TODAY'S TRIVIA: COLOR BULL
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The myth is that the color red is offensive to bulls and causes them
to charge. This is why bullfighters use a red cape. The problem with
this theory is that in reality bulls are colorblind.
Tests have shown that bulls will charge any color. They are charging
because they are being tormented (and drugged) by the matador and
others in the ring.
The red capes are used only for tradition (and theatrics).
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: A VERY SHORT LETTER
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Use this example when you are explaining to people that they are a bit
too verbose in their communications.
In 1862, author Victor Hugo wrote his novel "Les Miserables." As most
authors are, he was very anxious to know how his book was selling.
Unfortunately, he hadn't heard a word from his publisher. So he wrote
the following to him: "?"
In response, the publisher simply wrote "!"
Brilliant.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: SHANGRI-LA
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James Hilton's novel "Lost Horizon" was set in a town called
Shangri-La. This town has since become synonymous with blissful and
healthy living. But, is there actually a Shangri-La?
Well, no, not really. Shangri-La was actually based on a town called
Hunza, which is in Pakistan. This town boasts of having the healthiest
people in the world. Many residents are over 100 years old. The town
is located at the borders of Pakistan, China, and the Soviet Union.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: E
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Can I buy a vowel? What letter would you choose? I like the letter
"e," but I don't think it is the most common vowel. Anyway, that isn't
what we're talking about today.
Back in 1939, Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel called "Gadsby." Not
one that will go down in history with its counterpart, "The Great
Gatsby," but this book does have one feature that is rather
impressive: It is 267 pages long and has about 50,000 words--none of
them contain the letter "e."
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: EUREKA!
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I figure most of us know that eureka means, "I have found it." But who
knew that those prospectors back in 1849 were so fluent in Greek that
they would dig up that term and make it famous?
The actual origin of eureka's (or heureka in Greek) fame goes all the
way back to around 230 BC. Archimedes, a Sicilian philosopher, was
given the task of finding out whether a crown presented to the ruler
of Syracuse was really pure gold or a fake.
Archimedes had no idea how to figure this out until he stepped into
his bath and noticed that it overflowed. This made him realize that
objects of equal weight but different density displaced different
amounts of water when immersed. Since gold has a different density
than other metals, he knew that if he immersed the crown in water,
he'd be able to determine if it was made of pure gold.
He was so excited that he jumped out of the public bath and ran home
shouting "Heureka!"
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE CLACKER
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Most of us simply assumed that, in filmmaking, the slate that goes
"clack" before a scene is filmed is used to wake up the actors before
their big scene. Nope!
The clacker is actually crucial to the synchronization of the
soundtrack and the film. The clack takes place in less than 1/24 of a
second--so on the soundtrack, it will match up with a single frame of
film. This way, the editors can easily match the soundtrack to the
film.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: ANTS
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Bet you didn't know this: It can be very hard to drown an ant. To
impress your nephew this summer, take an ant and immerse it in water
and keep it there for a few hours. Then, take it out and wait.
Eventually, the ant will revive and walk off.
The reason ants don't drown is because water doesn't penetrate their
tiny breathing tubes. If you remember from science class, water has a
lot of surface tension--which means it will merely surround the ant.
This still doesn't seem to explain it though. If we were in this
situation, we'd die. Ants don't. They just suffer from carbon dioxide
narcosis, which knocks them out. Of course, they will die eventually,
but it takes a good long while.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: MORE ANTS
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As we mentioned last time, the surface tension in water is
particularly strong for ants. As such, they can actually float on
water. This is how fire ants in the Deep South deal with rain.
While some ants will simply run deep underground to avoid the rain,
fire ants that are caught in flood waters will do something very
interesting: They will link their bodies together and float on the
flood waters. These ants will drift along until they come upon dry
land. Naturally, the queen rides in the middle of the "raft," high and
dry.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE ANSWER TO X
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It seems like the obvious choice, but why do people use the letter "X"
when representing an unknown quantity?
If Sally bashed Jimmy over the head X number of times, how many
stitches would Jimmy need?
The Arabic word used to represent an unknown was shei. The Greeks
translated this word into Xei for their purposes. This was shortened
to X by those ever-so-busy mathematicians.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE BEER PROSTITUTE
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Oh how I love the way marketing and relentless advertising can make
anything seem innocent and sweet. One example that recently came to
mind is the St. Pauli girl on St. Pauli Girl beer.
St. Pauli is a neighborhood of Hamburg, Germany. It was historically a
red-light district. This makes you wonder what the makers of the beer
were celebrating.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION
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This one goes out to all you TV lovers--specifically all of you Nick
at Nite viewers: What was Sergeant Joe Friday's badge number on
"Dragnet?"
It was number 714.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: WHY ICE FLOATS
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The phenomenon of floating ice is created by the lower density of ice
than
water. When water freezes, it increases in volume by one-eleventh.
This
means that 11 cubic feet of water will become 12 cubic feet of ice.
This is
why your pipes burst when the water in them freezes: Water expands
when
freezing.
This increase in size also decreases the weight of the ice. That is
because
there is less material in each cubic foot. A cubic foot of water
weighs 62.5
pounds while a cubic foot of ice weighs 56.9 pounds. This is a
difference of
about 5.5 pounds.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THIRST
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Ever wonder which part of the body signals that it needs more water?
Thirst has to do with the amount of salt in the bloodstream. Our blood
prefers to keep a fixed percentage of salt in it and is not interested
in
changing this mix. The body has a mechanism that signals the kidneys
to
absorb any excess salt. In absorbing the excess salt, much water is
taken
away from the body tissues. This causes the body to crave more water
to
replace the water that was absorbed.
The sense of thirst is caused by stimulation of cells in the pharynx
(the
tube that connects the mouth and nasal passage with the esophagus)
caused by
the loss of water from the cells with which nerve endings are in
contact.
The decrease in the concentration of water in the blood causes a
drying of
the lining of the pharynx because of a decreased salivary secretion.
This
causes the urge to drink.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: HEADLESS ANTS
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Ants benefit from a pretty handy nerve structure. Instead of suffering
along
with a spinal cord, ants have what is called ganglia. Ganglia are
little
knots of nerves that are connected to paired nerve cords at the
underside of
their bodies.
