At first, I thought this stuff was horse hockey. But now I'm not so sure

[Andy Hoyt]

My brother sent this to me; and he's usually full of it. In any case, it's pretty cool stuff. Especially what you always needed to know about statues with horses.

************************************************** ************************

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.

-------------------------------------------

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 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

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If a statue 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 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!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now don't delete this last part just because it looks weird. Believe it or not,
you can read it.


I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to
rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht
oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht
the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit plcae. The rset can be a
taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is
bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but
the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh

[Jim Dunn]

Andy thanks for the eye test at the end. It was a fun read.

[Byron Trantham]

Andy, I loved this. I sent it to everyone on my email list!:D

[Keel McDonald]

Andy,

I'll file this information away for that mythical day I'm on Jeopardy. The facts are interesting. I've often wondered where certain sayings originate. Thanks for enlightening me.

[Kent Parker]

Andy,

I wish I could say my elbow was wet but.......;)

Nice read

Cheers,

KP

[Keith Outten]

"It's cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey".

In the days of wooden ships and iron men there was a triangular shaped brass plate called a brass monkey on the deck where they stacked canon balls. When the temperature dropped to near 32F the sea mist would freeze on the stack of iron balls and they would fall off of the brass monkey.

[Lee Schierer]

It was amusing reading.

Take the one with honey not spoiling with a large grain of salt. Honey can and does spoil. It gets darker with age and will eventually crystalize. The slight amount of water at the surface then allows bacteria to start working after it crystalizes. They did find honey in the pryamids, but it was not in edible condition.

Lee - Beekeeper for over 25 years.

[Bill Lewis]

Fun "Facts"!
I think I've heard most of these before, and some are actually true, while others I've heard alternate and more factual explanations. For instance, I know that "Golf" is not derived as stated, but I couldn't tell you the correct word origin either. Other facts are are just off a little, like I don't think that the SF trollies are moving national monuments, but I think they are the list of National Historic Places, and they are the only mobil structure that is on the list. I also just don't believe the numbers regarding Africa vs. North america. Not to say that NA doesn't have more wilderness, I just think the numbers are off. And Lastly, the thing about the horse and rider just really isn't standardized. There seems to be more statues that don't fit the "standard" than those that do.

Here's another one to add to the list:
Q: Using all numbers 1-9 only once, what 9 digit number can you subtract from another 9 digit number and end up with all 9 digits in the answer?

A:987654321-123456789=864197532

[Dan Stuewe]

Just doing a quick web search there are twice the number of people per square kilometer in Africa than in N. America. (26 vs. 13)

(Area from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continent

&

population from UN via geohive http://www.geohive.com/global/pop_w_reg.php)

Fun stuff to think about. BTW, my wife was once reprimaned by a student (she used to teach software to other employees) for using the term "rule of thumb" for the very reason cited here.

[Art Mulder]

BTW, my wife was once reprimaned by a student (she used to teach software to other employees) for using the term "rule of thumb" for the very reason cited here.
Dan, your wife was taken for a ride.

It is an urban legend that seems to stick around. Spend a few minutes with google and you'll see. I suspect that many of the other ones are also. Many are listed on snopes.com (ie: Coke was never green, Golf is not an acronym for "Gentlemen Only; Ladies Forbidden")

And I just went to Google images and entered "lick elbow" and I think you can guess what I found there... :D

...art

ps: sorry to be the party pooper.

[Dennis Peacock]

Term:
Shut Your Face

Probable Meaning:
This harks back to the days of knights in shining armor with face-plates. Shutting your face would effectively limit speech!

[Don Baer]

Actualy golf got its name because all of the other 4 letter words were taken...DAMHIKT

[Bill Lewis]

Term:
Shut Your Face

Probable Meaning:
This harks back to the days of knights in shining armor with face-plates. Shutting your face would effectively limit speech!

Wow, I didn't know they had knights in the 'hood

[Curt Fuller]

In 53 years I've never tried to lick my elbow until today. Andy, do you realize what you're doing to mankind?

