Thursday, December 17, 2009

Answer of the Day
What's the longest-running prime time entertainment TV show in America? The Simpsons, which celebrates its 20th anniversary today, claims that honor. Homer and Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie make up the world's favorite animated family. They haven't gotten where they are without outside help. The list of guest actors who lent their voices — and often their personas — to the show is long and eclectic, and includes actors, musicians, scientists, politicians, reporters, athletes and even an astronaut. Here are just a few names on the long list of those whose voices have graced The Simpsons: Donald Sutherland, Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, Ann Hathaway, Roger Clemens, Serena Williams, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson, Johnny Carson, Buzz Aldrin, James Taylor, Mel Brooks, three of The Beatles, Joe Namath, Steve Martin, Rupert Murdoch, Steven Hawking, The Who, Stephen King, Paul Newman, Ben Stiller, J.K. Rowling, LeBron James, 50 Cent, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart.

Quote
"You can't create a monster, then whine when it stomps on a few buildings." — Lisa Simpson

Word of the day
undecennary
(uhn-di-SEHN-uh-ree)

noun
1. A period of eleven years.
2. An eleventh anniversary.

adjective
1. Of or pertaining to a period of eleven years.
2. Occurring every eleven years.

Etymology
From Latin undecim (eleven), from unus (one) + decem (ten), + -ennary, from annus (year).

Usage
"It appears from an undecennary account laid before Parliament." — E. Stiles; 1847.
(© Wordsmith.org)

Today's History

Wilbur (l.) and Orville Wright

• Shimabara Rebellion: Japanese peasant uprising began due to heavy taxation; 37,000 were beheaded (1637)
• Aztec calendar stone: a large sculpture that represents the Aztec calendar was excavated in Mexico City's Zocalo (1790)
• Kitty Hawk: the Wright brothers successfully conducted the first controlled, sustained flight of a motor-powered airplane; they had been building flying devices for less than five years (1903)
• Japanese-American internment: the US army announced that it would no longer hold Japanese-Americans in relocation centers, allowing "evacuees" to return home (1944)
• Harold Holt: the Australian prime minister went missing and was presumed drowned while swimming off the coast of Portsea, Victoria (1967)
• Project Blue Book: US Air Force investigation into UFOs was terminated; the conclusion was that sightings were due to mass hysteria, hoaxes, mistakes and the like (1969)
• NAFTA: trade agreement was signed by Canada, the US and Mexico (1992)

Today's Birthdays

Eugene Levy

• Arthur Fiedler (1894-1979): conductor of the Boston Pops
• William L. Safire (1929-2009): Pulitzer Prize-winning writer on politics and the English language; also, writers Roger L'Estrange (1616-1704), John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), Ford Madox Ford (1873-1939), Erskine Caldwell (1903-1987) and Sylvia Ashton-Warner (1908-1984)
• Art Neville (72): musician, The Neville Brothers
• Eugene Levy (63): actor, A Mighty Wind, American Pie; also, actors Armin Mueller-Stahl (79), George Lindsey (74), Tommy Steele (73), Bernard Hill (65), Christopher Cazenove (64), Bill Pullman (56), Sean Patrick Thomas (39), Giovanni Ribisi and Marissa Ribisi (both 35) and Sarah Paulson and Milla Jovovich (both 34)
• Peter Farrelly (53): film-maker, There's Something About Mary