Each of these ganglion controls a certain activity and is often
capable of
functioning by itself. Because of this, an ant can survive if you
remove its
head. The other ganglia go along without the ganglia in the head.
Scientists
have been able to keep an ant alive for over a month without its head.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: RODENT DRINKERS
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It seems curious that while cats and dogs are given water out of a
bowl, rodents drink water from a tube. Is it because most rodents get
their water through straws in the wild?
Well, no. Rodents drink from a straw for sanitary purposes.
Laboratories started using tubes to feed water to rodents to keep
their quarters clean. Imagine cleaning up spilled bowls of water in
all the cages you'd find in a laboratory. The idea caught on and is
now employed in homes as well. You see, rodents don't prefer (nor do
they necessarily dislike) drinking from a tube, it is just that that
is where they can find water. They adapt. Cats and dogs would do the
same thing.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: CHILD-SAFE DOGS
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One of the hardest lessons for a child to learn is that Fido is an
animal and will bite if he feels that he has been wronged. As a
parent, you'll want to make sure that you get a dog that doesn't have
a trigger finger (if you will) for biting.
Studies show that dogs that bite the least are, in this order, the
Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, Shetland Sheepdog, Old English
Sheepdog, and the Welsh Terrier.
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TODAY'S TIP: DID YOU KNOW...
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Did you know that being deprived of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep can
affect the learning of certain skills? Studies have shown that when
people are taught a specific skill and then deprived of REM sleep,
they're much less likely to recall what they learned. Depriving the
same people of non-REM sleep appears to have much less affect on the
ability to remember. Since REM sleep seems to stimulate certain areas
of the brain that are involved in learning, scientists theorize that
one reason we sleep so much when we're infants is to facilitate our
learning by allowing us to have an increased amount of REM sleep.
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Neither TipWorld nor the author of this tip provides professional
medical advice. It is not intended to replace the advice of a
physician. If you read something in a tip that contradicts what your
physician tells you in any way, always follow your physician's advice.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: LOOKING FORWARD TO FOOTBALL
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Some of you jokers out there are already thinking about football
season.
Well, here's a preseason statistic that you won't find in the papers:
We can't forget those that sacrifice themselves for the game--namely,
the
cow. Did you realize that it takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with a
single season's worth of footballs?
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: CREW CUT
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Army discipline includes having a nice tight haircut. This keeps the
military guys looking sharp, but appearance is not the primary reason
for
the haircut. Short haircuts became a strict military tradition after
wars
were fought in tropical climates where the danger of scalp infestation
was
high. This reason was then coupled with advances in medical science.
How?
The clean cut also made it easier to clean the scalp and to treat
wounds.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: SO THAT'S WHERE THE TERM CAME FROM
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Why oh why are prostitutes called hookers?
During the Civil War, General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker of the
Union Army, decided to help morale by letting prostitutes have access
to his troops. These prostitutes quickly became known as "Hooker's
girls." Later, a section of Washington was set aside for brothels, and
it was called "Hooker's Division." The prostitutes in the area called
themselves "hookers." The rest is history.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: ONIONS
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The great mystery: Why do onions make people cry?
When an onion is sliced, a gas called propanethiol-S is released into
the air. This gas mixes with the water in the eye and forms a weak
acid. The acid, as you can imagine, irritates the eye and causes the
tear ducts to flood the eye in an attempt to wash away the acid. This
flooding, as you know, makes it appear that you're crying.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE COLOR YELLOW AND COWARDS
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Not surprisingly, the origin of the connection between the color
yellow and cowardliness is found in politics. To be exact, the
connection stems from the debate on slavery well before the Civil
War.
Slavery was an emotional issue, and the debates often became quite
heated and a bit nasty. But, rather than actually attack a fellow
politician in public, the debaters often turned to publishing
pamphlets--much in the same way that today's politicians use attack
ads funded by other groups.
The pamphlets that were distributed were often printed on cheap,
unbleached, paper that had a yellow tint. When the public learned that
some newspaper editors were taking part in the publishing of these
pamphlets, the practice came to be known as "yellow journalism." Over
time, the term "yellow" came to be associated with any cowardly act.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: STEEPLECHASE
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Ah, the boys at the fox hunting club. What a bunch of crazy fellows.
The steeplechase originated from an eighteenth-century hunting club
bet. After a bad day of fox hunting, one of the chaps suggested that
the group not allow the day to become a complete failure. Instead, he
suggested a race. He bet that he could ride in a straight line to a
steeple that was visible in the distance and be the first to hit it
with his whip. The straight line meant that the racers would have to
overcome many obstacles. The acceptance of the bet created the first
steeplechase.
After the successful running of the first race, the idea became quite
popular. Soon there were overland races between several steeples.
Today, the sport has become much more refined and is more of a
designed obstacle course.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE DRUNKEN CRASH
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I've often heard people remark that when a drunk driver hits another
car, the intoxicated person is better off because he or she is so
relaxed the effect of the crash is minimized.
Well, in reality, this isn't true. According to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, researchers found that the survival
rates and serious injury rates for the inebriated is worse than it is
for the sober.
On the other hand, researchers found that bracing yourself doesn't
have much effect either. As I am sure most of you know, the real
difference is found in the use of proper restraint (that is, seat
belts--although restraining from drinking and driving works too).
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: FRIED FLIPPER
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Ever wonder why a dolphin, a creature so revered by people, can simply
undergo a name change and become a fashionable dish? Mahimahi is
dolphin, you know.
The good news is that mahimahi is not actually the dolphin that you
are probably thinking of. It is a fish called coryphaena hippurus.
This fish has iridescent colors and grows to about five feet in
length. The difference is that Flipper the dolphin was a mammal with
a big brain and a need to head to the surface to breath, while a
mahimahi (or dorado in South America) is just a plain old fish. So
rest easy.
Although the use of "dolphin" for fish or friendly mammal is
perfectly correct, the United Nations attempts to add some clarity to
the issue by using the term "dolphinfish" in reference to mahimahi
and others of their ilk. Feel free to do the same.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THAT BEAN EFFECT
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This is one area where science has definitely contributed to society.
What is it that makes the ingestion of beans so risky in social
situations?
Beans store energy in sugars called oligosaccharides. These are
"several-unit" sugars that are produced by legumes--especially in the
final stages of seed development.
The human body lacks the enzymes to break down these sugars and thus
cannot digest and absorb them. So, they are digested in the colon by
normal intestinal bacteria. In their metabolic process, the bacteria
produce various gasses, including carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
You'll also find these problem sugars in the cabbage-family vegetables
and in whole grains, brans, and some other seeds.
So how does Beano work? (Beano is a product designed to eliminate
bodily gasses after bean-filled meals.) It contains the enzyme
alpha-galactosidase, which breaks up the sugars before they get to
the aforementioned bacteria.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: TWO SIDES TO EVERY FOIL
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Regardless of your size, shape, or gender, there are clothes out there
that will make you look and feel fantastic. I'm talking about an
eye-catching outfit that will make you feel well dressed and
confident. You'll get compliments when you wear it, too--which will
boost you further.
Get out there and buy yourself a killer outfit. Yes, even if you're
far from your goal weight. Yes, even if you plan to be a size or two
smaller in a few months' time. Just do it. Wear it. And get used to
feeling proud of the way you look.
Think it's somehow a bad idea to look great before you lose the
weight? Adjust that attitude. You'll get a lot of mileage out of that
positive rush. You'll find yourself motivated to dress with pride and
look good on a regular basis--which will help you through the hard
parts of losing weight.
Yes, folks, vanity is a wonderful motivator. Someday that terrific
outfit may be too big for you, but it will have served its purpose
well.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: DEATH NAILS
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Some believe that after death, your nails and hair continue to grow.
This is in fact not possible. In order to grow, nails and hair need
their cells nourished by blood. When you die, your blood stops
flowing and thus, your hair and nails stop growing.
So why the heck do some people think that these things continue to
grow? The morbid reason is that when the body dies, it dries out. The
skin pulls away slightly from the hair and nails, allowing more to
show. This gives the effect of growth.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: FORTIFIED WITH IRON
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Just what do they mean by fortified with iron?
I think you might be surprised to find that this means that there are
actually pieces of metal in your cereal--sometimes iron compounds are
used instead of pure iron. What we're saying here is that if you ran
a powerful magnet through some of your fortified cereals, you'd find
that tiny black specks of iron are sticking to it. Fortified, indeed.
Cause for concern? Well, not really. The body needs iron, and this is
a good way to get it.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: YOUR BAROMETER AT BREAKFAST
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Want a simple way to check the weather each day? Stare into your
coffee cup (before you pour the milk). If you see bubbles floating
toward the rim of the cup, it means that the pressure is low and you
should look for clouds and stormy weather. If the bubbles float
toward the center of the cup, it means that the pressure is high and
you can expect fair weather.
Keep in mind that bubbles will always float to the lowest point on the
surface of coffee. So, with high pressure, the center of the coffee is
pushed down and the surface of the drink is low in the center and high
on the sides. When pressure is low, the center rises relative to the
edge of the coffee.
So there you go, impress the kids.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE DAYS
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The days of the week are named after the planets. Observe:
- SUNday
- MO(o)Nday
- Tuesday--"day of Tiw." Tiw was a Norse god, the equivalent of the
Roman god Mars.
- Wednesday--"day of Woden." Woden was the Norse equivalent of the
Roman god Mercury.
- Thursday--"day of Thor." Thor was the Norse equivalent of the Roman
god Jupiter.
- Friday--"day of Frigg." Problem here. It was first thought that
Frigg was the Norse equivalent of the Roman goddess Venus. She wasn't,
Freya was. Close though.
- SATUR(n)day.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE BUCK
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There are many terms for the word "dollar." "Clam" happens to be my
favorite, but that isn't the subject today.
It's most likely that the term "buck" came to mean a dollar in the
early days of the US frontier. At that time, the skin of a male deer
(or buck) was common currency.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: FLAGS
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We're getting close to the start of the Olympics, so I thought we
should try
to help you differentiate between a few flags. Ever notice how so many
flags
are essentially the same? They are generally rectangular with a few
colors.
Here are three very unusual flags for you:
- Nepal: This is the only flag that isn't rectangular. It is a zigzag
shape--much like the shape of two triangles.
- Cyprus: This is the only flag that has an outline of the country.
- Libya: This is the only single-color flag. Green.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE NEW YORK SKYLINE
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Many of you will be traveling to New York City this summer to take in
the sites. One of the most striking is the skyline of the city. Few
cities have as many skyscrapers in such close proximity.
One thing you'll notice is that there are tall buildings at the end,
but a big gap between the Empire State Building (in midtown) and the
World Trade Center (downtown). There is a reason for this.
In case you couldn't guess, skyscrapers are heavy. They need good
solid ground to support them. In Manhattan, they rest on bedrock,
which is very close to the surface--generally. There is no such
bedrock in the area between the Empire State Building and the World
Trade Center. In fact, the bedrock here is so far down that it is
prohibitively expensive to drive piles that far into the ground. That
is why there aren't any skyscrapers in the area.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: PROCTOR AND GAMBLE
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There are some who believe that the logo for Proctor and Gamble (a
man-in-the-moon face looking over a field of thirteen stars) is a
Satanic symbol. On the same note, there are some who believe that the
Harry Potter children's books are written by Satan. Well, let's deal
with the P&G symbol for now.
The symbol, first appearing around 1851, was originally used as the
logo for Star Brand Candles. The stars symbolize the original thirteen
colonies, while the man in the moon was a popular decorative fancy of
the time. So there you have it, no Satan.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: LAUNDRY SOAP STRENGTHENER
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Sometimes we are faced with some pretty dirty laundry. What can you
do? Dump in more detergent? I wouldn't suggest that. One of the
slickest ways to beef up the power of your detergent is to use simple
washing soda (sodium carbonate). Many folks don't realize that some
laundry detergents contain up to 68 percent washing soda. You can
find this at most any health food store and even some grocery stores.
