DID YOU KNOW THIS? 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." |
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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. 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. Occasiona lly 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." |
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." |
One more: Bet you didn't know this! In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters ca rried 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.) |
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." |
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered im portant. 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." |
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Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in "straight laced". . . wore a tightly tied lace. |
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Coca
cola was originally green. It is also the most recognized brand name
on the planet. Next is Marlboro |
Mice,
humans, elephants and giraffes all have seven neck vertebrae |
The
average garden variety caterpillar has over 200 muscles in its head |
The
pupil of an octopus’ eyes are rectangular |
Chia
pets are only sold in December |
Only
the wise dance to the rhythm of life |
Only
two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John
Hancock and Charles Thompson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but
the last signature wasn’t added until five years later. |
Porcupines
can float (their quills are hollow) |
Don’t
call computer problems “bugs.” There’re called “random
features.” |
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More
people are killed by donkeys than in airline crashes |
Hamsters
love crickets |
Chia
pets are only sold in December |
All
swans in England belong are the property of the Queen. Messing with
them is a serious offense |
| A flea expert is called a pullicologist | |
The
only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat |
If
you keep a goldfish in the dark, it will eventually turn white |
| The
three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-cola and Budweiser,
in that order. |
Granite
Park Phone Numbers Main Office : 646-5174 Counseling : 646-5177 Attendance : 646-5178 Fax : 646-5175 |
You
cannot commit suicide by holding your breath |
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The
hundredth billionth crayon made by Crayola was Periwinkle Blue |
Thought
for the day-There are known knowns. There are things we know we know.
There are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are things we
know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the
ones we don’t know we don’t know- Donald Rumsfeld
Useful fact of the day-I can’t top that one. These are the people we have in government. If you aren’t outraged, you’re not paying attention |
The
full name of the city of Los Angeles is “El Pueblo de Nuestra
Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula” |
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There
are more chickens in the world than people |
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The
longest one-syllable word in the English language is “screeched.” |
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The
most venomous animal in the world is the sea wasp which is only ½
inch long! |
A
moderately working adult male will perspire over 4 gallons a day. Most
all of it evaporates before you realize it. |
Crows
have the largest brains, compared to body size, of all the birds |
It
is a misdemeanor in Pacific Grove, CA to kill or threaten a butterfly.
City Ordinance #352 (it’s where the Monarch butterflies migrate
every year) |
Rabbits
love licorice. (And that red stuff isn’t licorice-licorice is
black-bb) |
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The
first couple to be shown in bed together on television was Fred and
Wilma Flintstone |
“Vegatarian”
an old Indian word for bad hunter. |
The
phrase, “rule of thumb” comes from the old English law which
states that you couldn’t beat your wife with anything wider than
your thumb |
The
newest breed of dog is the Bull Boxer, first bred in the U.S. in 1990-91 |
A
baby eel is called an elver, a baby oyster is called a spat |
%
of Africa that is wilderness-28%.
% of North America that is wilderness-38% |
Goldfish
is the only animal that can see both infrared and ultraviolet light |
In
1987 American Airlines saved $40,000 by eliminating one olive from first
class passenger’s salad trays. |
The
underside of a horse’s foot is called a frog. It’s also
the name of the main upright portion of a wood plane that holds the
sharpened blade |
The
average number of people aboard airplanes above the United States any
given hour-61,000 |
Cats
have over one-hundred vocal sounds while dogs only have about 10 |
A hippo can run faster than man |
Police
dogs are verbally trained in foreign languages, mostly German but more
recently Hungarian or some other Slavic tongues |
The
first word spoken on the moon by man was, “okay”. (Probably
Armstrong to Aldrin after they almost ran out of fuel on the landing) |
The
residents of Salt Lake City consume more LIME jell-o than any other
city (from
the Jell-o museum archives-really!) |
The John and Paul, the singers, not the Gospel were right-octopi do have gardens |
New
Jersey has a spoon museum with over 5,400 spoons from every state and
almost every country |
Each
King in a deck of cards represents a different era:
Spades-King David, Hearts-Charlemagne, Clubs- Alexander, Diamonds-Julius Caesar |
The
oldest company in the United States is the cymbal company Zildjian which
was founded in Constantinople in 1623. |
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A
cockroach can live 9 days without its head |
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Most
animals, but rarely humans, can blink one eye at a time |
The
average person fall asleep in 7-10 minutes |
In
Singapore, you can be fined for not flushing the toilet |
Elephants
can’t jump, all other mammals can |
Bees
must collect nectar from 2 thousand flowers to make one tablespoon of
honey |
Cats
in Halifax, Nova Scotia, have a high probability of having six toes |
“Eat
like a bird?”, most birds actually eat twice their wieght a day
(it must be all that flapping around) |
There
are more beetles on the planet than any other type of creature |
"The
caribou love it [the Alaska pipeline]. They rub up against
it and they have babies. There are more caribou in Alaska than you can
shake a stick at." - George H. W. Bush |
Ants
cannot chew their food, they move their jaws sideways, like a pair of
scissors |
On
average 18 acres of pizza are consumed every day in the U.S. |
Most
popular boat name-OBSESSION |
| "I
think there is a world market for maybe five computers" -
Thomas Watson, Chairman of the board, IBM 1943
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home" - Ken Olson, founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1973 |
Elephants
and camels both have four knees |
| Your nose and ears never stop growing | |
| Apples
not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning |
We
know that a peaceful world cannot long exist one-third rich and two-thirds
hungry : Jimmy Carter |
The
streets are safe in Philadelphia, it’s only the people who make
them unsafe -Frank Rizzo Mayor of Philadelphia |
Ancient
Egyptians shaved off their eyebrows to mourn the deaths of their cats |
You
should not eat a crayfish with a straight tail - it means it was dead
before it was cooked |
Everybody
is ignorant, only on different subjects-Will Rogers |
| A lion’s roar can be heard from five miles away | Murphy’s
Oil Soap is the most common chemical used to clean elephants |
An
iguana (the lizard) can stay underwater for 28 minutes |
The
bones of birds weigh less than their feathers |
Camels
have a third eyelid to protect them from blowing sand |
The
national athem of Greece has 158 verses |
The
cheetah is the only feline that cannot retract its claws |
In
Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes.
When you pulled on the roped the mattress tightened, making the bed
firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase-“goodnight, sleep tight.” |
One
average, 100 people choke to death on ball point pens each year |
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A
polar bears’ skin is black and its fur is clear and hollow for
insulation value |
A
Holstein’s (the ungulate) spots are like fingerprints- no two
cows have the same pattern |
The
placement of a donkey’s eyes allows it to see all four feet at
the same time |
The
word rodent comes from the Latin “rodere” meaning to gnaw |
| The electric chair was invented by a dentist | Because
metal was scarce during the war years, the Oscars awarded were made
of wood. |
Elephants
are good swimmers. They have been found miles off-shore in the Indian
Ocean |
There
are species of parrot in Australia that like to eat the rubber weatherstrip
on automobiles |
| The only continent without reptiles or snakes is Antarctica | The
first novel written on a typewriter. Tom Sawyer |
| Donald Duck’s middle name is Fauntleroy | The
odds are over 1000 to one that an animal born in the ocean will not
survive to adulthood |
The
microwave was discovered by a reseacher who walked by a radar tube and
the chocolate bar in his pocket melted. |
The
eye of a giant squid is almost 15 inches in diameter |
It
takes 40 minutes to hard boil an ostrich egg |
The
state with the highest percentage of working population-Alaska |