland (43): Jack Bauer on 24; also, actors Ed Nelson (81), Jane Fonda (72), Larry Bryggman (71), Samuel L. Jackson (61), Jane Kaczmarek (54), Ray Romano (52), Andy Dick (44), Karri Turner (43) and Julie Delpy (40)
• Chris Evert (55): tennis pro; athletes Joe Paterno (83), Florence Griffith-Joyner (1959-1998), Karrie Webb (35) and Jackie Stiles (31) were also born on this date