History Lesson

[angelwing]

A HISTORY LESSON

In George Washington's days, 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. Therefore, painting arms and legs would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression :-
'.... it'll cost you an arm and a leg.'


Men and women bathed 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 of wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the bread-shell, and bake it for 30 minutes!! The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig.' Today we use the term 'Big Wig' when someone appears to be powerful and wealthy.


In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. A long wide board folded down from the wall for dining. The 'head of the household' sat in the chair and everyone else sat on the floor. Occasionally a guest, 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. He was called the 'chair man.'
Today in business, we use the title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of the Board.'


Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many people had acne scars by adulthood. So, women would spread bee's wax over their face to smooth their complexions. When speaking, if a woman stared 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'. Plus, if they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt. Therefore, the expression ... 'losing face.'

Common entertainment included playing cards. A tax was levied when buying cards, but was only applicable to the 'Ace of Spades.'
To avoid paying the tax, people would buy 51 cards instead.
Since most games required 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid because they weren't 'playing with a full deck.'



At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A barmaid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in 'pints' and who was drinking in 'quarts,' hence the term...
'minding your 'P's and Q's.'


Last One: bet you didn't know this!
In the old days, all war ships and many freighters carried cannons, thus it was necessary to keep a good supply of iron cannon balls near the cannon. But, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best method devised was a square-based pyramid, so a supply of 30 balls could be stacked in a small area next to the cannon. But ...how to stop the bottom layer from sliding or rolling out? The solution was a metal plate called a 'Monkey' with 16 indentations. However, if these were made of iron, the balls would rust to it, so they made 'Brass Monkeys'- but few land lubbers realized that brass contracts more and much faster than iron when chilled. So when the temperature fell, the indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was :
'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.'
(All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you!).

[Skyhawk]

In case anyone believed the last tale:

http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.asp