A Little Bit of Trivia
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive December 2004:
A Little Bit of Trivia
Got this in an email, loved it!
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.)
> >
LOL, I have seen this in an e-mail before, but that last one still makes me "crack a smile". 
It is so weird where we get our expressions from.
Very interesting!
Interesting, some of them just don't seem beleiveable tough. I mean..."go sip"..."gossip"?? LOL!
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