HISTORICAL TIDBITS
In George Washington's days, there were no cameras.
One's image was
either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington
showed him
standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed
both
legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on
how many
people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted.
Arms
and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would cost the
buyer more.
Hence the expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a
leg.."
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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a
year
(May and October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved
their
heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could
afford
good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean
them
they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake
it
for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence
the term
"big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes
the Big Wig" because
someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
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In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with
only one
chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and
was used
for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in
the chair while
everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who
was
usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal.
To sit
in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called
the one
sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business,
we use the
expression or title "Chairman" or "Chairman of the
Board."
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Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a
result, many women
and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would
spread
bee's
wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When
they were
speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's
face
she was told, "mind your own bee's wax." Should the
woman smile, the wax
would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." In
addition, when they sat
too
close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . therefore, the expression
"losing face."
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Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A
proper and
dignified woman. as in "straight laced"
.. . . wore a tightly tied lace.
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Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there
was a tax
levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the
"Ace of
Spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51
cards instead.
Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be
stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full
deck."
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Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine
what the
people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's
or
radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs,
and
bars. They were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to
people's
conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were
dispatched at
different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip
there." The two words
"go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local
opinion and,
thus we have the term "gossip."
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At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and
quart-sized
containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and
keep
the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was
drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in
"quarts," hence the term
"minding your "P's and Q's."
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One more: bet you didn't know this!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters
carried
iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls.
It was
necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to
prevent
them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised
was a
square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on
nine,
which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could
be
stacked
in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one
problem...how
to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the
others.
The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round
indentations.
However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly
rust
to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass
Monkeys."
Few
landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than
iron
when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the
brass
indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come
right
off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to
freeze the
balls off a brass monkey." (All this time, you thought that
was an
improper
expression, didn't you.)
You must send this fabulous bit of historic knowledge to
unsuspecting
friends. If you don't, your floppy is going to fall off your hard
drive
and
kill your mouse.
Things
To Ponder ..... or not
1. Can you cry under water?
2. When I was young we used to go "skinny dipping," now I just "chunkydunk."
3. How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?
4. If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches?
5. Why do you have to "put your two cents in"... but it's only a penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?
6. Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?
7. Why does a round pizza come in a square box?
8. How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
9. Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wakeup like every two hours?
10. If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
11. Why are you IN a movie, but you are ON TV?
12. Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
13. How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America?
14. If a 911 operator has a heart attack, whom does he/she call?
15. I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear
loose-fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose-fitting clothing, I wouldn't
have signed up in the first place!
16. Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could
simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over?
17. Stress is when you wake up screaming and then you realize
you haven't fallen asleep yet.
18. Just remember...if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off.
19 Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they
can in prison?
20. If raising children was going to be easy, it never would have
started with something called labor!
21. Brain cells come and brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.