I do not know if all of these are true or not, but they are certainly interesting little tidbits I found while stumbling about on stumbleupon.com
Reposted from Daveweinbaum.com off Stumbleupon
Interesting facts..
Historical tidbits you didn’t know you needed to know!
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 mad
e 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 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 Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be
invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit i n 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 f rom 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 term “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 othe rs. 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.)
10) Nova-Bombs (Andromeda, Halo, tons of other things)
9) The Lexx (Lexx)
8) The Dakara Superweapon (Stargate SG-1)
6) Obliterators (Heretics of Dune, Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert)
5) Warworld (DC Comics)
4) Wave Motion Gun (Space Battleship Yamato, aka Star Blazers)
3) The Sphere-O-Boom (Futurama)
Michael Bradley - Time Traveler 