Facinating Facts

[gimpyguy]

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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.
Hense, we have "the rule of thumb!"
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The first couple to be shown together in bed on Prime Time TV
were Fred and Wilma Flintstone
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It is impossible to lick your elbow
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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 leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds in recieved in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
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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 calandar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon
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In English pubs, ale was 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
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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.
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At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!
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[Zommoz]

AGLET - the little metal or plastic cylinder that encases the end of a shoestring

KICK or PUNT - the dent in the bottom of a bottle of wine or Champagne

PHOSPHENES - The little bright spots you see behind your eyelids when you hold your eyes shut tightly for a short period

CHANKING - the part of the food you spit out like rinds, pits or seeds

DUFF - The decaying organic matter found on a forest floor

[lefty]

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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle.
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Don't think anyone told us up here - this is the statue of the Duke of Wellington on his famous horse, Copenhagen, in Princes Street, Edinburgh. Dear old Arthur survived for 37 years after Waterloo !

[jmig]

I always wondered about P's & Q's.

[gimpyguy]

Don't think anyone told us up here - this is the statue of the Duke of Wellington on his famous horse, Copenhagen, in Princes Street, Edinburgh. Dear old Arthur survived for 37 years after Waterloo !

Not the slightest bit surprized, the Scottish have been a bit ( different ) for years
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Haggis :costumes:

[Snuffy]

I always wondered about P's & Q's.

Well now you went and did it ...

Lock, Stock, and Barrel are from gunsmithing days. :) They are all terms used to describe parts of guns.

I had also heard the story of freezings the balls off a brass monkey, but I had to do some research on that and found a rather interesting site.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cold%20enough%20to%20freeze%20the%20balls%20off%20 a%20brass%20monkey.html (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/cold%20enough%20to%20freeze%20the%20balls%20off%20 a%20brass%20monkey.html)

[sandar]

Freezing the balls off a brass monkey is a Royal Navy term from the time of sailing ships and canon.

A brass monkey is the stand on which iron canon balls are stored next to the canon, ready for action. In very cold weather the brass contracts to such an extent that the iron canon-balls fall off, hence the colourful term.

"You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours", "let the cat out of the bag" and "square meal" are all Royal Navy terms from the days of sail.

The first refers to flogging, meaning if a sailor is to be flogged, he suggests to the sailor detailed to do the flogging, if he is not too severe with the flogging, if the tables are reversed some time in the future,he will do the same.
The second refers to the cat of nine tails, which is the whip used to flog sailors.
A square meal refers to the square trencher (plate) on which naval meals were served. They were of a standard size and had to be filled, hence a square meal is a substantial meal.

[gimpyguy]

A great many of the colorful phrases used in today's language, can trace their beginnings to the British Navy of the 1700's or Before.

A "ship of the line" was Not the place you wanted to be. Often the crew was "Recruited" by Press Gangs, you might get knocked unconcious, only to regain your senses aboad ship. Congrats . . you're now a seaman

KEEP A STIFF UPPER LIP. . . The only way off the ship sometimes was death. If the ship was anchored within sight of land, you'd just jump overboard and swim to shore. Well nobody better see you do it. Because when they catch you, you'll wish they didn't.

So what you'd TRY is Faking Death, they put the body in a sack, made of sailcloth, along with some ballast stones, so the bag will sink. And over the side it goes. You hid a knife up your butt, you cut yourself out of the bag, swim to shore, and they won't come looking for you. . . You're Dead.

It's rather easy to Fake Death in 1625, however, when they sew you into the sack. That first Stitch with the Sail Makers Needle is through your upper lip. With the 1st Mate Watching, and dead people don't move. If you do move, you'll wish you hadn't :kilroy:

[Dangerousdave26]

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It is impossible to lick your elbow
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Not true

I can lick my elbow as well as my forehead.

[gimpyguy]

SON OF A-GUN . . . When you put into port, to reprovision, you couldn't let the crew get off the ship ( LIBERTY ) because they'd never return. Soo the trusted MATES would gather the Ladies of the Evening, and put them on the ship. The women were not allowed Below the Gun Deck, for their own protection ( any old port in a storm)
That remained manditory, until only recently
The only place for a bit of privacy on the Gun Deck, was between two cannons. Soo a great many children were concieved between two guns.
Hence: Son-of-a-gun or Bastard

ANY OLD PORT IN A STORM . . Ladies of the Evening, were taken below decks for privacy. Strangled, her body salted down and placed in a barrel for future use.
During a storm, most everybody was below decks, legally
Perfect Time to take that Special Barrel, and play hide the balony

Eventually the stink gave away the secret of the barrel's location

[gimpyguy]

Not true

I can lick my elbow as well as my forehead.

You be very popular with the ladies :costumes::costumes::costumes::costumes:

[gimpyguy]

In Merry Old England, in the 1500's. Fieldstone was used for the floors of your castle, during winter the morning dew, would freeze on the stone. Thus causeing you to slip, and kill yourself.

Sooo they placed a heavy straw, ( THRESH) on the floor, to prevent slipping. But opening and closeing the door repeatedly, made one heck of a mess in the hallway. So in order to keep the Thresh in the room, a 2 inch high lip of wood was added as a THRESHOLD

[Kofschip]

You be very popular with the ladies :costumes::costumes::costumes::costumes:

Darn it Gimpy, you beat me to the punch.:running: