In the Know #18

January 22, 2008


Dictionary.com's Word of the Day

permeate \PUR-mee-ayt\, transitive verb:
1. To spread or diffuse through.
2. To pass through the pores or openings of.

intransitive verb:
1. To spread through or penetrate something.


In the news:

- The New England Patriots (logo pictured, right) defeat the San Diego Chargers 21-12 to advance to the Super Bowl.

- The New York Giants defeat the Green Bay Packers 23-20 to advance to the Super Bowl.

- World stocks plunge on fears of United States recession.


Today in History, according to Wikipedia:

1521 - Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms

1905 - Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg, Russia.

1973 - The Unites States Supreme Court comes to a decision in Roe v. Wade.

1973 - George Foreman beats the undefeated heavyweight Joe Frazier, "Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!"

1984 - The legendary "1984" commercial (pictured), aired during Super Bowl XVIII, advertising the Apple MacIntosh computer

1997 - Madeleine Albright becomes the first female Secretary of State.


Today's Famous Births:

1561 - Sir Francis Bacon, English philosopher

1788 - George Gordon, Lord Byron (pictured), English poet

1869 - Grigori Rasputin, Russian monk, the "Mad Monk"

1875 - D.W. Griffith, American director, Birth of a Nation and Intolerance

1965 - Jeffrey Townes, American rapper and actor, DJ Jazzy Jeff

1965 - Diane Lane, American actress, The Outsiders


Trivia
Today's Category - The Kentucky Derby

~ The Kentucky Derby (pictured) takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

~ The race is one and a quarter miles (2 km).

~ In the United States, the race is known as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports".

~ The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, which also includes the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes

~ May 17, 1875 marked the inauguration of the race.

~ 2007 was the 133rd running of the race.

~ A blanket of 554 roses is draped over the winner, giving the derby the nickname "The Run for the Roses".

~ The purse for winning is $2 million.

~ Mint Julep is the official drink of the race.

- Two horses, Secretariat (in 1973) and Monarchos (in 2001), have finished the race in under two minutes.


I always wondered...
...how the human voice works...

The human voice is created by vibrations through two membranes called vocal folds, or vocal cords. Male vocal cords are between 17mm and 25mm in length and female vocal cords are between 12.5mm and 17.5mm in length, making the male voice lower than the female voice.

There are four basic divisions of vocal range, determined by the way the vocal cords vibrate. Vocal fry register, in which air is permitted to bubble through the vocal cords, is the lowest range. Modal register is the normal speech and singing voice and can cover as much as two octaves for well trained singers. Falsetto voice occurs when the edges of the vocal cords are used and extends the vocal range of any singer. Not all singers can achieve phonation in the whistle register, which is not physiologically understood. Physiologists know that vibrations for the whistle range occur in the anterior region of the vocal cords.

In terms of frequency, human voices are roughly in the range of 80 Hz to 1100 Hz (that is, E2 to C6) for normal male and female voices together. The world record for the lowest note produced by a human voice is B-2 (two octaves below the lowest B on a piano, 8 Hz) by America's Tim Storms. The record for the highest vocal note is G10 (25087Hz) by Brazil's Georgia Brown.

Below is a list of the vocal classifications of the basic choral ranges:
Soprano: C4 (261.626 Hz) - C6 (1046.50 Hz)
Mezzo-Soprano: A3 (220.000 Hz) - A5 (880.000 Hz)
Contralto: E3 (164.814 Hz) - E5 (659.255 Hz)
Tenor: C3 (130.813 Hz) - C5 (523.251 Hz)
Baritone: G2 (97.9989 Hz) - G4 (391.995 Hz)
Bass: E2 (82.4069 Hz) - E4 (329.628 Hz)

A soprano who can sing higher than C♯6 is known as a sopranino and a bass who can sing G1 or lower is known as a sub-bass singer. Males who possess high ranges or can project falsetto, are referred to as countertenors and possess ranges equivalent to those of the female ranges, alto, mezzo-soprano and soprano.

[All references from Wikipedia.org unless otherwise noted]