Historical Trivia

[Rod]

Interesting tid bits:
Historical Trivia

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.' (Artists know hands
and arms are more difficult to paint)
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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.
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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 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. Occasionally 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.'
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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.'
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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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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.'
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Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine
what the people considered important. 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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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 phrase 'minding your 'P's and Q's'.
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One more: bet you didn't know this!

In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters
carried 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. Ho wever, 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, yo u thought that
was an improper expression, didn't you.)

[Russell L. Thomas]

Plenty of times I wonder where a term came from, thanks for some enlightenment

[anonyma]

hey Rod, this is quite a condensed fact and illustrative post.

i now know what a wig is (i wonder Russell's hiding a big wig under that big hat of his avatar pic) ...this and other words and cultural clarifications, it's incredible how this can put much enrichment to just knowing a second tongue (or is it thonge?) LOL

glad you shared it.

cheers.

[Russell L. Thomas]

hey Rod, this is quite a condensed fact and illustrative post.

i now know what a wig is (i wonder Russell's hiding a big wig under that big hat of his avatar pic) ....

Nope, I am hiding a shaved head, call me mister clean!