Simply add about 1/2 cup of washing soda to your laundry load.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: MORE ON BUYING THE FARM
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A while back we told you about the origin of the phrase "buying the
farm." Terry, one of our fine subscribers, sent us this version of the
origin:
"The origins of that phrase did not originate after the War. Actually,
'buying the farm' originated in the 1920's when barnstormer pilots
were flying around the US.
When they crashed (invariably on a farm), they had to pay the
extorting farmer for damaged crops and to reclaim their damaged
airplane, hence the term 'buying the farm'."
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE LONG HAUL TO INFERTILITY
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Here is another good reason to take the train. It turns out that men
who spend a few hours driving each day could be suffering from
infertility due to the hot temperatures in their cars. (According,
anyway, to a French study announced back in May.) Sitting in stuffy
cars or trucks raises the temperature of the scrotum, which may be
linked to lower sperm counts.
In the study, the scientists wired nine volunteers and asked them to
drive a predetermined route for about two and a half hours. After 120
minutes, the mean scrotal temperature rose from 93.5 degrees F to
97.16 degrees F. "Taken together with the data from other studies, the
increase in scrotal temperature...could be one of the strongest pieces
of evidence yet to explain why partners of occupational car drivers
take longer to conceive."
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: NOW THAT'S MOVING
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Since there is no preferred reference frame for the universe, you
really can't talk about how fast the Earth is going. Instead, you must
compare our progress with other objects in space. Thus, the Earth is
moving at about 5 kilometers per second relative to the Sun and about
30,000 kilometers per second relative to the center of the galaxy.
More interesting, the Earth is receding extremely rapidly from objects
at the far side of the universe; so fast that time passage is
dramatically affected. The distant objects appear to be aging very
slowly.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: MORE FUN WITH ICE
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I was recently asked, "If I place ice in a cup of water, and it melts,
does the overall volume of water increase, stay the same, or
decrease?"
A tricky question. The volume will in fact decrease. Why? Because ice
is less dense than water. So, as the ice melts, the density of its
molecules increases and the overall volume of material decreases.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: PUTTING THE OH! IN HIPPO
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Before I discuss this factoid, I thought I should first mention that I
don't actually recommend you do this. We've had a few complaints, and
I just want to make sure that people understand that I am being
somewhat sarcastic.
Next time you bring a group of school kids to the zoo, keep the hippo
cage for last. Why? Did you know that the hippo can open its mouth
about 4 feet wide? By the time you get to the hippo cage, I am sure
you will have little trouble deciding which kid should head over and
help demonstrate.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: PUTTING THE OH! IN HIPPO
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Before I discuss this factoid, I thought I should first mention that I
don't actually recommend you do this. We've had a few complaints, and
I just want to make sure that people understand that I am being
somewhat sarcastic.
Next time you bring a group of school kids to the zoo, keep the hippo
cage for last. Why? Did you know that the hippo can open its mouth
about 4 feet wide? By the time you get to the hippo cage, I am sure
you will have little trouble deciding which kid should head over and
help demonstrate.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE LAND OF OZ
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Today, Oz (from the Wizard of Oz) seems like such a common term that
we don't really consider where it came from.
The name for Oz was thought up when the creator of the story, Frank
Baum, looked over at his filing cabinet and saw: A-N and O-Z.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE GREAT IRONY
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How many carrots do you think Bugs Bunny ate? Thousands? The great
irony here is that the person doing the voice of Bugs, Mel Blanc, was
allergic to carrots.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE ANSWER'S IN THE CARDS
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Next time you are playing a game of poker, you'll be able to take
along this little piece of trivia to help you win.
When the betting begins and you are not sure what to do, toss this
out, "Did you know that each king in a deck of playing cards
represents a great king from history? Sure! The king of spades is King
David, the king of clubs is Alexander the Great, the king of hearts is
Charlemagne, and the king of diamonds is Julius Caesar."
Quickly, as you are saying this, survey your fellow players' eyes.
Look for them to study their hand as you name the kings. It never
fails.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE BLIND SPOT
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One of the more important things to teach a teenager just learning to
drive is to watch out for the blind spots. These are the areas around
a car where it is very difficult to see if any one or thing is
approaching. To see in the blind spots, one must actually turn one's
head, dangerously turning attention away from the road.
The donkey, however, has this problem licked: The placement of the
donkey's eyes allow it to see all four of its hooves at the same time.
Pretty handy.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE LOST TURN
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I don't know about you, but when I'm completely lost and am faced with
the option of either turning right or left, I usually go right. Why? I
don't know, but if I keep consistent, I will eventually circle back to
where I was, won't I?
Bats have much the same theory. When bats head out of a cave, they
always turn left. So, next time you sneak up on a cave, make sure you
do it from the left side (the bat's right, as they're exiting) so that
you don't get hit in the face by a bunch of bats.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE SILENCER
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When a bullet emerges from the barrel of a gun, the high-pressure gas
that is propelling it from behind abruptly enters the atmosphere. This
sudden burst of pressurized gas is much the same as the gas released
from a firecracker and is responsible for the loud bang.
What a silencer does is slow down the gas's entry into the atmosphere.
The silencer adds a series of air-filled chambers to the bullet's
trip. The gas pushing the bullet is forced to travel into each
chamber, one at a time. This process causes the pressure and energy to
decrease. By the time the gas emerges from the last chamber, its
pressure is low enough that it hardly makes a sound, just a "whoosh."
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE CAT'S EAR
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Ever watch a cat as it sits and surveys the land? The eyes and ears
are the cat's strongest senses.
Watch the cat's ears. They can shape those things and turn them in
many ways, helping them monitor the world. How do they do this? Well,
they have 32 muscles in each ear! This allows them to contort their
ears to gain the optimum sounds.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: BUBBA
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Bubba Gump, Bubba This, Bubba That...where in the world does the name
"Bubba" come from? And, perhaps more importantly, why do people insist
on making life just a little tougher for their children?
The name "Bubba" is actually a corrupted form of the word brother. It
is kind of a pet name for brother and is pronounced as a small child
might say brother. In the South, where the term originates, Bubba is
usually a term of endearment for the older brother.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: 125 AND 3/8THS
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Why oh why does the stock market quote its prices in eighths of a
dollar? (By the way, there is talk of doing away with this practice.)
