Some Sayings--True?

[Travis]

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. Hence we have "the rule of thumb"
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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.
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The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
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Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S . Treasury.
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Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
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Coca-Cola was originally green.
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It is impossible to lick your elbow.
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The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:
Alaska
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The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)
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The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
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The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400
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The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour:
61,000
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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
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The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
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The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
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Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar
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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 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.
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Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
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Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
Their birthplace
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Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
Obsession
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If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
One thousand
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What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
All were invented by women.
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What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
Honey
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Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
Father's Day
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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."
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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 calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
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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"
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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!

 

[Smudger]

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I realise this is a joke but come on...

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.

A myth according to Stephen Fry...

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.

Nothing to do with Babylon, but the giving of mead may well have been done in medieval Europe because the first month of marriage was said to be the sweetest.
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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.

It's the English language, and the original name was Goff. Doesn't work, does it?

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

Only one of these was a King.

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"
'p and q' is from compositors, who work with reversed type, and therefore can confuse the lower case letters.

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.
Your 'whistle' is your mouth. If you ever find a mug with a whistle in it, let me know, I'll put it on eBay...

Do people just make this stuff up, or what?

 

[PowerTool]

Have a look here Dick - about halfway down it tells of piggin whistles,so you might find one still.. :wink:

Andrew

 

[Smudger]

Yeah - a leather drinks bottle used for water in steel mills!

Not even close...

 

[andycktm]

Think you've blown it there smudger.
E -bay link!

 

[BradNaylor]

If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?

One thousand

What about 'One hundred And one'?

 

[SketchUp Guru]

Well, I can't lick my elbow so I think at least one is true. I wouldn't want to lick it either.

 

[Smudger]

Think you've blown it there smudger.
E -bay link!

In what way?

Oh, you mean a ceramic beer pot with a built-in whistle used in pubs is the same thing as a leather water bottle with a whistle on a string used in steel mills? If such a thing ever existed...

From
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-wet1.htm


[Q] From David Means, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA: “I got yet another of those e-mail ‘Fun Facts’ pages forwarded to me with a lot of false etymologies. I was able to find refutations for all but one of these on your site. Can you help prove or disprove this one: ‘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’. I find this explanation too pat and so immediately distrust it. Can you help?”

[A] You’re right to distrust it. These e-mail pieces are fun to read, but they combine a morsel of truth with a large serving of invention. They lie at one extreme of the spectrum of folk or popular etymology, and they’re a very good illustration of the way that mistaken ideas about words and phrases can disseminate.

You can be sure that no pub cup or mug ever had a whistle fitted to it for this purpose. If you wanted another drink, you went up to the bar and asked for it; if the place was posh enough to have table service, you most certainly wouldn’t blow a whistle to get attention! You sometimes see such mugs today, but they’re the pottery equivalent of your e-mail, a joke on a long-established saying.

In the expression, whistle is just a joking reference to one’s mouth or throat and to the fact that one can’t easily whistle when one’s mouth is dry. It’s a very ancient expression: its first recorded appearance is in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales at the end of the fourteenth century, and it must surely be even older.

You can sometimes see the phrase as whet one’s whistle, as though it is in need of sharpening. It would seem that those who first wrote it that way — more than 300 years ago — were as unsure of the real source of the expression as many of us are today. I shudder to think what the anonymous writer of your e-mail message might make of that version.

 

[duncanh]

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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 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.
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If the horse just has the front feet on the ground the person died falling off their horse!

This idea caused us much hilarity on a drink fuelled, sleep deprived trip round Copenhagen