DID YOU KNOW
SCIENTIA POTENTIA EST (KNOWLEDGE IS POWER)
In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb"
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.
The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone. (Lucy and Ricky were only allowed twin beds. Remember?)
Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S.Treasury.
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
Coca-Cola was originally green.
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)
The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
The average cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400
The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour:
61,000
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
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
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 (Awesome)
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.
Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what? A. Their birthplace
Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested? A. Obsession
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"? A. One thousand
Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common? A. All were invented by women.
Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil? A. Honey
Q. Which day are there usually more collect calls than any other day of the year? A. Father's Day
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."
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.
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"
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.
AND FINALLY
At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow! DID YOU?
I must confess that this was a bit of frivolity here as I had a Friday frazzled state of mind. You know sometimes when the world gets too serious you just have to interject a bit of fun. I beg your forbearance at my frivolous facts, they seemed fitting at the time. I promise to do better in the future, and since I now seem to have a fixation on the letter "F", I shall say farewell, I'm finished. ~finis~
who is the King of Spades for? You only give us the reason for diamonds, hearts, & Clubs.
hearts= Charlemagne
clubs= Alexander the Great
diamonds= Julius Caesar
Very interesting! I enjoyed reading these statistics. Many are things I had not known of course. We learn something new everyday! As far as the elbow, I pictured it, but knew from long ago that it was not possible.
Hello Everyone!
I loved reading the facts! They are very interesting.....I have to admit that reading facts can be better than comics.....hihi. Thanks for all the hard work put in.
Love Always,
Sarah
Sorry, but those are urban legends and there's no truth to them.
http://www.canlaw.com/rights/thumbrul.htm
All of the other items can be researched as well, and I've done so in the past.
I should have said "A lot of the other items are false."
For example, number 2.
http://golf.about.com/cs/historyofgolf/a/hist_golfword.htm
ah, come on Al.....it was just me trying to have a wee bit of fun.
Like I said, a bit of frivolity.
The origin of the word honeymoon
The Oxford English Dictionary offers no etymology at all, but dates the word back to the 16th century:
"The first month after marriage, when there is nothing but tenderness and pleasure" (Samuel Johnson); originally having no reference to the period of a month, but comparing the mutual affection of newly-married persons to the changing moon which is no sooner full than it begins to wane; now, usually, the holiday spent together by a newly-married couple, before settling down at home.
One of the oldest citations in the Oxford English Dictionary indicates that, while today honeymoon has a positive meaning, the word was actually a sardonic reference to the inevitable waning of love like a phase of the moon. This, the first literary reference to the honeymoon was penned in 1552, in Richard Huloet's Abecedarium Anglico Latinum. Huleot writes:
Hony mone, a terme proverbially applied to such as be newe maried, whiche wyll not fall out at the fyrste, but thone loveth the other at the beginnynge excedyngly, the likelyhode of theyr exceadynge love appearing to aswage, ye which time the vulgar people cal the hony mone.
For some reason, I think I should have covered my eyes rather than read this?
Wet your whistle
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.
Has anyone ever seen one of these mugs? A picture of one? A written description of one, perhaps? Of course not, they never existed.
Since the middle ages, whistle has been used as a slang term for the throat. As in...
Let’s have no pitty, for if you do, here’s that shall cut your whistle.
And here I was believing it. roflm*a*o har har at me.
Well, it does sound like it could be true.
Pronunciation: 'fri-v&-l&s
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin frivolus
1 a: of little weight or importance b: having no sound basis (as in fact or law) <a frivolous lawsuit>
2 a: lacking in seriousness b: marked by unbecoming levity
- friv·o·lous·lyadverb
- friv·o·lous·nessnoun
Synonyms
frivolous, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, minor, minute, negligible, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivialbegrijp
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.”
False. Sleep tight has the same origin as sit tight. Goodnight, sleep tight probably became a popular phrase because it rhymes. Also, the phrase wasn’t around in Shakespeare’s time; one report of earliest usage comes from 1933.
Ok..between you and Pru I don't know what is or isn't any more! lol@me
Possibly I was precipitous in my previous preface. It was my presumption to prompt any participation, not meaning to be precise ,it was primarily for your pleasure that I proffered this page, only a puny pretext for possible interaction.
Not to prolong, I accomplished my purpose.
Puisne Prudence
Now... would you believe this
100 years ago......(she says as she continues her quest for knowledge).....
THE YEAR 1907
The year is 1907. One hundred years ago!
What a difference a century makes!
Here are some of the U.S. statistics for the Year 1907 :
The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years.
Only 14 percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub.
Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.
A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost eleven dollars.
There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads.
The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.
Alabama, Mississippi, Iowa, and Tennessee were each more heavily populated than California.
(Wish they still were.)
With a mere 1.4 million people, California was only the 21st most populous state in the Union.
The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!
The average wage in the U.S. was
22 cents per hour.The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year .
A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year,
a dentist $2,500 per year,
a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year,
and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.
More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home .
Ninety percent of all U.S. doctors had no college education.
Instead, they attended so-called medical schools,
many of which were condemned in the press and by the government as "substandard."
Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.
Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.
Most women only washed their hair once a month,
and used borax or egg yolks for shampoo.
Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. Five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:
1. Pneumonia and Influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke
(Not sure we have improved on this one.)The American flag had 45 stars.
Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii,
and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30!!!
Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet.
There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.
Two out of every 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write.
Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores!
Back then pharmacist said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,
regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health." (Shocking!)
Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.
There were about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.
I've just read & printed out these "stats"....very interesting
LOL...whether or not the "statistics" that were listed, were true or not...they certainly were interesting, and lots of fun to read...and...they have the possibilites to have possibly been true. So, I enjoyed reading them, nonetheless
Me too and I think some of them are true.
http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.htm
Alright Al, no frivolity for you, right?
Wow. Long page, with tons of information. So in the 1400s-1500s they married by paper only and most often delayed physical relations. (Unlike a former coworker of mine who had a baby at 13 and then her baby had a baby at 12. I was 28 & having my daughter Kathleen, she was 26 and a grandma.) Shocking to me.
Hello Y'all!!!
Hmmm...I like the statistics, very interesting!
Sarah
You people are walking Encyclopedias!?The great knowledge comes as a surprise, some years later. Interesting to compare just a century aGO. eACH CENTURY HAS THEIR UNIQUENESS, THEIR LOW AND HIGH NUMBERS. JUST LOOK AT ILLNESSES, cures, new medicens, Longevity fascinating subject! Love the idea! Kati
wow that was great i love reading facts especially facts on andre rieu!
lol
thanks for the great blog topic
-jeff
Hi All, check out the page below and at the top are some cat videos. The second one "Monster the singing Cat" is for Sally. The first one is real cute also.
http://www.yahoo.com/