I always figured that it was a way to keep the laymen from feeling
comfortable with the stock market and thus, directing them toward
brokers.
But anyway, the origin is from the eighteenth century. At that time,
the American dollar was officially equated in value to the Spanish
silver dollar. Since the Spanish silver dollar was so large, it was
often divided into eight parts.
This led to quoting fractions of the American dollar in eighths as
well (especially by the Europeans with whom the Americans traded a
great deal). When the stock market was started near the end of the
eighteenth century, prices were naturally quoted in dollars and
eighths of a dollar.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: CHOPSTICKS
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The most distinguishing thing about eating at a Chinese restaurant is
the fact that you get to eat with chopsticks. It seems odd that the
Chinese never created knives and forks or some equivalent.
One account (although there may be others) as to why the Chinese use
chopsticks goes like this. A Chinese emperor long ago feared a public
uprising. He ordered his troops to collect all metal implements that
might be used as weapons against him. This included eating utensils.
Without their utensils, the Chinese learned to eat with narrow sticks
cut from bamboo trees--giving birth to the chopstick.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: CANTER
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When a horse is moving along at slow gait somewhere between a trot and
a gallop, it is called a canter. The term comes from long ago in
England when pilgrims used to make periodic treks on horseback to the
shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. The pilgrims typically rode
along old Kent road at a slow gait.
This odd looking gait was soon referred to as the Canterbury gallop.
Over time, this term was shortened to "canter."
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: CAHOOTS
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Why do we say that someone is in cahoots with someone else when they
are partnering in some sort of crime or misbehavior?
Back in medieval Europe when police protection was low and crime
involving bandits and highwaymen was common, gangs often stayed in
makeshift cabins called "cahutes." Anyone who was thought to be
working with one of the gangs was described as being in cahutes with
them.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE RELIGHTING CANDLE
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The way a trick candle works is actually quite simple. The wick
contains small amounts of magnesium. When you light the candle, you
are also lighting the magnesium.
When you blow out the flame, the magnesium inside the wick continues
to burn and it, therefore, relights the wick.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN
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When I was growing up, one of my favorite records was of works by Hans
Christian Andersen. It had "Ugly Duckling," the "Emperor's New
Clothes," and "Tubby the Tuba" on it.
No question, Hans was loved by millions of children. The interesting
thing is that Hans never married and never had children. I suppose he
saw so many children during the workday that he didn't need to have
any at home.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: CENTRAL PARK--THE COUNTRY
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There are two independent nations that are actually smaller than New
York City's Central Park. Both in Europe, these nations are Monaco and
Vatican City.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: AS FRANK ZAPPA SAID, ALL CRITICS SUCK
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When you study great American speeches in high school, you usually
read about Martin Luther King's Mountain Top speech and also the
Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.
After Lincoln's speech, this review showed up in the Chicago Times:
"The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the
silly, flat, and dishwatery utterances of the man who has to be
pointed out to intelligent foreigners as the President of the United
States."
Ouch.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: FARMS... HAH!
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If I asked you which county in New York State uses the most pesticide,
you might initially consider the many farms in upstate New York. Well,
you'd be wrong.
The greatest amount of pesticide is used in New York City. (Though
we've found no truth to the rumor that it's been a part of Giuliani's
anti-crime campaign.)
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: ADRENALINE JUNKIES
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Ever known anyone who has a strange attachment to eating hot peppers?
Always orders food, "hot hot"? One thing that is consistent among
these people is that they are quite proud of their ability to eat hot
food.
Well, here is an entertaining explanation. Researchers theorize that
eating hot foods is a form of constrained risk. Further, the heat
sensation produces the same adrenaline rush as the flight-or-fight
syndrome. So, it looks like your friend is just a frustrated risk
taker.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: HEY COPPER!
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Back in the 1840s, the New York City Police Department was given its
first uniform. These snappy little numbers included copper buttons
down the front.
This gave rise to the term "cops" or "copper" for the police.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: BUFFALO WILLIAM
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During the building of the transcontinental railroad, how to feed the
folks working on the tracks was a bit of an issue. One of the scouts
working with the group was also a marksman. During his spare time, he
killed about 4,000 buffalo (in eight months) to feed the Irish work
crews laying track in Nebraska and Wyoming. His name? William F. Cody.
The crews called him Buffalo Bill.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: BLUE BLOODED
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When referring to royalty, or someone of a higher class in general,
people often use the term "blue blooded." This term has nothing to do
with the color of the person's blood, as everyone's blood is the same
color. The term comes from the eighth century when the Moors invaded
and occupied Spain--where they ruled for over five centuries. The
local aristocrats, not pleased with the situation, began referring to
themselves as "blue blood" to differentiate themselves from the Moors.
Why?
The term is a thinly veiled jab at the color of the Moor's skin. As
the Spanish had lighter skin, their blue veins showed through. The
Moors had darker skin, so their blue veins were harder to see.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: SLEEPING STANDING UP
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Ever wonder how horses can sleep standing up? It seems to me that when
they fall asleep and their muscles relax, they'd collapse.
It turns out that horses have a system of interlocking ligaments and
bones in their legs. This system serves as a sling that suspends their
body weight without putting any strain on their muscles. So, when they
sleep, they don't have to exert any energy to remain standing.
It is assumed that horses developed this ability to sleep standing for
defensive purposes. Because they don't have to get up, horses can
instantly rely on their speed to outrun predators.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: POP!
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If you look closely at the screw cap of a soft drink bottle, you'll
notice something unusual: pin holes.
You'll soon learn to really appreciate these holes. Their purpose is
to vent the pressure from the bottle when it is opened. The pressure
at the top of the bottle needs to be released as quickly as possible,
and these holes enable that to happen.
Without the holes, there would be a possibility the cap would fly off
like a champagne cork.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE GREEN CHIP
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Every once in a while you come across a green potato chip. What do you
do with them? Do you eat them? Aren't you worried about the fact that
they're green?
