I recently read a book called 'I didn't know that' by Karlen Evins. This woman gathered words & sayings throughout her life, did her best to find out the meaning/origin of them & put them in a book. She gathered her info before there was Google, no internet. The info inside the book is based on what she found in her searches. I didn't read all the words & sayings but I did find a lot of interesting history on the ones I did read. I thought I would share some of those. I will type word for word that is in the book.
1) Crocodile tears - Those insincere tears we've come to know as crocodile tears quite literal in origin. For you see, a crocodile does indeed cry over it's meal as it eats. But the crying has nothing to do with the croc's sense of the situation. Instead, as a crocodile eats, his food is pressed to the top of his mouth, causing pressure against the glands known as the lachrimals. These secrete a tearlike substance that flows from the eyes. From this biological activity of the reptile, we today draw our meaning for crocodile tears.
2) God bless you - Ever wonder why we would have "God bless you" after a sneeze? Well, in much the same way that it was believed man could part body & spirit & be beside himself, the ancients believed a good sneeze could literally blast your soul right out your body! To ensure that no bad spirits moved into the vacancy, "God bless you" was said to clear the way so soul & body could reunite.
3) Goose pimples - Also known as gooseflesh, goose pimples are those bumps you get when your skin takes a chill. For obvious reasons, goose pimples were named for their similarity to the skin of a plucked goose. Long ago, goose feathers were used for a myriad of things; thus, some birds were plucked up to five times a year. From these pluckings, farmers soon noticed the reaction of gooseflesh to the cold, as the birds' skin contracted to pull up what would have been feathers. This gooseflesh was soon associated with the same bumpy-skin effect that cold or certain emotions had on humans.
4) Knock on wood - So why would knocking on wood be a symbol for luck? It goes way back to pre-Christian times, when pagan religious beliefs held that good spirits resided in trees. To knock on a tree was to call upon those spirits to protect you as you journeyed through life (and especially through the forest!)
5) Paparazzi - Any freelance photographer who aggressively pursues a celebrity for the purpose of obtaining that perfect candid shot is said to be a part of the paparazzi, but what exactly is paparazzi? Well, the word is Italian in origin and, literally translated, means "buzzing insects." (Anyone having seen the hoopla surrounding the better known celebs of our time knows exactly where the word gets it's meaning!)
6) Raining cats & dogs - It was during the heaviest of rains back in 17th century England that the remains of dogs & cats were often seen floating through the streets. The reason had to do with poor drainage systems & even poorer health - control laws. As these animals often drowned when there came a flood, it was soon said that it had "rained cats & dogs" (though at the time, the saying pertained more to pole cats & dogs!).
7) Skeleton in the closet - Back in the dark ages it was long held by superstition that a doctor could not cut into the body of a dead person, for fear of disturbing it's ghost. As a result, cadavers became hot items on the black market for doctors longing to study human anatomy. When grave robbers began to supply the goods, many a good doctor became suspected of having a skeleton in his closet, which gives us today's meaning of "private of hidden secrets".
8) Wearing your heart on your sleeve - Wearing your heart on your sleeve was customary among knights at one time. In reality, the actual heart worn was a scarf or handkerchief given by a damsel to her knight, prior to his going off to fight. The scarf, worn by the knight as an armband, was a symbol to his fellow soldiers that his body might be in battle, but his heart was somewhere else.
9) X for a kiss - The original X used to designate a kiss dates back to medieval times, and believe it or not, it was a legal custom. In attempts to show good faith, the X (symbol for Saint Andrew) was placed after each signature on papers of importance. To further reinforce the pledge made in the documents, the signee was required to kiss the X as a guarantee of his or her obligation. Over time, the association with the legal profession has been long forgotten, but the X we still remember as the sign for a kiss.
10) Xmas - While some consider it disrespectful to substitute an X for the Christ part of Christmas, others know that the letter X was in fact the symbol used long ago for Christ. X represents the Greek letter chi, which is the initial letter of the Greek word for Christ. And according to 1st century history, the early Greek Christians used the letter X to stand for Christ, much as they used the fish with the X in the tail to represent Jesus.
11) Zip code - We refer to it every day, but how many of us know that the ZIP stands for "Zone Improvement Program"? Okay, so you may have known that, but do you know what the 5 digit code represents? Well, according to our reliable postal people, the first 3 digits indicate a district, usually a city, while the remaining 2 digits correspond with a local zone.
I may do my own research on some words because I am always curious about things like this. :)
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Time Travel: Back In Time
If I could go back in time, I would go just to observe. I would have to disguise myself so I couldn't get recognized or people asking to many questions. Even though I would want to, I would not get involved in anything for fear of creating the butterfly effect. I could see, do and learn so many things and possibly learn things about myself.
I would have to take a few things with me. Some water, a digital recorder, tissue, digital camera that has video, batteries, note pad with a pen and extra memory cards. The note pad and pen is in case I am in a situation where talking would cause me to be in danger or noticed.
The first place I would go back is the dinosaur age. I would stay clear of them, study and document them. I would make sure I have a quick escape just in case. I have seen 'Jurassic Park' and learned what NOT to do. I would of course do a lot of studying about them and take some notes before I left. I would bring the notes with me too. While studying them, I would see what they really looked like, how they moved, how they lived and all the other info that scientist can only guess at.
After stopping back at home to unload all my data, the next era I would go to is the caveman era. I think it would be very interesting to watch early man. Again I would have to make sure I was hidden because not only would they freak out & I would mess up the timeline, I wouldn't want some caveman dragging me off to mate with me. I don't mind four play but that is a little extreme. lol I think it will also be interesting to see how much we have changed and how much we haven't.
