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Re: Theos-World Cool List of Facts

Jan 16, 2006 09:45 PM
by Bart Lidofsky


leonmaurer@aol.com wrote:
Here are some Interesting language origins and factoids:

1. In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed
to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have
"the rule of thumb".
Bullshit. It's a myth that was created so that feminists can hit men over the head with sticks as revenge. The term "rule of thumb" comes from using one's thumb as a measuring device.

2. Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was
ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF
entered into the English language.
Except that the name of the game was originally GOWF, which stood for nothing. More methods of creating a false history of victimization.

3. The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV
were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
According to Snopes, Mary Kay and Johnny, a 1947 sitcom, was the first. Ozzie and Harriet and even Lucy and Ricky were depicted as sleeping in the same bed in individual episodes.

4. Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US
Treasury.
That may be true, if you take the value of the money. But, by that token, I can print a single bill, that says, "One Trillion Dollars", and say that I print more money than the U.S. Treasury (which prints about $70 billion a year). On the other hand, if you count number of bills, then even high estimates of Monopoly's annual sales makes them print only about a third as many bills as the U.S. Treasury.

5. Men can read smaller print than women; women can hear better.
Probably.

6. Coca-Cola was originally green.
Nope. The original formula had caramel coloring. It was, however, originally bottled in green glass bottles.

7. It is impossible to lick your elbow.
Pretty much. I'd have to ask Gene Simmons. I've heard that some people can, but it's very rare.

9. Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
Blond joke.

10. The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
Probably should be qualified by the word, "famous".

11. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king
from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
Seeing that Kings in decks predate European card decks, that is not at all likely.

13. If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both
front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one
front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in
battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of
natural causes.
Myth.


14. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to
go until you would find the letter "A"?......One thousand.
one hundred And one.

15. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers,
and laser printers all have in common?......All invented by women.
Gary Stackweather, inventor of the laser printer, would be VERY surprised to hear that, as would Rev. Casimir Zeglen, inventor of the bulletproof vest, and Daniel Maseres, inventor of the fire escape. However, Mary Anderson did receive the first patent for windshield wipers.

16. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?......Honey
And fruitcake. And refined sugar.

17. In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames
by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making
the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase........."goodnight, sleep
tight."
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word, "tight" can be used to mean "soundly", hence, "sleep soundly". The above is an old tourists guides' story.

18. It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that
for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his
son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and
because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey
month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
Except that, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term only dates back to the 16th Century.

19. In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in
old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at
them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's."
The etymology is unknown, but a more likely source is moveable type, where lower case "p's" and "q's" are easily mixed up because of the reversals.


20. Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle
baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a
refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is
the phrase inspired by this practice.
I'd like to see a picture of one; otherwise, I'll accept the version that you can't whistle when your mouth is dry.

Bart




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