In actuality, the green color is caused by the potato getting sun
burned. Generally, potatoes grow underground. But sometimes a potato
becomes big enough that part of it sticks out of the ground. The sun
burns this part of the potato. The green is the color of chlorophyll,
which is the natural consequence of a growing plant being exposed to
light.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: NOOKS AND CRANNIES
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The English muffin may be one of the true breakfast miracles. But how
is the muffin made so that you can split it perfectly in half with a
fork?
The muffins are run past circular blades (one on each side as it lies
flat), which slice the muffin into a 1/4 inch slab. The muffins then
run past two wheels with Roman spear points on them that penetrate the
muffin about one inch.
The spears enable us to split the muffin, but perhaps more
importantly, they create the nooks and crannies that give English
muffins so much jam-holding power.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: DR PEPPER
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The origin of this soft drink is a tale of love and love lost.
There was once a man named Wade Morrison who worked in a drug store in
Rural Retreat, Va. His boss? Dr. Charles Pepper. The young Wade grew a
bit sweet on Dr. Pepper's young daughter. None too pleased with the
development, Dr. Pepper fired Wade.
Wade moved to Waco Texas and opened Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store.
His pharmacist, who was in charge of the soda fountain too, created a
new drink--a mix of fruit flavors.
Well, the drink became popular, and you know the rest. But as for the
name, Wade thought that the old Dr. would be so pleased with the drink
and its success that he'd let Wade see his daughter again. No such
luck.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: FORE!
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Now that many of you have had a summer full of opportunities to yell
this as your errant shot headed toward other golfers, why don't we
consider from where the term comes?
It is actually a shortened version of an English military term. If you
recall, the Brits used to march in firing lines during battle. In
order to ensure that the back line didn't blow the heads off the front
line, the command, "'ware before" was called out.
Fore is just the end of "before."
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: ANNIE, STOP THE WAR
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Could WWI have been stopped? Some say, "Yes!"
In 1889, Annie Oakley was performing her famous sharpshooter act for a
large crowd in Berlin. During the show, a prominent local citizen
stepped out of the crowd and asked Annie to shoot off the tip of his
cigar.
Unfortunately for the world, Annie succeeded in shooting the tip off
the cigar. If only she had been a bit nervous or anxious and
missed.... She would have shot Kaiser Wilhelm, the cigar's holder,
instead.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THAT'S SEVEN YEARS FOR YOU, AND NO BACKTALK
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Why is breaking a mirror bad luck? And what about those seven years?
Centuries ago, people believed that a person's image in a mirror was
actually a reflection of the person's soul (much like the way Native
Americans felt that a photograph stole part of their soul and why they
resisted being photographed). Further, this is why vampires can't see
themselves in the mirror--they have no soul.
Anyway, believing that their soul was in the mirror, breaking a mirror
meant that a part of the soul would not be able to reunite with the
body. Obviously, without a portion of the soul, a person would be in
for some bad luck.
The seven years thing comes from the Romans. They believed that a
person's health and fortune changed every seven years.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: NICE DRESS, YOUR HONOR
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Why do judges wear black? This was not the norm long ago. Judges wore
colorful robes. But, when Queen Mary II died in 1694, things changed:
In order to mourn her death, the judges changed their robes to black.
Apparently, they've yet to get over it.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE ORIGINAL JETHRO TULL
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Think you already know who Jethro Tull was? Well, I won't waste your
time with some well-known information about Ian Anderson. It turns out
that there was actually a man named Jethro Tull. A very important
man...well, kind of.
Jethro was an English gentleman farmer. He revolutionized farming in
the early eighteenth century by creating a drill for boring straight
holes to plant seeds. Before this, seeds were planted in the wasteful
manner of throwing them onto the ground. Even more impressive, Tull
showed that frequently hoeing the soil helped to keep it fertile.
He also invented the 'aqualung' for underwater farming. (Gotcha!)
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: STICKY TEFLON
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Ever wonder how they get Teflon to stick to pans? Even more
impressive, how did they get it to stick to Ronald Reagan?
Teflon is short for polytetrafluoroethylene, and among its other uses
(aside from the coating in nonstick pans) is the white tape that
plumbers wrap around the threads of pipes. (But that's off the point,
now isn't it?)
To get Teflon to stick to frying pans, they start out with a piece of
bare metal. Next they rough it up a bit with some grit. This is
followed with a primer and then three coats of Teflon are baked onto
the surface.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THUNDER, LIGHTNING, AND...SNOW
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Is there ever thunder and lightning during a snowstorm? Actually, yes,
and it's called "thunder snow." However, this is rather rare since the
condition for thunderstorms is more common during the summer.
And what are those conditions? Regular thunderstorms are summer events
in which warm, moist air in the lower atmosphere has very cold air
over it. This unstable system creates upward drafts of air that create
thunderstorms.
Want to know more? The turbulence created by this storm establishes a
separation of areas of positive and negative electrical charges. When
a lightning bolt tries to even out the difference, there is a clap of
thunder. Thunder is the sound generated when the lightning bolt heats
the atmosphere near it very rapidly to a temperature higher than the
sun's surface. The rapid expansion of the air creates a sonic boom.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: CAN'T DODGE DODGERS
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Where did the Dodgers get their name? Well, first we have to remind
some of you that the Dodgers first played in Brooklyn...at which time
Brooklyn had a tremendous number of trolleys running all over the
borough. Accordingly, residents of Manhattan sarcastically referred to
residents of Brooklyn as "trolley dodgers." (Today, residents of the
NYC metropolitan area not from Manhattan are referred to as "bridge
and tunnel" people.)
The team tried to change the name to Robins, Superbas, and Kings but
could not get those names to stick (thank goodness). When they moved
to Los Angeles, they kept the Dodgers name.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: STEEE---RIKE!
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You know, you see them hang Ks on the stadium in all sorts of clever
ways when the pitcher strikes out a batter. What's more, people
following the game with scorecards write down a K when the batter
strikes out. But why?
In the 1860s, if a person struck out, he "struck." Back then, box
scores were just being figured out and baseball personnel were still
searching for ways to refer to events on the field. Letters were used
to indicate what players did (for example an E stood for an error, an
S for sacrifice, and so on). Henry Chadwick (the inventor of the box
score in 1880) decided that since the letter S was already in use,
he'd use the last letter of the phrase, K.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: CROSS YOUR FINGERS
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Why do we cross our fingers for good luck? This is one of those great
religious persecution stories. Turns out many years ago, Christians
had to hide their religion from pagans.
