pHstands for potenz Hydrogen "power of Hydrogen"

1. The pH, a unit of measuring hydrogen ions in solution, was discovered by the Danish scientist Søren Peder Lauritz Sørensen. While the H simply stands for the Hydrogen molecule that this unit measures, the p stands for "potenz," which in German means power. This acronym also works in French "pouvior Hydrogen," also meaning "power of Hydrogen."

Impetuous (adj.)

1. Impetuous (adj): Characterized by sudden excitement; impulsive yet passionate.
-The impetuosity of the scientist often lead to long working hours.

Prattle (v. or n.)

1. Prattle (v. or n.): To talk foolishly.
-George W. Bush's prattling warranted the name "Bushism" and the calendar series where each day was a different saying.
An example: "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Source (about.com). Hilarious audio clip here.

Depredation (n.) and Despoil (v.)

1. Depredation (n.): Predatory attack, a raid that results in damage or loss.
-When I saw the mouth-watering garlic surf & turf burrito I kenw that a depredation was about to take place.
2. Despoil (v.): to take everything; plunder.
-Three houses in one town were despoiled over the weekend by a pair of masked bandits.

Baroque (adj.) and Brusque (adj.)

1. Baroque (adj.): Extravagant.
-The entrance to the house with it's massive chandelier up above and gigantic mural of the couple overwhelming the sight was fitting with the baroque lifestyle of the owners.
2. Brusque (adj.): Sudden in manner or speech.
-His brusque response made it obvious that he had something to hide.

Canard (n.)

1. Canard (n.): A false statement or rumor.
-Unfortunately for the high-schooler, the canard of the night's event was much more interesting than the truth to the point that years later as a grown man he no longer even remember the real story.

Derision (n.)

1. Derision (n.): The act of mocking; ridicule; mockery.
-A day of derision from the boss left the employees deflated.

Bungler (n.)

1. Bungler (n.): Someone who makes mistakes because of incompetence. A clumsy person.
-His mom did not let Jared carry the turkey to the table on Thanksgiving because he had a reputation for being a major bungler.

Bumptious (adj.)

1. Bumptious (adj.): Arrogant.
-To many, Steve Jobs was bumptious to not consider Android a threat in the mobile industry.

Corpulence (n.)

1. Corpulence (n.): Obesity.
-The man's corpulence could be explained simply by looking at his diet and exercise habits.

Conviviality (n.)

1. Conviviality (n.): A fondness for festiveness or joviality.
-Even though she was only part of the group for a few months, her conviviality made everyone miss her presence.

Coterie (n.)

1. Coterie (n.): A small group of people with shared interests or tastes; a clique.
-There are some nights that you may not remember details of years down the line except knowing that you shared it with your coterie.

Commodious (adj.)

1. Commodious (adj.): Spacious, roomy, comfortable.
-The lifestyle of a rancher requires the commodious mid-west plains.

*Consternation (n.)

1. Consternation (n.): Feeling of amazement alongside anxiety and terror.
-Once the roller-coaster finished its slow ascent and the young boy heard the clicking sound stop, his face was overcome with a look of consternation as he saw what was up next.

Chicanery (n.)

1. Chicanery (n.): Trickery or deception.
-The politician was able to win a campaign because of his masterful chicanery.

*Cantankerous (adj.)

1. Cantankerous (Adj.): Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.
-His cantankerous grandfather had become the butt of all jokes in the family.
----
Hi everyone,
I haven't wrote in this for a while but I am restarting again.
There will be an evolution in this blog. It's my blog, or should I say it's my z-log, so lets mark this down as artistic freedom on my part.

From now until about September, I will post every-day with a Today I learned that will be a "word of the day." This word will be either a common word or something more abstract. This word may be something that has to do with my day or it may be desultory.

Throughout this, I will attempt to post words that I feel are almost an onomatopoeia. I will post these words with an asterisk "*" preceding the word. I know that an onomatopoeia is often reserved for words more like "buzz" and "slithering," but in my quest to learn about 1,700 words by August (BTW that's about 10 words a day until August 1st) I have come across some words that I feel sound like what they are.

This blog follows a similar set of rules mentioned in my initial post (here). The rules are mostly the same as before.

1. Don't ask me about the origin of my posts.
2. NOTHING I post comes from visiting a website particularly to find an information to post on here. In other words, I will ABSOLUTELY NOT visit a website for the sole purpose of learning something to post on here. If I make an observation or have a question I ABSOLUTELY WILL visit a website and will try to include the URL to it.
3. There will NOT be anything repeated twice on purpose.
4. I will try my best to post at least one thing, no matter how stupid, EVERY day
5. I will NOT post anything I learn that can directly harm/bother/or is about someone in particular.
6a. If you feel like a post is brought on by you there are two possibilities: You are wrong (more likely) or you have truly taught me something about the world ONE, thank you, TWO, you don't have to tell the world about it in the comment box :)
6b. If you happen to know the origin of a post or were there with me when something happened, refrain from putting it as a comment. This blog is not about YOU. Just keep it a secret between me and you.
7. I reserve the right to delete stupid comments that break rule 6b.
8. Feel free to comment about how you feel about any post. Sharing is caring. Post my blog anywhere you want.
9. I can use some words I learned in a previous day to describe the current day. The word does not have to have been learned on the day it was posted, it can be a word previously learned but relevant to today.
10. I will SERIOUSLY TRY, for at least until August 31, 2013, to post SOMETHING every single day. This time my goal is to NOT back-date.

That's it for all the do's and don'ts...this is my zlog, I donno why you are reading it, but enjoy.

Michael Florent van Langren is credited with making the first ever scientific graph in 1644

1. Michael Florent van Langren is credited with making the first ever scientific graph in 1644 (shown below). The graph depicted the variations in determination of longitude between Toledo and Rome.