[Andy Hoyt]

I sure do, Curt. One post at a time!:D

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

I also just don't believe the numbers regarding Africa vs. North america. Not to say that NA doesn't have more wilderness, I just think the numbers are off.

I've been up in Northern Canada, and we flew on a helo for hours and hour and hours and then more hours and saw nothing but scrub, and lots of little lakes.


Area in square Km
Africa 30,370,000
North America 24,500,000

Population
Africa 843,705,143
North America 514,600,000

Nearly the same land mass, but Africa has about 63% more people.

The other thing to realize is that there are vast areas of NA that you cannot live in unless you are a mountain goat or a polar bear, but I would think that in Africa, there are very few areas that are too cold to live.

One last thing, define "Wilderness"


1) : a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings.
2) : an area essentially undisturbed by human activity together with its naturally developed life community.

Just my two yen's worth.

Cheers!

[Ian Barley]

I always understood that the "balls off a brass monkey" was slightly different.


The version I know relates to field artillery where the "monkey" was part of the limber attached to a field gun which stored ammunition etc. The balls were iron and they were stored on a brass "monkey". Under intense cold, during the Crimean war, the difference in size change between the brass and the iron was sufficient to dislodge the balls from the monkey.

Also P's and Q's related to the sale of alcohol, which was mostly conducted on short term credit. So the innkeeper kept a record on which his customers consumption was recorded in P's & Q's. The phrase therefore related to keeping a watch on indebtedness. The record of indebtedness was kept using chalking an a slate. Therefore when the debt was paid off the customers marks were erased - hence "Wiping the slate clean"

[Kevin French]

"It's cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey".

In the days of wooden ships and iron men there was a triangular shaped brass plate called a brass monkey on the deck where they stacked canon balls. When the temperature dropped to near 32F the sea mist would freeze on the stack of iron balls and they would fall off of the brass monkey.

Keith

check out

http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.htm

[Keith Outten]

Keith

check out

http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.htm

Kevin,

It seems that not one of these quips has withstood its supposed origin, is there nothing sacred?

Thanks :)

[David Fried]

The other thing to realize is that there are vast areas of NA that you cannot live in unless you are a mountain goat or a polar bear, ....

HEY! Andy lives there - be nice :D

[Andy Hoyt]

Sorry David. No mountain goats or polar bears here. Just moose and sidehill cronchers.

[Curt Fuller]

Kevin,

It seems that not one of these quips has withstood its supposed origin, is there nothing sacred?

Thanks :)

You believe what you want to believe, I'll believe what I want to believe. That's what I live by. Life is a lot more fun with a little BS floating around between your ears;) ;)

[Andy Hoyt]

I'm with ya Curt.

[Glenn Clabo]

Life is a lot more fun with a little BS floating around between your ears;) ;)

If you change the "little" to mostly...that's me!

[Anthony Anderson]

Andy, I wouldn't let Carole Valentine see that last part or she is going to really tear into you:D. BTW I am on the side of Cambridge. Thanks, this is a cool post. Regards, Bill

[Bill Lewis]

I've been up in Northern Canada, and we flew on a helo for hours and hour and hours and then more hours and saw nothing but scrub, and lots of little lakes.I think what I posted earlier was taken a bit out of context, somewhat intensionally, just as the "facts" sheet was somewhat misleading.
I actually think, for the same reasons you have posted, that the whole of North America actually has more wilderness than the percentage given. Likewise for Africa. Though, like you said, Africa as inhospitable as we make think about it, has a climate better suited for human habitation than a very vast part of NA, or where Andy lives.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I believe that about Alaskan's walking to work. I walked to work when I lived there because it was more work to dig the car out than walk to work.

[Robert Mickley]

Life is a lot more fun with a little BS floating around between your ears;) ;)

Then I must be having a REALLY good time :D :D

[James Ogle]

Also technically the bulletproof vest was not invented by a woman but the Kevlar fiber that goes into the modern versions was invented by Stephanie Kwolek working for DuPont Chemical.