Crossing one's fingers was a way of secretly making the sign of the
cross. It was done in order to ask for divine assistance without
attracting the attention of the pagans. Kind of makes you think twice
about crossing your fingers when gambling, no?
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: LIKE A CHICKEN WITH ITS HEAD CUT OFF
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Can a chicken run around with its head cut off? Well, I guess the
question relies on specifics, namely, how much of the head is cut off.
In October 1945, a farmer named L.A. Olsen went to kill a chicken for
dinner. His aim wasn't too good, and when he dropped the ax, he didn't
chop off all of the chicken's head, just the top 3/4. What was left
was the brain stem, the part of the brain that keeps the hearts and
lungs working.
The chicken didn't die--it just wandered off. This was captured in the
October 22, 1945, issue of Life magazine for anyone who's interested
in getting a peek.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THAT RX OUTSIDE THE DRUGSTORE
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The Rx symbol has been used by pharmacies for centuries. It's Latin,
and the R stands for recipere, which means "to take." The little "x"
is not actually an x. It is a diagonal line through the leg of the R.
This represents the Roman god for medicine, Jupiter.
The proper pronunciation of the word is "ar-ex".
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: CAREFUL NOT TO BANG THE BRIDE'S HEAD
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Why does a groom carry his bride over the threshold? As we move our
way into wedding season, it seems appropriate to offer up a reason for
this silly practice.
According to an old superstition, doorways were powerful places where
evil spirits lurked. Thus, they were dangerous, especially to any
stranger entering the house. By carrying his bride over the threshold,
the groom was (and still is) able to sneak his bride past the evil
spirits and into the comfort of his own home. The process also served
as a "she's with me" type of thing for the spirits.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: GIVE 'EM AN INCH...
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The word "inch" comes from the Latin word "uncia," which means "12th
part." Thus the inch was one-twelfth of a foot--as determined by the
Romans. The inch was roughly the breadth of the thumb, while a foot
was roughly the length of a human foot.
The Romans introduced the concept of the inch to the British, who
added some folklore to its origin. Kind Edward the first decreed (in
1305) that an inch should be the measure of three dried barleycorns.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THERE'S A GRAHAM IN MY CRACKER
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What are graham crackers made of? Graham flour (of course)--which is
simply whole wheat flour. Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham
promoted graham flour because he felt that healthy eating (including
flour to aid digestion and regularity) would lead to a more wholesome
lifestyle.
Graham traveled throughout the US preaching that eating meats and fats
led to sexual promiscuity. His answer? A diet of vegetables, fruits,
and unsifted whole wheat flour in place of white bread.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: DON'T STEP ON THE WORMS
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Why do earthworms crawl on the sidewalk after rain? Another fine
springtime question--and this one is actually quite simple. Earthworms
have not yet perfected the art of keeping their homes dry during
rainfall. Thus, when it rains, their holes fill up with water. Being
that they breath air, they need to get out of their holes and head for
dry land. In many cases, that sidewalk just happens to be the driest
land during a rainstorm.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: WEASEL YOUR WAY INTO AN ERMINE COAT
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Strange but true, there is an animal that changes names with the
seasons. Many people do as well, grumpy in winter and lazy in summer.
But anyway, the weasel changes its name during the seasons. In
wintertime, it is known as an ermine. Ermines have a nice white coat.
During the summer, the coat changes to brown. This occurs, of course,
so that the animal can hide better in summer colors, and it also
changes its name to the weasel.
Sort of the animal kingdom's answer for the fugitive.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: YELLOW PENCILS--THE STANDARD OF QUALITY
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Why are pencils yellow? This always struck me as a bit odd. I figured
that if a company wanted to save a few bucks, it could just leave the
pencils wood-colored.
The yellow pencil didn't become predominant until around 1890. At that
time, the L&C Hardtmuth Company of Austria introduced a pencil that
was so well made that it became a standard for quality (not exactly
building watches here!).
Its smash hit pencil was the Koh-I-Noor, which was named after the
famous Indian diamond. It was painted yellow so that with the aid of
the black lead, it would be the color of the Austro-Hungarian flag.
Hoping to ride on the coattails of the yellow pencil, other companies
copied the color--forcing L&C Hardtmuth to advertise its pencil as the
"original yellow pencil."
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: THE BOGEY: ONE RARE BIRD
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Where do the golfing terms "bogey" and "birdie" come from? (For those
of you who don't know what those terms mean: a bogey occurs when a
player gets the ball into the hole in one more stroke than "par",
while a birdie occurs when a player gets it in in one less stroke.)
The term "bogey" comes from an old song called "Colonel Bogey." The
song was quite popular in England and Colonel Bogey's name was used in
reference to any player who could complete a hole in the least number
of strokes.
Americans, accustomed to the term "par," used the word "bogey" for one
over par. "Birdie" also has a purely American origin: Supposedly, a
golfer at the Atlantic City Country Club in the early 1900s remarked
after completing a par-four hole in three strokes that it was quite a
"bird." At the time, "bird" was slang for a rarity.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: I WANT MY PINEAPPLE JELL-O
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Why do you never find pineapple Jell-O at the store? Pineapple does
not react well with Jell-O. If you mix them, you'll end up with
pineapple floating in Kool-Aid. It turns out that pineapples contain a
natural chemical substance that inhibits jelling. Heating the fruit
pulls the substance out and causes it to react with the Jell-O.
This is also why Jell-O boxes will recommend that you don't mix the
stuff with pineapple.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: PEANUT OIL
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How does the peanut make oil? This is the type of question that
plagues minds.
A plant will bring dissolved minerals up into itself through the
process of osmosis. The minerals pass into the internal structure of
the plant by going into the root hairs, through the roots, and into
the plant proper.
During photosynthesis, a plant uses the dissolved minerals from the
ground to help it make sugar. The sugar eventually turns into
proteins, fats, and oils. In the case of the peanut, that byproduct is
peanut oil.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: YOUR BLACKMAIL IS DUE
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Where does the term "blackmail" come from? When the English owned much
of the farmland of Scotland, they charged the farmers a rent, called
"mail." Mail is derived from a Scottish word that means rent or taxes.
