Tuesday, February 5, 2008

 

Spotlight: As the crowd of presidential candidates thins, primary season is heating up. Today, Super Tuesday contests will take place in 24 US states. Front-runner Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and Republicans John McCain and Mitt Romney will go head to head from California to New York and Massachusetts. The Democratic candidate will need some 2,025 delegates to win the nomination and the Republican candidate will need 1,191.

Quote: "First there was the New Hampshire primary, and we had nearly a year leading up to it. And now, look! Three primaries in one weekend! How many of these things are they going to have?" — Ed Helms

Word of the day: flux
Material used to remove oxide films from the surface of metals in preparation for soldering.

or

In magnetism, the magnetic field consisting of lines of force. (© Twysted Pair)

Today's History:

United Artists Founders

• United Artists: US film company was founded by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith (1919)
• Reader's Digest: DeWitt and Lila Wallace published their first issue of condensed articles; the pocket-sized volume cost 25 cents (1922)
• Tybee bomb: the US lost a hydrogen bomb off the coast of Georgia; some 14 nuclear weapons are known to be missing from the US arsenal alone (1958)
• Alan Shepard: astronaut became the first person to golf on the moon (1971)

Today's Birthdays:

Hank Aaron

• Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965): American politician and presidential candidate known for his wit and intellect
• Hank Aaron (74): MLB hall-of-famer and No. 2 on the all-time HR list
• Roger Staubach (66): NFL hall-of-famer and Heisman Trophy winner
• Laura Linney (44): Oscar-nominated star of Kinsey and You Can Count on Me; other actors born today include Barbara Hershey (60), Jennifer Jason Leigh (46) and Jeremy Sumpter (19)