Gransnet forums

Chat

Just some interesting fact - none of any importance!!!

(17 Posts)
Franbern Mon 07-Sep-20 10:33:08

NOT a joke,just some very interesting facts:

1. In the 1400s 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.'

2. 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.

3. 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

4. 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.'

5. 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.

6. 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'

7. 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.
8. In 1696, William III of England introduced a property tax that required those living in houses with more than six windows to pay a levy. In order to avoid the tax, house owners would brick up all windows except six. (The Window Tax lasted until 1851, and older houses with bricked-up windows are still a common sight in the U.K.) As the bricked-up windows prevented some rooms from receiving any sunlight, the tax was referred to as “daylight robbery”!

So, there you are......origins of some of sayings -interesting isn't?

Nortsat Mon 07-Sep-20 10:37:06

Really interesting Fran thank you.?

NotTooOld Mon 07-Sep-20 10:48:28

How interesting, Franbern. We learn something new every day!

Franbern Mon 07-Sep-20 11:08:14

Anyone able to add to these?

Witzend Mon 07-Sep-20 11:16:50

Very interesting, thanks for posting.

One I found somewhere ages ago was the origin of ‘riff-raff’.

It came from the Anglo-Saxon and originally meant ‘sweepings of rags’.

Callistemon Mon 07-Sep-20 12:07:52

^Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history^:

The Queen of Hearts is supposedly Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII.

Squiffy Mon 07-Sep-20 12:11:39

Wife selling went on until the 19th century! Instead of divorce, a husband might sell his wife. The last wife sale was in Horsham, West Sussex, in 1844 for 30 shillings.

kittylester Mon 07-Sep-20 12:25:55

I live these. I knew a few as I am, to quote my family, a mine of useless information. Unless you are doing a pub quiz them mum comes in very handy.

WOODMOUSE49 Mon 07-Sep-20 12:39:09

Get the sack
This slang term for getting fired originates in France, and alludes to tradesmen, who would take their own bag or “sac” of tools with them when dismissed from employment

Mad as a Hatter
19th century Mercury used to be used in the making of hats. This was known to have affected the nervous systems of hatters, causing them to tremble and appear insane. Mercury poisoning is still known today as 'Mad Hatter's disease'.

V3ra Mon 07-Sep-20 12:49:41

I love all these stories!

Smileless2012 Mon 07-Sep-20 12:55:18

Really interesting Franbern, I knew about number 8 but not the others. The other one I'd heard before was your 'Mad as a Hatter' Woodmouse.

Esspee Mon 07-Sep-20 15:31:58

Pity they are so inaccurate. Many of them are complete nonsense.

Gwyneth Mon 07-Sep-20 17:40:32

Fascinating reading. Thank you Franbern.

Urmstongran Mon 07-Sep-20 18:06:24

These remind me of those ‘factoids’ on the Steve Wright radio 2 show. Irritating in the extreme. ‘Did you know Steve that in 1884 a certain ...’ blah, blah. I have to switch the radio off.
?

infoman Mon 07-Sep-20 18:10:33

Quick conversion of temperture
28C is 82F just reverse it
19C is 66F
1966 is the year that England last won the World cup and
Fahrenheit was used first before Centigrade arrived

Squiffy Mon 07-Sep-20 18:14:55

Horsham town centre - for the non-believers! ??

grumppa Mon 07-Sep-20 18:42:49

Wife-selling features in Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge.