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June 12, 2026
Jun 12, 2026
Word
interdigitate
verb
Definition
to become interlocked like the fingers of folded hands
Example
"The edges [of bridge expansion joints] often are shaped like combs, the teeth of one interdigitating with teeth of the other." (The Washington Post, January 14, 1998)
Origin
It probably won’t surprise you to learn that "interdigitate" comes from the prefix "inter-," as in "interlock," and the Latin word "digitus," meaning "finger." "Digitus" also gave us "digit," which is used in English today to refer to (among other things) the finger or toe of any animal. "Interdigitate" usually suggests an interlocking of things with fingerlike projections, such as muscle fibers or the teeth of an old-fashioned bear trap. The word can also be used figuratively to imply a smooth interweaving of disparate things, such as the blending of two cultures within a shared region.
Webster's Dictionary
Idiom
go to pot
Also, go to the dogs. Deteriorate, decline; come to a bad end. For example, My lawn has gone to pot during the drought, or The city schools are going to the dogs. The first of these colloquial expressions dates from the late 1500s and alludes to inferior pieces of meat being cut up for the stewpot. The second, from the 1600s, alludes to the traditional view of dogs as inferior creatures.
The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
Fun facts
  1. A compass needle does not point directly north.
  2. A group of geese on the ground is a gaggle, a group of geese in the air is a skein.
Snapple's under-the-cap 'Real Facts'
Artist
Sadahide
1807 - 1873

Utagawa Sadahide, also known as Gountei Sadahide, was a Japanese artist best known for his prints in the ukiyo-e style as a member of the Utagawa school. His prints covered a wide variety of genres; amongst his best known are his Yokohama-e pictures of foreigners in Yokohama in the 1860s, a period when he was a best-selling artist. He was a member of the Tokugawa shogunate's delegation to the International Exposition of 1867 in Paris.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historical figure
Marian Spychalski
Dec 6, 1906 - Jun 7, 1980

Marian "Marek" Spychalski was a Polish architect in pre-war Poland, and later, military commander and communist politician. During World War II he belonged to the communist underground forces operating within Poland and was one of the leaders of the resistance movement Gwardia Ludowa, then Armia Ludowa.

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Wikipedia, Google Arts & Culture
Historic event
Battle of Hohenlinden

The Battle of Hohenlinden was fought on 3 December 1800, during the French Revolutionary Wars. A French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau won a decisive victory over the Austrians and Bavarians led by Archduke John of Austria. After being forced into a disastrous retreat, the allies were compelled to request an armistice that effectively ended the War of the Second Coalition. Hohenlinden is 33 km east of Munich in modern Germany.

General of Division Moreau's 56,000 strong army engaged some 64,000 Austrians and Bavarians. The Austrians, believing they were pursuing a beaten enemy, moved through heavily wooded terrain in four disconnected columns. Instead, Moreau ambushed the Austrians as they emerged from the Ebersberg forest while launching MG Antoine Richepanse's division in a surprise envelopment of the Austrian left flank. Displaying superb individual initiative, Moreau's generals managed to encircle and smash the largest Austrian column.

This crushing victory, coupled with First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte's victory at the Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800, ended the War of the Second Coalition.

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