In the Know #13

January 17, 2008


Dictionary.com's Word of the Day

upbraid \uhp-BRAYD\, transitive verb:
To scold or criticize harshly.


In the news:

- President Bush ends his Middle East tour.

- A bus in Buttala, Sri Lanka exploded (pictured) killing at least 23 and wounding more than 60.

- The Bush Administration notified Congress on Monday of its intention to sell precision-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia.

- The Pentagon announces plans to send 3,200 additional marines to Afghanistan


Today in History, according to Wikipedia:

1781 - The Battle of Cowpens takes place during the Revolutionary War.

1819 - Republic of Colombia created by Simon Bolivar.

1916 - The Professional Golf Association is formed.

1917 - The United States buys the Virgin Islands from Denmark.

1929 - Popeye, the Sailor Man (pictured), created by E.C. Segar, first appears in Thimble Theater comic strip.

1945 - Nazis begin the evacuation of Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces close in.


Today's Famous Births:

1706 - Benjamin Franklin, American statesman, Poor Richard's Almanack

1899 - Al Capone (pictured), American gangster

1922 - Betty White, American actress, "The Golden Girls"

1928 - Vidal Sassoon, English cosmetologist

1931 - James Earl Jones, American actor, voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars saga and Field of Dreams

1933 - Shari Lewis, American ventriloquist, "Lamb Chop's Play-Along"

1942 - Muhammad Ali (pictured), American boxer, "The Greatest" a.k.a. Cassius Clay

1949 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian

1962 - Jim Carrey, Canadian comedian and actor, Dumb and Dumber and Ace Ventura

1970 - Jeremy Roenick, American hockey player, 9 time All-Star

1971 - Kid Rock, American singer, a.k.a. Robert Ritchie

1972 - Lil' Jon, American rapper and music producer

1982 - Dwayne Wade, American basketball player, 3 time All-Star


Trivia
Today's Category - per request...the human digestive system

~ The upper gastrointestinal tract (pictured) consists of the mouth, pharynx, esophagus and stomach.

~ The lower gastrointestinal tract consists of the intestines and the anus...yup, the anus.

~ The polite euphemism for "anus" has traditionally been "fundament."

~ Gastric acid has a pH of 1.4, but the stomach regulates the pH to keep it above 2.


I always wondered...
...how a stock exchange works...

Businesses listed on a stock exchange are equally divided into shares, which are publicly bought and sold. For example, a business worth #1 million might be divided into 10,000 shares worth $100 each. Each share represents a claim in the company. Whoever holds the majority of the stock has control of the company. Some companies pay money to each shareholder based on profits for a year. These payments are called dividends.

Stocks are traded at a stock market, or stock exchange, to centralize all trading so that buyers and sellers can go to one place. Rather than traveling all the way to the actual stock market, potential buyers and sellers contact stock brokers to do their business. When businesses publicize positive or negative news, the stock prices will fluctuate based on that news. Good news = more buying = higher prices. Bad news = more selling = lower prices.

There are two different ways a company can approach the stock market. They can either sell as an income stock or a growth stock. Income stocks pay dividends to shareholders. Growth stocks invest the money from share sales back into the company so that share prices continue to go up.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, Wall Street front pictured) is the largest such market in the world. As of December 31, 2006, the NYSE had a total capitalization of $25 trillion.

["How a stock exchange works" reference: HowStuffWorks.com]
[All references from Wikipedia.org unless otherwise noted]