The payments were normally made in silver. This was referred to as
"white mail." When a farmer couldn't afford to pay his mail in silver,
he would resort to paying it in produce. The English didn't like this,
and the term for the practice became "black mail."
Threatening eviction, the English often demanded more blackmail than
was needed to cover the rent (obviously a deterrent). This gave the
term "blackmail" its negative connotation.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: BANANAS DON'T GROW ON TREES
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This little tidbit will provide excellent banter for when you're in
line at the grocery store.
I bet you think you know what a banana is, but I bet you don't.
Technically, a banana is classified as a berry. Want more? Bananas
grow on trees that are technically considered herbs. So, in reality, a
banana is a berry of an herb.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: PENNY SUICIDE
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How fast will a penny travel if it is dropped off the Empire State
building? (For those in the EU, feel free to substitute any of your
favorite tall buildings.)
This question really revolves around which way the penny falls. Is it
falling edge first or is it falling flat? If the penny falls edge
first, it could build up its velocity to about 150 miles an hour. If
it falls flat, well it would only get up to about 30 miles an hour.
The chances of a penny doing either are nearly impossible. Any
disturbance in the wind will set it tumbling, which is how it will
probably fall.
In this case, the penny will fall at only about 30 miles an hour.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: AIMING WITH ONE EYE
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I don't know about you, but when I am trying to shoot the lights out
of a passing train, I always close one eye, squeeze my tongue between
my lips, and fire. (Please don't do this at home.) I am not sure how,
but this facial expression increases my accuracy substantially.
The reason people do this is because of something called binocular
rivalry, which can best be explained this way: If you are looking
through a scope with your right eye, you will see an image that is not
identical with what you see with the left eye. These two images end up
competing, not blending as they normally would when you are looking at
something normally.
Most people have trouble dealing with the competition and thus, close
one eye--usually their weaker eye. As an interesting aside, I had
always closed my left eye to aim. Recently I was fitted with glasses
and found out that indeed my left eye was weaker! Some people might
find that they use one eye for long distance aiming while using
another for short distances.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: BIG SEEDS
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Ever wonder which plant has the largest seed? No? Well, now you'll
know anyway.
The largest seed comes from a tall palm tree called Lodoicea
maldivicia, which grows only in the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean.
The seed can be 20 inches long!
The seed grows in a fruit that looks like two coconuts joined
together. A humorous aside, European sailors that came across the
seeds floating in the ocean used to think they looked much like a
woman's buttocks. (Things must have been pretty scary on those boats.)
Anyway, for those of you interested in growing one of these, please
keep in mind that the seeds take several years to germinate.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: NOT WORTH YOUR SALT
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Very often I am told that I am not worth my salt. When I consider that
I have a container of salt at home that cost about 69 cents, this is
quite an insult.
The saying comes from ancient Rome (from where most of these odd terms
seem to come) where soldiers were paid, in part, with a ration of
salt. This was called a "salarium" from the Latin word "sal," which
means salt. Thus, if a soldier didn't do much of a job, it was said
that he wasn't worth his salt.
Thankfully, this practice of paying people in salt went by the
wayside, but the term did not. Over time, salarium came to mean wages.
This eventually became the word "salary."
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: ATLAS
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Why in the heck do we call a book of maps an atlas?
Because the earliest books had a picture of Atlas holding the world on
his back. Much like Kleenex has come to mean all facial tissue, Atlas
became the term used to refer to all books of maps.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: BUYING THE FARM
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When someone dies, it is often said that he or she "bought the farm."
Naturally, we're left to wonder, "Why?"
Many believe that the expression comes from times of war. Many
soldiers from rural America dreamed of going home, buying a farm, and
living happily-ever-after. The phrase "bought the farm" is a rather
ironic one. When a young soldier died, others said that he bought the
farm, meaning, he had finally gotten out of the war and achieved
peace.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: BURYING THE HATCHET
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It seems we are on a bit of a streak here...so we'll just call this
another in the series on phrase origins. The term "bury the hatchet"
comes from the Native Americans.
One of their primary weapons was the tomahawk (a term Europeans took
from the Algonquian tribe). As such, it was an object of great
ceremony in many Native American tribes. When a dispute was settled,
many tribes would bury a tomahawk as a symbolic gesture of peace. If
the hostilities renewed, they would actually go and dig up the
tomahawk--a sign of war.
I doubt you need for me to tie the string between the Native American
practice and the use of the phrase today.
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: MARATHON LENGTH
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Sure, I can accept that a marathon is 26 miles; it doesn't really
bother me that it is not a nice number like 25. What bugs me, however,
is that a marathon is actually 26 miles, 385 yards.
First some history. The marathon was added to the Olympics after 490
BC to commemorate the legendary feat of a Greek soldier. It is said
that he ran from the Plain of Marathon to Athens (22 miles, 1,470
yards) to bring news of the Greek victory over the Persian army. After
yelling "Rejoice, We have won!", he promptly died. (How's that for
melodramatic?) The Olympics themselves died a bit later, in AD 393,
after Greece lost its independence.
The games were revived in 1896, and the first marathon was run in the
1908 games in London. The course started at Windsor Castle and was
finished in the stadium in London. Of course, the finish line was to
be in front of the royal box, which just happened to be 385 yards
after mile 26. The distance was standardized at the 1924 Olympic
games.
So, as you're struggling to knock off those last few hundred yards,
blame the Brits!
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TODAY'S TRIVIA: BLUE FOR BOYS
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In ancient times, it was felt that children had to be protected from
evil spirits who preyed upon them. As people were naturally interested
in the survival of their children, they tried to dress them in a
manner that would protect the little lads from these evil spirits.
The boys were dressed in blue because it is the color of the heavens
above and could ward off the forces of evil. Girls weren't dressed in
any particular color--as was often the case, they weren't considered
as important as boys. (Some even think that girls weren't dressed in
blue as a kind of sacrifice to the evil spirits.)
Girls were later given pink as a color, but there doesn't seem to be
any significance to that, other than the fact that it isn't blue.
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