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"
-------------------------------------------
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.
-------------------------------------------
The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were
Fred and Wilma Flintstone.
-------------------------------------------
Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S.Treasury.
-------------------------------------------
Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
-------------------------------------------
Coca-Cola was originally green.
-------------------------------------------
It is impossible to lick your elbow.
-------------------------------------------
The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work:
Alaska
-------------------------------------------
The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...)
-------------------------------------------
The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The average number of people airborne ! over the U.S. in any given
hour: 61,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 as a result 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 4th,
John Hancock and Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but
the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat
name requested?
A. Obsession
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go
until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and
laser printers all have in common?
A.
All were invented by women.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the
year?
A. Father's Day
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 bar! tender w ould 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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~

------------------------------------------------------------------------

At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow!

I thought the P's and Q's came from the work typesetters did before things became automated. They saw the letters backwards therefore it was easy for them to mix up the letters P and Q between each other... but what do I know, I was about to try and lick my elbow...

I did NOT try it....

True or False?
John Hanson.
He was the patriarch of a long line of American Patriarchs- his great grandfather, his grandfather, five of his nephews, two sons and two grandsons. Hanson would have greatly contributed to the life of the nation through his ancestery even if he had not served as President himself. Just as Samuel Huntington did, Hanson began a self-guided reading of classics. It was based upon these legal studies that the young planter began to espouse the cause of the patriots. In 1775 he was elected to the Provincial Legislature of Maryland. Two years later he became a member of Congress. Then he was elected President in 1781. John Hanson was chosen unanimously by Congress (which included George Washington).

No one had ever been President and the role was poorly defined. Just as the Revolutionary War ended he took office. The troops demanded to be paid. There were no funds to meet their salaries, so the soldiers threatened to overthrow the new government and put Washington on the throne. The members of Congress ran for their lives, leaving Hanson all by himself running the government. Miraculously, he managed to hold the country together.

He ordered foreign troops off American soil. Hanson established the Great Seal of the United States (which all presidents since been required to use on all official documents). He also established the first Treasury Department, the first Secretary of War, the first Foreign Affairs Department and Thanksgiving Day). He served in office from November 5, 1781 until November 3, 1782, making him the first President under the Articles of Confederation.

I think Snopes.com has some things to say about the statues. ( and the card suits for that matter )

http://www.snopes.com/history/world/cardking.htm
http://www.snopes.com/military/statue.htm





p.s., I didn't try either

Gary Starkweather invented the Laser printer. Started work on it at Xerox and HE finished it while working at PARC.

And no I didn't try to lick my elbow.

Gary STARKWEATHER huh? perhaps StaffJim's older brother?


Cheers,
Charles

I have tried to lick my elbow, and I did succeed. Instead of pulling my hand up to my ear, and bending my arm to try and lick it, a twisted my arm around and pulled my shoulder back, which pulled it just close enough to lick.


Wow...that post was wierd...


+ = a wet elbow

It's so funny, I am one of the 75%...half way reading thru this post, I did try to lick my elbow :-) :-) :-)

Another myth buster--'Golf' is not an acronym. It came from a Germanic/Dutch/Olde English word for club, "kolve".

Technicaly mead is not beer. Beer is brewed with grains,malt and hops. Mead is made with honey. No grains. Fruit is known to be added but there are none of the other ingredients found in beer.

......and I plead the 5th on the elbow thing.

As far as John Hanson I guess I would have to say false. http://www.snopes.com/history/american/hanson.htm

Snopes, as snowhand mentioned, has things to say about quite a few of those.

Oh, and instead of trying to lick my own elbow I took the time to fantasize about the elbows of all the attractive young ladies I'd like to lick instead.

So let me get this straight,... Gary Starkweather is a woman?

No I have not tried to lick my elbow.

He just dressed like one. They caught him licking his elbow.

C.

I guess I am part of the 25% of weirdos in the world then, because the thought of licking my elbow has never once eneterd my mind in 35 years of living on this planet until I read this joke. And despite it all, I still have no desire to lick my elbow. If someone does this, let me know what it tastes like! LOL :-)

I admit I licked my fingers and touched my opposite arm's elbow.... Gadzooks Matilda!

I think the life cycle is all backwards.

You should start out dead; just get it right out of the way. You wake up in a senior care facility and start feeling better every day.

You get kicked out of there for being too healthy, go collect your pension, then, when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day. You work 20 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You try alcohol, you party, you're "slightly" wild and you get ready for High School.

After High School, you go to primary school, you become a kid, you play or nap all day, you have no responsibilities. Then, you spend your last 9 months floating peacefully with luxuries like central heating, spa treatments, room service on tap, larger living quarters every day...and then... you finish off as an orgasm! Oopps did I say that?

It would have to be better that way because this getting old ... just stinks!

I'm confused ??
Starkweather's taken to wearing a dress, licking his elbow, while playing Golf, and reciting Shakespeare? And he looked like such a nice young fellow in that kitmaker video. :-) :-)

I believe Kevlar was invented by a woman, Stephanie Kwolek , but it was actually men in the 70's that used it in body armor.

Great post, Thanks a lot

In his new video he is doing all of the above--and how it has aged him!

Strange but true................
the distance between your elbow and your wrist is the size of your foot...
the distance between the tips of your fingers when your arms are outstretched is the same as your height.
No elbow licking involved :-)
Nige

Nigel that is strange but true! I looked at my forearm and thought my feet can't be that big as I have monkey arms. BUT....you're right they're the same size therefore I must be an OOB human!

The p's and q's story has many origins. I tend to believe the typesetter story.
Rule of thumb-false
Statue story-false
Golf-false (Acronyms originated in the 20th century, so if anyone tells you the word for "fornic...... under consent of the king," or "for unlawful carnal knowledge," they're wrong)
My mom lives in Kinderhook, New York, which lays claim to the origin of the term "okay." (Martin Van Buren's OK-off to Kinderhook) It is but one of at many claims to okay's origin, but it IS the only village I know of that makes OK Barbecue Sauce.
For fun, see how many meanings you can find for "the whole nine yards."

The length of an aircraft machine gun ammunition belt, to use it all up would be to go the "whole nine yards".

Oh and I tried to lick my elbow as well after reading about it. :-)

Jamie

Until I Googled it and got the ammo belt story, I thought it referred to the amount of material consumed in making a man's suit.

Now I wonder if that's what it took for Gary's skirt.

I remember once reading an article claiming it being an abbreviation originating from the American Civil War, when it was used in reports for "no casualties today, everything's fine".