Historical trivia [INTERESTING] !!!!

Enjoy this bit of  .....HISTORICAL TRIVIA.......

THERE IS ALWAYS A HISTORY BEHIND IT ALL  !!



This  is really very interesting stuff and thought you would enjoy as much
as I  did. Did you know the saying "God willing and the Creeks don't rise"
was  in reference to the Creek Indians and not a body of water?  It was
written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century.  He was a  politician and
Indian diplomat.  While in the south, Hawkins was  requested by the
President of the U.S. to return to Washington.  In  his response, he
was said to
write, "God willing and the Creeks don't  rise......." Because he capitalized
the word "Creeks" it is deduced that  he was referring to the Creek Indian
tribe and not a body of water.

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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.  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.)
If you don't send this fabulous bit of historic knowledge  to any and all
your unsuspecting friends, your floppy is going to fall  off your hard drive
and kill your  mouse.