The Manhattan

The thing I learned today is that the Manhattan, the classic cocktail cocktail made from whiskey, vermouth, and bitters, is traditionally topped with a maraschino cherry!  But it's the drink of the sophisticated man.  Isn't the cherry a bit, you know, girly?  (This one has an orange peel.)

Edward Brooke

The thing I learned today is that Edward Brooke was a Republican politician who served as Senator of Massachusetts from 1967-79.  He was the first African-American senator elected popularly, and the only to serve multiple terms.  Barbara Walters claimed in her memoir Audition that she had an affair with Brooke in the 1970s.

The Meyer lemon

The thing I learned today is that the Meyer lemon, a cross between a true lemon and mandarin, is native to China and was named for the explorer Frank Meyer who brought it to the U.S. in 1908.

The Brenner Pass

The thing I learned today is that the Brenner Pass is one of the principal passes over the Alps, and the lowest such pass. It connects Innsbruck, Austria and Verona, Italy. Today it is one of the most important transit routes between northern and southern Europe.  It is the site of a few battles and in 1940 Hitler famously met Mussolini there.

Conjunctions

The thing I learned today is the classification of conjunctions.

• A coordinating conjunction (which I knew about) joins two main clauses, such as "I saw the bird and she saw the cat."  Examples are: and, but, or, yet, as soon as.
• A subordinating cunjunction (which I'd forgotten) joins a subordinate (or dependent) clause to a main clause, such that one of the clauses is given more importance, as in "Although I saw the bird, she saw the cat." Examples are: after, though, unless, until, while, if.
• A correlative conjunction (new to me!) is a pair of words such as either.. or, neither... not, and not only... but also, which joins two clauses, as in "Neither she nor I saw any animals."

Subluxation

The thing I learned today is the definition of the word subluxation, which means the dislocation of an organ or joint.  A vertebral subluxation is a vertebra out of place; a peroneal subluxation is dislocation of the ankle; etc.

The hoazin

The thing I learned today is the existence of the hoazin, also known as stinkbird, a bird found in swamp regions and forests of South America.  It is interesting because its young possess claws on their wingtips, and because it is primarily a folivore and has a digestive system similar to that of ruminants.  For this reason, some have posited the hoazin as an ancestor of the Archeopteryx.