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Topic: Historic Trivia .......... (Read 207 times) |
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Tiannia
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Historic Trivia ..........
« on: May 21st, 2004, 6:01pm » |
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Did you know..........
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As you are aware, in George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painters. Some paintings of Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back, while others showed both legs and both arms. Reason for this was that prices changed 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 paintings them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expressions, "okay, but it'll cost you an arm and leg."
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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year back during colonial times. (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaves 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 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 1700's, 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 for 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 scares 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 to "mind your own bee's wax." Should a woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile."
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Ladies wore corsets which would lace up 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 applicable only to the Ace of Spades. To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games required 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they were not "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 to Telephones, radios, etc, the politicians would send their assistants to local taverns, pubs and bars and told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people conversations and political concerns. Many assistances were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there". The two words eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we got 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 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 you "P's and Q's".
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In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon, but how to prevent then 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 the 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 make of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting 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 indentation 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 expressions, didn't you?)
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Kevin_M
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Re: Historic Trivia ..........
« Reply #1 on: May 21st, 2004, 7:09pm » |
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The "chairmen of the board" at those, pretending to be "straight laced", "big wig" oil companies "are not playing with a full deck" and "better watch their P's and Q's". I'm not "cracking a smile" over the "gossip" of higher prices on oil or even natural gas prices going high enough to "freeze the balls off a brass monkey" next winter.
Kevin M
Thanks for the interesting history Tia!
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jimmers
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Re: Historic Trivia ..........
« Reply #2 on: May 21st, 2004, 7:10pm » |
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WOW!
Jimbo
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Tiannia
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Re: Historic Trivia ..........
« Reply #3 on: May 21st, 2004, 7:20pm » |
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on May 21st, 2004, 7:09pm, Kevin_M wrote:The "chairmen of the board" at those, pretending to be "straight laced", "big wig" oil companies "are not playing with a full deck" and "better watch their P's and Q's". I'm not "cracking a smile" over the "gossip" of higher prices on oil or even natural gas prices going high enough to "freeze the balls off a brass monkey" next winter.
Kevin M
Thanks for the interesting history Tia! |
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Good one Kev....
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The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. - Carl Rogers
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Ueli
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Re: Historic Trivia ..........
« Reply #4 on: May 21st, 2004, 9:35pm » |
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Si non e vero, e ben trovato.  (as the Italien say)
The honey coating, that cracked when smiling, was probably applied to cover up pock marks rather than acne scars (without 'e' says the spelling police  )
Merriam-Webster on 'gossip'
Main Entry: gossip
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English gossib, from Old English godsibb, from god god + sibb kinsman, from sibb related
1. a) dialect British : GODPARENT, b) COMPANION, CRONY, c) a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others
2. a) rumor or report of an intimate nature, b) a chatty talk, c) the subject matter of gossip
"Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" is probably what it seems to be: an improper expressions. 
Iron has a thermal expansion coefficient of 0.000011 /°C, brass of 0.000019 /°C.
This means, cooling a cannon ball of 20 cm diameter from 20°C to -30°C, it will shrink by 0.11 mm, while the brass shrinks by 0.19 mm. If this difference of 0.08 mm (about twice the width of a hair) makes the monkey lose its balls, then the fit must have been extremely tight (and the cannon balls all machined to the same very close tolerance).
q.e.d.
(BTW, the cannons were made of bronze rather than iron, otherwise they would be eaten by the sea water in no time.)
PFNADs
Ueli 
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Mr. Happy
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Re: Historic Trivia ..........
« Reply #5 on: May 21st, 2004, 10:34pm » |
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Gull dang, Ueli......but it's great to have you back putting snake oil diatribe it it's place.
You still have it for a man Your age,
RJ
Gull - a coastal bird
Dang - I've been _crapped_ upon
Gull Dang - I shoulda worn a hat.....
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Luke63
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Re: Historic Trivia ..........
« Reply #6 on: May 22nd, 2004, 9:08am » |
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That is so cool.....I feel so worldly now Luke
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I think we should all get together and do a movie..."Night of The Clusterheads". George Romero would have nothing on us!!!
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