did you know this?

[david uk]

I was sent this by a friend... apparently these are all true...

In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick 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 was Fred and Wilma Flintstone

Coca-Cola was originally green.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

The average number of people airborne over the US 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

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king in 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 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.

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 bullet-proof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey

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 phraseinspired by this practice.

Don't delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it..........

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg.
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 pclae. 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.

>~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~
>
>At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!!!!!!

[Rickster]

David...Very Interesting...Thank you.

[Rkitko]

Rule of thumb rebuttal:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000512.html

Flintstones debunked:
http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/marykay.htm

GOLF acronym:
http://golf.about.com/cs/historyofgolf/a/hist_golfword.htm

It ain't easy being green (for Coca Cola) :
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/contactus/myths_rumors/packaging_green.html


Well, let's just say don't believe everything you read ;)

[aabram]

David, I think this is very clever, but is this really ALL you do with your time these days????? :p :D :p

[ponytail]

Too bad some of them aren't true. I'd prefer to believe them.

[RedjackRyan]

Indeed.. True or not they are interesting statements to explain some of the curiousities of modern culture..

btw, the bit about the Statues with hooves raised etc.. is also bunk...

http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.htm I only remembered that one thanks to an arguement i had with friends over that issue.

[Dee]

If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle.

Her Majesty will be mortified to learn she is dead, methinks.

http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/text/explorestatues_e.html#5

:eek:

[DaveM]

"p's and q's" may have originated in the printing trade back when type was set by hand. Indeed, I once saw a sign with the warning on it hanging over a vintage printing press.

[Eva]

I am very certain some people CAN lick their own elbows... *determined expression on face*
No I haven't tried...
This time... :o

Eva

[david uk]

oh well lol :p :p

[Rkitko]

"p's and q's" may have originated in the printing trade back when type was set by hand. Indeed, I once saw a sign with the warning on it hanging over a vintage printing press.

Did anyone else cringe at that grammar? I didn't realize a P or a Q could possess something ;)

I know you deal in antiques, DaveM. Seems like the going price around here for individual lead type pieces is about $1. It's shame they're breaking those sets up, though. Have you ever seen a whole set for sale? My partner just found a couple interesting ones at a shop in Ohio--one was the logo for the then Sheraton-Cadillac Hotel in Detroit (named as such from 1951 to 1975). Really neat to find such a thing since the hotel, after sitting vacant for a few decades, is now finding new life as the Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel (scheduled to open in 2008).

Another interesting tidbit about printing: Adam's family owned a funeral home for a couple generations. The most recent family member to run the operation ran it into the ground (pun fully intended). Back in the day, they used to use a printing press on site to print off the bulletins. The thing took up an entire room of the house/business. When the business was laid to rest (hehe, so many puns, so little time), Adam's relative simply gave the press away to someone else, even though Adam really wanted it. Don't know what he'd do with it--it would take up his entire basement!

[DaveM]

I have never seen a complete case of type for sale, though I have seen the empty cases for sale at times (for a time, they were fashionable as shadowboxes--and I'd bet that a lot of compositor's desks were broken up and the type tossed or sold as scrap. I do see a fair number of illustration "blocks"--etched copper plates on wooden backgrounds or some older piece that are just a thick piece of etched copper. Most are pretty routine, but now and then one finds and interesting illustration (visualizing them upside down and backwards is great entertainment).

An old-time printer taught me decades ago how to set up a "stick" by hand. And one must, indeed, mind one's ps and qs (is that better? I don't like the way it looks). If you are not dyslexic, typesetting will leave you thinking you are.

The first newspaper I worked for was still using Linotype machines. They went to the scrap heap while I was there and we all got paperweights made out of the type metal. Believe I still have one somewhere. One machine had the peculiar habit of spurting jets of molten metal into the air every now and then. Straight at the operator of course--I swear those things had minds of their own.

[Rkitko]

I have never seen a complete case of type for sale, though I have seen the empty cases for sale at times.

Wow, I suppose I was lucky to see the ones I did? I would have to say they were near complete with dozens of sizes, a few different fonts (maybe just two), punctuation, etc. It was too bad it was being sold off by the single letter, but I'd guess there were thousands of pieces. At $1 a piece, it's much more profitable than selling the entire case. If you ever get the chance and if you're ever in the neighborhood, check out the Sellwood area of Portland, Oregon. That's where I found those two cases.



And one must, indeed, mind one's ps and qs (is that better? I don't like the way it looks).
Ya know, you're right. I always get confused with the exceptions to grammar rules. It seems that several style guides allow for the use of the apostrophe in cases where it might be ambiguous, such as i's instead of is. Though they note in cases where disambiguation is not a problem, using the apostrophe is not suggested, such as "I got three As and two Bs on my report card." My mistake! :o

[DaveM]

ain't English great?

[Rkitko]

As my grandmother used to say in a thick western Pennsylvania accent, "Ain't ain't a word!" ;)

[Eva]

And one must, indeed, mind one's ps and qs
Doesn't that go for the letters b and d too?
(Or am I not getting what you are talking about. In that case, just forget my question)

Eva

[Darlene]

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveM
And one must, indeed, mind one's ps and qs

Doesn't that go for the letters b and d too?
(Or am I not getting what you are talking about. In that case, just forget my question)



I had not thought of that but that is really cool especially us dyslexic people. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

Peace, Darlene

[Eva]

My ex girlfriend was dyslexic. She went to school to become a carpenter. It all went fine. But I had to rewrite all the info from the books so she wouldn't have to read all the sentences around what she needed to know. I wrote chapter after chapter, made drawings so she would understand without too many words etc. All the reading was just too tyring for her.

So now I know all about how wood fits together and in what ways. I know all about drilling holes. What kind of drill in what kind of material. I know all about screws and nails. Well, in theory... :rolleyes: :D Nevertheless, it's usefull info...

Eva

[Amy in Vermont]

If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle.

Her Majesty will be mortified to learn she is dead, methinks.

http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/text/explorestatues_e.html#5

:eek:

Apparently, this only applies to Generals....

"Here is an interesting thing to know about statues of generals on horses.

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. Here is an interesting thing to know about statues of generals on horses.

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. "

[gisli]

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair .


Okay, now I know what the problem with Janis hair is......it´s filled with copper and zinc......boiiiing.

[DaveM]

hmmm....I suppose minding anything, printingwise, depends on the typeface being used. Come to think of it my first computer (a Commodore 128) used a typeface which made certain letters very difficult to distinguish. Not sure if it was designed by a dyslexic or intended to drive dyslexics crazy.

[Dee]

Apparently, this only applies to Generals....

"Here is an interesting thing to know about statues of generals on horses.

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. Here is an interesting thing to know about statues of generals on horses.

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."

Interesting Amy, both times. ;) I'm sure Queen Elizabeth will be relieved to know that rumours of her death have been greatly exaggerated.

Now then, what does it mean when all four legs are in the air?

[Eva]

Dee, that's obvious! It means that the horse was scared by a mouse or a frog and then jumped in the air. Unfortunately the poor horse landed on top of the general and the general died. :rolleyes:

Eva

[Dee]

Yes of course! Why didn't I think of that?

*whumps forehead*