Gropecunt Lane was a street name found in English towns and cities during the Middle Ages, believed to be a reference to the prostitution centred on those areas; it was normal practice for a medieval street name to reflect the street's function, or the economic activity taking place within it. Gropecunt, the earliest known use of which is in about 1230, appears to have been derived as a compound of the words "grope" and "cunt". Streets with that name were often in the busiest parts of medieval towns and cities, and at least one appears to have been an important thoroughfare. Although the name was once common throughout England, changes in attitude resulted in it being replaced by more innocuous versions such as Grape Lane. Gropecunt was last recorded as a street name in 1561.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gropecunt_Lane

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1789:

French Revolution: The National Constituent Assembly was formed from the National Assembly, and began to function as a governing body and a drafter for a new constitution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Constituent_Assembly

1868:

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, including the Citizenship Clause, the Equal Protection Clause and the Privileges or Immunities Clause among others, was ratified by the minimum required twenty-eight U.S. states. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

1944:

World War II: American forces defeated Japanese on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Saipan

1955:

The Russell-Einstein Manifesto, signed by Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell and nine other preeminent intellectuals and scientists, was issued during a press conference in London in the midst of the Cold War, calling for a conference where scientists would assess the dangers posed to the survival of humanity by weapons of mass destruction. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pugwash_Conferences_on_Science_and_World_Affairs

1999:

Six days of student protests began after Iranian police attacked a University of Tehran dormitory following a peaceful student demonstration against the closure of the reformist newspaper Salam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_student_protests%2C_July_1999

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

cadre (n): 1. A frame or framework.

2. (military) The framework or skeleton upon which a regiment is to be formed; the officers of a regiment forming the staff.

3. The core of a managing group http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cadre

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Nature is busy creating absolutely unique individuals, whereas culture has invented a single mold to which all must conform. It is grotesque. --U. G. Krishnamurti http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/U._G._Krishnamurti