Hoi polloi, Greek for “the many”, is one of numerous derogatory terms for the general public. Others include “the plebeians” or “plebs”, “the rabble”, “the masses”, “the dregs of society”, “riffraff”, “the herd”, “the canaille”, “the proles” (proletariat), “sheeple”, and “peons”. The phrase probably became known to English scholars through Pericles’ Funeral Oration, as mentioned in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War. Pericles uses it in a positive way when praising the Athenian democracy, contrasting it with hoi oligoi, “the few”.
Simon bar Sinister and Riff Raff were the two main recurring villains of the Underdog cartoon show. Simon (the “bar sinister” is a heraldry term that means the person is literally a bastard) was a mad scientist, while Riff Raff was a wolf gangster.
Simon the Coldheart is a medieval romance-adventure novel by Georgette Heyer. The title character gets his nickname from keeping his temper and emotions under strict control.
“The Splash Brothers“ is the nickname for the Golden State Warriors’ outstanding shooters, Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
The same Warriors and Curry and Thompson who, without KD (Kevin Durant), just eliminated the Rockets in Houston tonight!
ɯǝlqoɹd ɐ ǝʌɐɥ ǝʍ 'uoʇsnoɥ
Go Warriors!!!
All About Eve was one of Bette Davis’ most famous films. A bit part in the film was played by the then-unknown actress Marilyn Monroe. Miss Davis’ and Miss Monroe’s maternal grandmothers were Harriet Eugenia Thompson and Della Mae Hogan respectively.
Ruth Elizabeth “Bette” Davis was born in 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts which is some 30 mi NW of Boston and close to the New Hampshire state line (gMap — Google Maps). Her first marriage was to Harmon Oscar Nelson on August 18, 1932, in Yuma, Arizona. Their marriage was scrutinized by the press because his $100 a week earnings did not compare favorably with her reported $1,000 a week income. Davis addressed the issue in an interview, pointing out that many Hollywood wives earned more than their husbands, but the situation proved difficult for Nelson, who refused to allow Davis to purchase a house until he could afford to pay for it himself.
In 1938, Nelson obtained evidence that Davis was engaged in a sexual relationship with Howard Hughes, and subsequently filed for divorce, citing Davis’ “cruel and inhuman manner”
Although nominated for the Best Actress Oscar ten times, Bette Davis only won twice, for her roles in Dangerous and in Jezebel. In the latter movie her character shocks New Orleans society and disappoints her fiancé (played by Henry Fonda) when she wears a red dress to the Olympus Ball. (It was a black-and-white movie!)
Jezebel was not the name of Miss Davis’ character in Jezebel. That name refers to the villainous Princess of Tyre who was married to King Ahab of Israel.
In the book Gone With the Wind, the dress Scarlett Butler wore to the birthday party for Ashley after being discovered in his arms (the horror!) was jade green. In the movie, it was a daring red dress, to emphasize the idea of being discovered in the arms of another women’s husband made her a “scarlet woman.”
Although some of her writings were published after her death, Gone With The Wind was the only novel written by Margaret Mitchell which was published while she was still living. The book was released in 1936 and the movie which followed was released in 1939.
Mitchell, who was born in 1900, died in 1949 after being struck by a speeding automobile while she was crossing an Atlanta street.
An IBM 370/145 mainframe in Atlanta, Georgia was once made to pass an IBM diagnostic by attaching a 100pF capacitor between a main timing signal and ground. Although the diagnostic failure was spurious — it could not affect system operation — the capacitor was left in place for several weeks.
The farad (F) is the SI derived unit of electrical capacitance, the ability of a body to store an electrical charge. It is named after the English physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867). During his life, Faraday contributed to the study of electromagnetism and electrochemistry.
Michael Faraday was self-taught. He never had a formal science education. Michael Faraday is called the “father of electricity,” a title he shares with Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison.
Princess Michael of Kent got into some hot water for wearing a “blackamoor” brooch to her first meeting with Meaghan Markle.
Michael Faraday was one of the very greatest experimental physicists ever. In addition to his discoveries in electricity and magnetism, he was an important chemist. He invented the Bunsen burner, discovered benzene, new varieties of glass, and several other compunds; was first to liquefy chlorine; etc.
Faraday was a devout Christian and turned down a knighthood on religious grounds.
Chlorine gas was first used as a weapon in World War I by Germany in 1915. it reacted with water in the lungs to form hydrochloric acid, which is destructive to living tissue and potentially lethal. Humans can be protected from chlorine gas by gas masks with activated charcoal or other filters, which makes chlorine gas much less lethal than other chemical weapons. After its first use, both sides in WW1 used chlorine as a chemical weapon, but it was soon replaced by the more deadly mustard gas.
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, different varieties of dragons have different types of breath weapons. For example, red dragons are the archetypical “fire-breathing dragons,” while blue dragons breathe lightning, white dragons breathe a cone of extreme cold, and green dragons breathe clouds of chlorine gas onto their opponents.
The flag of Wales is a red dragon on a background with a white top half and green bottom half.
The present Prince of Wales has several other titles including Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland, and His Royal Highness. He has various knighthoods and military ranks including Admiral of the Fleet, Field Marshal and Marshal of the Royal Air Force. One title he wanted but didn’t get was Governor-General of Australia — when informed that Australian enthusiasm for this promotion was muted he replied “So, what are you supposed to think when you are prepared to do something to help and you are just told you’re not wanted?”
When Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, formerly of the Blues and Royals and the Army Air Corps, is performing his volunteer duties with the Invictus Games for wounded veterans, he prefers to be addressed by his former rank and name: Captain Wales.
Invictus is a 2009 movie directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Freeman plays the role of Nelson Mandela, newly-elected President of South Africa. Damon plays the role of the captain of the national rugby team. The team improbably wins the World Cup, held in their home country, and helps to unite the population in the early post-apartheid years.
The film Shawshank Redemption was nominated for seven Academy Awards in 1995, the most for a Stephen King film adaptation: Best Picture, Best Actor (Morgan Freeman), Best Adapted Screenplay (Frank Darabont), Best Cinematography (Roger Deakins), Best Editing (Richard Francis-Bruce), Best Sound Mixing (Robert J. Litt, Elliot Tyson, Michael Herbick, and Willie D. Burton),[93] and Best Original Score (Thomas Newman, his first Academy Award nomination). It did not win in any category.