Answer of the Day
Besides being male, what do documentary filmmaker Michael Moore, serial killer John Edward Robinson and Fred Flintstone have in common? They were all Eagle Scouts. It was a hundred years ago today that publisher William Boyce founded the Boy Scouts of America in Washington, DC, inspired by the British Boy Scout Association, which had been established a few years earlier by Sir Robert Baden-Powell. Boy Scouts have long been lauded for their public service and strong values. The Scout Oath calls upon its members to obey the Scout Law, to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, and clean in thought, word and deed. Over 100 million boys have joined the Boy Scouts over the years. Eagle Scout Travis Cochran earned each of the 122 merit badges, far surpassing the minimum requirement of earning 22 badges. Oh, and let's not forget the achievements of Peanuts' Snoopy — he became a Beagle Scout.

Quote
"There are many obstacles to overcome, but toil, grit and endurance will help you to overcome them all. Help yourself and others will help you." — William Boyce

Word of the day
castigate
(KAS-ti-gayt)

verb tr.: To criticize or chastise severely.

Etymology
From Latin castigare (to chasten), from castus (pure) + agere (to drive). Ultimately from the Indo-European root kes- (cut) which is also the source of castle (apparently in the sense of a place separated from the rest), chaste (cut off from faults), caste, quash, and caret.

Usage
"Obama did not mention his predecessor by name, but there were harsh words for George W. Bush, who was castigated for funding two wars and several tax cuts through borrowing rather than cutting spending elsewhere." — Kevin Connolly; Obama's Deficit Dilemma; BBC News (London, UK); Feb 1, 2010.

Weekly theme
A sentence has its cast of characters. Each word has a role. Let's call those roles parts of speech. What function do the various parts of speech perform? Nouns and pronouns are words that describe states of being. Adjectives describe. Adverbs qualify.
The best of this lineup are verbs, always ready for action. Verbs do. They move the plot forward. Verbs bring life to the story. This week we'll bring you five words that are verbs (from Latin verbum: word). (© Wordsmith.org)

Today's History

The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

• Mary, Queen of Scots: was beheaded after being implicated in the Babington plot against Elizabeth I (1587)
• The Devil's Footprints: 100 miles of hooflike prints appeared in the snow in Devon, England (1855)
• Russo-Japanese War: began with a surprise attack by Japan on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur (now Lüshun) (1904)
• NASDAQ: the world's first electronic stock market opened, facilitating trading directly between the investors and buyers/sellers; the acronym stands for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation" (1971)

Today's Birthdays

John Grisham

• Martin Buber (1878-1965): theologian and philosopher, I and Thou
• John Williams (78): composer of some of filmdom's most famous themes, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars
• Ted Koppel (70): broadcast journalist, original anchor of Nightline
• John Grisham (55): author of The Firm, The Associate; other writers born on this date include John Ruskin (1819-1900), Jules Verne (1828-1905), Kate Chopin (1851-1904) and Elizabeth Bishop (1911-1979)
• Alonzo Mourning (40): NBA center
• Creed Bratton (67): The Office's former hippie Creed; also, actors Lana Turner (1921-1995), Jack Lemmon (1925-2001), James Dean (1931-1955), Nick Nolte (69), Robert Klein (68), Mary Steenburgen (57) and Josh Morrow and Seth Green (both 36)