Did You Know?

[Guest guest]

Most of you know that I like to laugh and that includes laughs provided by

useless information....well... heres some useless information, with which, you

can fill the empty spots in your brain..just like a computer

Did you know?

In Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either

sculpted or painted. Some paintings of 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.

The wigs couldn't be washed, so to clean them they could 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 was folded down from the wall and used or dining.

The " head of the household " always sat in the chair while everyone else ate

sitting on the floor. Once in a while, a guest (who was almost always 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. Sitting in the chair, one was called the

" chair man. " Today in business we use the expression or title " Chairman " or

" Chairman of the Board. "

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Needless to say, 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. " Also, when they sat too close to

the fire, the wax would melt and therefore the expression " losing face. "

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Ladies wore corsets which would lace up in the front. A tightly tied lace was

worn by a proper and dignified lady as in " straight laced. "

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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 was

considered important to the people. Since there were no telephones, TV's or

radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars

who 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, but 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. But, 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. " (And all this

time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you?)

~ " We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a

little of each other everywhere. " ~

~ " If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the

entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand. "