Cymotrichous

The winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee has been crowned for 2011.

Cymotrichous was the winning word, and yes my spell check is going nuts over not recognizing it, either.

It has to do with wavy hair, so it's one i should memorize myself. All of us but Little Girl have naturally wavy or almost kinky curly hair.

Well, congratulations to the winner of that one, Sukanya Roy, from Pennsylvania. She was in 12th place last year, and this was her last year to compete.

That is one smart bunch of kids, though, and they ought to all be proud of their hard work and accomplishments.


Today is

Arrephoria -- Ancient Greek Calendar (Athens, festival to honor Pallas Athena, date approximate)

Broken Dolls Day -- Japan (all broken dolls are taken by their children to monks for burial)

Buffal Days Celebration -- Luverne, Minnesota, US (enjoy the festivities, including a buffalo chip throwing contest! through the 5th)

Chimborazo Day

Donut Day -- sponsored by the Salvation Army

Economist Day -- Argentina

English Riviera Dance Festival -- Torquay, Devon, England (through the 10th)

Festival to Bellona -- Ancient Roman Calendar (goddess of war)

Fez Festival of World Sacred Music -- Fez, Morocco (through the 11th)

Harvard Milk Days Festival -- Harvard, Illinois, US

Impersonate Authority Day (at your own risk!)

Jack Jouett Day -- Virginia (the "Paul Revere" of his day, rode to warn Governor Thomas Jefferson that the British were coming, 1781)

Labor Day -- Bahamas

Mabo Day -- Australia

Martyr's Day -- Uganda

National Chocolate Macaroon Day

Red Earth Native American Cultural Festival -- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (more than 100 tribes meet to pow wow and celebrate their heritage, through the 5th)

Repeat Day (I said "Repeat Day")

Route 66 Summerfest -- Rolla, Missouri, US (through tomorrow)

St. Clotilde's Day

St. Kevin's Day (patron of Ireland)

Worst Day in the Fairy Year -- Fairy Calendar (must be nice to know when your worst day will be)


Anniversaries Today:

The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson, 1937


Birthdays Today:

Lalaine, 1987
Rafael Nadal, 1986
Anderson Cooper, 1967
Deniece Williams, 1951
Suzi Quatro, 1950
Curtis Mayfield, 1942
Colleen Dewhurst, 1926
Allen Ginsberg, 1926
Tony Curtis, 1925
Leo Gorcey, 1917
Josephine Baker, 1906
Dr. Charles Drew, 1904
Ransom E. Olds, 1864
Jefferson Davis, 1808


Today in History:

French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy, 1140
Hernando De Soto claims Florida for Spain, 1539
Construction of the oldest stone church in French North America, Notre-Dame-des-Anges, begins at Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, 1620
Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo is founded in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, 1770
President John Adams moves to Washington, D.C., to live in a tavern (the White House wasn't ready), 1800
In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kg of opium confiscated from British merchants, which prompts the First Opium War, 1839
In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, Cree leader Big Bear escapes the North West Mounted Police, 1885
The poem "Casey at the Bat", by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, is published in the San Francisco Examiner, 1888
The coast to coast Canadian Pacific Railway is completed, 1889
One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, British Columbia, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa, Ontario, 1935
Launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew, 1965
A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels of oil to be spilled into the waters, the worst oil spill ever recorded, 1979
SkyDome is officially opened in Toronto, Ontario, 1989
Aboriginal Land Rights are granted in Australia in Mabo v Queensland (1988), a case brought by Eddie Mabo, 1992
USS Carter Hall engages pirates after they board the Danish ship Danica White off the coast of Somalia, 2007