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Thread: Trivia

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
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    Posts
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    >Here's some trivia to lighten your day and maybe even give you a giggle
    >or two! 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."
    >************************************************* *************
    > 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.
    >************************************************* *************
    > 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."
    >************************************************* *************
    > 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."
    >************************************************* *************
    > Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and
    >dignified woman . as in "straight laced". . . wore a tightly tied lace.
    >************************************************* *************
    > ! 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."
    >************************************************* *************
    > 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."
    >************************************************* *************
    > 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."
    >************************************************* *************
    >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.)
    "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went."
    Will Rogers

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
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    Not sure about the rest but that last one about the brass monkey...not true, just a legend going around the internet. The saying originally went "cold enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey" it had nothing to do with cannon balls and ships. Someone just made that part up to sound good.

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