Today's Highlights:
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
| Wednesday, May 7, 2008 |
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| Spring Sneezing |
Spotlight: America has its sailing capital and its furniture capital, its fast food capital and its bicycling capital. Now, to the city's chagrin, Lexington, KY, has been named America's spring allergy capital. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America gives a yearly ranking of areas where those with hay fever will suffer the worst based on pollen scores, the number of allergy medications used per patient and the number of allergy specialists per patient. This year, the list is led by Lexington; Greensboro, NC, Johnson City, TN, Augusta, GA, and Jackson, MS, complete the top five.
Quote: "Life is sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating."
Question of the Day: Are the same regions of the country always ranked worst for spring allergy sufferers?No. This is truly a case of waiting to see which way the wind blows. According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, this year's "spring allergy capital," Lexington, KY, was No. 52 on the list last year. And the place that is most unbearable for allergy and hay fever sufferers may not be the worst for people with asthma. More
Word of the day: vicissitudes(
- A change or variation.
- The quality of being changeable; mutability.
- One of the sudden or unexpected changes or shifts often encountered in one's life, activities, or surroundings. Often used in the plural. See synonyms at difficulty.
Usage: "The inevitable vicissitudes and sufferings that intrude into even the most carefully planned and orchestrated life, have a way of disrupting things." — Thomas Friedman, speaking to graduates of Williams College, 2005
Commencement season is beginning in universities and colleges in the Northern Hemisphere. This week's interesting words are gleaned from commencement addresses over the years.
Today's History:
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| Hagia Sophia |
- Hagia Sophia: earthquakes destroyed the dome of Emperor Justinian's church in Constantinople (558)
- George Washington: was honored in the first inaugural ball (1789)
- Choral Symphony: Ludwig van Beethoven conducted the premier of his ninth and final symphony; he was already deaf by this time (1824)
- RMS Lusitania: British ocean liner was sunk near the Irish coast by a German submarine (1915)
Today's Birthdays:
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| Gary Cooper in the Saddle |
- Johannes Brahms (1833-1897): Romantic composer
- Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941): Indian Nobel Prize-winning author, composer and guru, Gitanjali; also, poet Robert Browning (1812-1889)
- Gary Cooper (1901-1961): star of High Noon and nearly 100 other movies
- Johnny Unitas (1933-2002): widely considered the NFL's greatest quarterback of all time
- Tim Russert (58): journalist/commentator and host of Meet the Press
- Amy Heckerling (54): film director, Clueless, I Could Never Be Your Woman
