Finding Direction: The Wind Vane Chronicles

Hmmm, I wonder about some of the but they all seem logical:

In George Washington’s days, there were no cameras. 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. Arms and legs are ‘limbs,’ therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, ‘Okay, but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg.’ (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)

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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths 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 from wool. They couldn’t wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term ‘big wig.’ Today we often use the term ‘here comes the Big Wig’ because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.

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In the late 1700′s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The ‘head of the household’ always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was 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. They called the one sitting in the chair the ‘chair                                  man.’ Today in business, we use the expression or title ‘Chairman’ or ‘Chairman of the Board..’

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Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee’s wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare 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’. In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . Therefore, the expression ‘losing face.’

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Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in ‘straight laced’. . Wore a tightly tied lace.

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Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the ‘Ace of Spades.’ To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren’t ‘playing with a full deck.’

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Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV’s or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to ‘go sip some ale’ and listen to people’s conversations and political concerns.. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. ‘You go sip here’ and ‘You go sip there.’ The two words ‘go sip’ were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term ‘gossip.’

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At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid’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

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One more and betting you didn’t know this!

In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem…how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a ‘Monkey’ with 16 round indentations.

However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make ‘Brass Monkeys.’ Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.

Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, ‘Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.’ (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn’t you.)

If you don’t send this fabulous bit of historic knowledge to any and all your unsuspecting friends, your floppy is going to fall off your hard drive and kill your mouse.

Forgiving isn’t forgetting. It is letting go of the hurt.

Comments made in the year 1955!
(That’s 55 years ago!)

‘I’ll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way
they are, it’s going to be impossible
To buy a week’s groceries for $20.00.

‘Have you seen the new cars coming out next year?
It won’t be long before $2,000.00 will only buy a
used one.

‘If cigarettes keep going up in price,
I’m going to quit.
A quarter a pack is ridiculous.

‘Did you hear the post office is thinking about
charging a dime just to mail a letter?

‘If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00,
Nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store. ‘

‘When I first started driving,
Who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon..
Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage.

‘I’m afraid to send my kids to the movies any more..
Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying
DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND,
It seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.

‘I read the other day where some scientist thinks
it’s possible to put a man on the moon by the
end of the century.
They even have some fellows they call astronauts
preparing for it down in  Texas  .

‘Did you see where some baseball player just signed a
contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball?
It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be
making more than the President.

‘I never thought I’d see the day all our kitchen
appliances would be electric.
They are even making electric typewriters now.

‘It’s too bad things are so tough nowadays..
I see where a few married women are having to work
to make ends meet.

‘It won’t be long before young couples are going to
have to hire someone
To watch their kids so they can both work.

‘I’m afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the
door to a whole lot of foreign business.

‘Thank goodness I won’t live to see the day when the
Government takes half our income in taxes.
I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best
people to congress.

‘The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather,
But I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.

‘There is no sense going to Lincoln
or Omaha anymore for a weekend,
It costs nearly $15.00 a night to stay in a hotel.

‘No one can afford to be sick anymore,
At $35.00 a day in the hospital it’s too rich for
my blood.’

‘If they think I’ll pay 50 cents for a hair cut, forget it.’

Y’all have a great day, hear?!  Many blessings to each of you!  Cheers!  Dee