HICKSVILLE TIDBITS NOVEMBER 2009
Trivia for November 2009
- 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'.
- Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'...thus the word GOLF entered the English language.
- Coca-Cola was originally green.
- The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
- The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...) percentage of North America's wilderness: 38%
- The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $ 16,400
- The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour: 61,000
- The first novel ever written on a typewriter, Tom Sawyer.
- The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monument.
- 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
- 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
- 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 because of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
- Only two people signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, John Hancock and Charles Thomson.. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
- Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace.
- The longest palandrome I know is: A man a plan a canal panama (amanaplanacanalpanama).
- If you were to spell out numbers, you have to go 1000 characters until you find the letter 'A'
- Bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers and laser printers were all invented by women.
- Honey is the only food that doesn't spoil.
- There more collect calls on Father's Day than on any other day of the year.
- 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'.
- 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.
- In 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".
- 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.
- Thomas Drummond in 1816 devised a lighting source for theatres. It was a cylinder of lime heated by an incandescence flame and placed behind a lens or in front of a reflector. These "lime lights" were very bright. Thus the star performer was very visible as long as he stood in it. Soon, actors were competing to be in the easily seen limelight. And so any location where many can see you today is called being in the "limelight."
- New England chicken farmers discovered that chickens born in the spring bought better prices, rather than old birds that had gone through the winter etc. Sometimes farmers tried to sell the old birds as a new spring born chicken. Smart buyers often complained that a tough fowl was "no spring chicken" and so the term now is used to represent birds (and even people) past their plump and tender years.
- Anyone who avoids making decisions or accepting responsibility is said to pass the buck. This all started from the old days of card playing. A piece of buckshot is placed before someone who has the deal. The dealer has a lot of responsibility on determining the game's format. If a cautious player doesn't want to take on this responsibility, he's allowed to "pass the buck" to the next player who will be the dealer.
- In old boxing days, many bruised fighters couldn't get to their feet when the bell for the new round began. Their managers knew they could do nothing but give up since they were too weak to continue. As a signal, one of them would toss in an article used to soak up blood -- a towel or sponge. Today's boxing regulations are meant to limit the brutality of the past. But the saying today meaning when you are forced to give up of "throwing in the towel" still remains.
- In old days, a rifle (or musket) had 3 major parts: A lock, a stock of wood and a metal barrel. Each part was totally useless without the other one. They had to all work together or, well, you got nothing. But when they were all in sync, what a BLAST! Thus, when a person chose to put everything 100% into a decision, action or commitment and not just half-heartedly, he is said to be doing it "lock, stock and barrel."
- This comes from boar hunting in which the noblemen hired workers to walk through the woods beating the branches and making noises to get the animals to run towards the hunters. Boars were dangerous animals with razor-sharp teeth (you really did not want to meet one-to-one, esp. with no weapon). So the unarmed workers workers avoided the dense undergrowth where the boar might be and beat around it, rather than going into it. Thus, this evasive technique was termed "beating around the bush" and today represents anyone who avoids approaching anything directly.
- Before the days of electric or mechanical doorbells, anyone coming to your house just had to pound a metal knocker that was nailed to the front door. Sometimes it took a lot of heavy smacks to get attention. This meant that the nails holding this metal plate on the door got a lot of wear, eventually having the life pounded out of it and it fell out. Today anything that is totally withered or a failed project or situation that is hopeless is considered to be as dead as a doornail.
- The term comes from the prize money a contestant would win at many county fairs for catching the greased pig. Since it was a pig that was the target, the winner then "brought home the bacon" or the winnings. Today the term is used to mean bringing home money that's earned by having done a difficult task or after a lot of running around.
They're Back! Those wonderful Church Bulletins! Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences (with all the BLOOPERS) actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:
- The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
- The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
- Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
- Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
- Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
- For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
- Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
- Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
- A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
- At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
- Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
- Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
- Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
- The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
- Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is done.
- The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
- Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
- The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
- Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church.. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
- The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."
Thanks to Bob Wesley for submitting the above.