The next era I would visit is when Jesus was born, when he was an adult and died on the cross. I know that I would not be able to understand the language and not really know what Jesus really looked like but I am sure I could find out and document what I see. This is where I would do as much recording as I could. It might be easier to figure out what was going on at home instead of doing it right there. I would want to know what REALLY happened and not what religions say what happened. I would love to be able to talk to the man himself but not knowing the language would make it impossible.
I then would visit other eras and in different parts of the world, seeing for myself history being made. I would have to be careful during WWII because with my looks, I would easily be gassed if I were anywhere near the Nazis.
After doing a tour of history, I would love to observe my family and friends lives. For my friends, it will be interesting to see where they come from and the experiences they encountered. I don't want to be nosy or anything, I just find people's history to be interesting. When it comes to my family, I would love to know my ancestors, the things they had to go through and their lives in general. Including my grandparents, my parents etc.
Last would be viewing my life. I think "reliving" my life from an adult's point of view would be interesting. I wonder if I would judge myself harshly or give myself a break. To remember things I have forgotten and to say "that is why I think or feel this way now" would be a learning experience. To see the people I have lost one more time would be hard but also a pleasure. To see some of my favorite toys and the few friends I had would be so cool. I just wouldn't want to see the bullies. I would have to do everything in my will power to not get back at them.
For the beginning of my journeys, I do realize it would be pretty hard to travel, to know the exact locations of things and the exact date and time. This will take a LOT of homework, guessing and pure luck.
The second part of the time travel would be hard also. There is no way I could be inside a house etc and explain who I was so I could observe certain things. Turning invisible is not an option since there is no such thing. ;-] The only thing that could work was that when I go back in time, I am invisible to everyone and animals around me so I couldn't interact with them and accidentally change time. I wouldn't literately be invisible, I would be more like a ghost to those around me.
Once I was done with all my travels, I would gather all my info and write a book about what I experienced. Possibly do videos on youtube even though I hate being in front of the camera. I know I would have disbelievers and haters especially when talking about religion but that's ok. In the end I know what I experienced and the evidence I had would be real. Going through time would be an awesome way to learn the history of life.
While writing all of this, I am now coming up with a story to write. CRAP! I have so many stories already that I want to dive into. The story(ies) would be about what I just talked about but it would be like if it really happened. The hard part for me is that it wouldn't be a kid's story nor a short story which I am used to writing. It would have to be a novel, maybe a total of three. I have never done anything like this before and it would be very challenging but I am still going to do it. Thanks for taking the time to read my rambling. I have two more things about this this subject that I want to write about when I can. These are the weird things that pop in my head. Then I must write to get it out. :-]
I would have to take a few things with me. Some water, a digital recorder, tissue, digital camera that has video, batteries, note pad with a pen and extra memory cards. The note pad and pen is in case I am in a situation where talking would cause me to be in danger or noticed.
The first place I would go back is the dinosaur age. I would stay clear of them, study and document them. I would make sure I have a quick escape just in case. I have seen 'Jurassic Park' and learned what NOT to do. I would of course do a lot of studying about them and take some notes before I left. I would bring the notes with me too. While studying them, I would see what they really looked like, how they moved, how they lived and all the other info that scientist can only guess at.
After stopping back at home to unload all my data, the next era I would go to is the caveman era. I think it would be very interesting to watch early man. Again I would have to make sure I was hidden because not only would they freak out & I would mess up the timeline, I wouldn't want some caveman dragging me off to mate with me. I don't mind four play but that is a little extreme. lol I think it will also be interesting to see how much we have changed and how much we haven't.
The next era I would visit is when Jesus was born, when he was an adult and died on the cross. I know that I would not be able to understand the language and not really know what Jesus really looked like but I am sure I could find out and document what I see. This is where I would do as much recording as I could. It might be easier to figure out what was going on at home instead of doing it right there. I would want to know what REALLY happened and not what religions say what happened. I would love to be able to talk to the man himself but not knowing the language would make it impossible.
I then would visit other eras and in different parts of the world, seeing for myself history being made. I would have to be careful during WWII because with my looks, I would easily be gassed if I were anywhere near the Nazis.
After doing a tour of history, I would love to observe my family and friends lives. For my friends, it will be interesting to see where they come from and the experiences they encountered. I don't want to be nosy or anything, I just find people's history to be interesting. When it comes to my family, I would love to know my ancestors, the things they had to go through and their lives in general. Including my grandparents, my parents etc.
Last would be viewing my life. I think "reliving" my life from an adult's point of view would be interesting. I wonder if I would judge myself harshly or give myself a break. To remember things I have forgotten and to say "that is why I think or feel this way now" would be a learning experience. To see the people I have lost one more time would be hard but also a pleasure. To see some of my favorite toys and the few friends I had would be so cool. I just wouldn't want to see the bullies. I would have to do everything in my will power to not get back at them.
For the beginning of my journeys, I do realize it would be pretty hard to travel, to know the exact locations of things and the exact date and time. This will take a LOT of homework, guessing and pure luck.
The second part of the time travel would be hard also. There is no way I could be inside a house etc and explain who I was so I could observe certain things. Turning invisible is not an option since there is no such thing. ;-] The only thing that could work was that when I go back in time, I am invisible to everyone and animals around me so I couldn't interact with them and accidentally change time. I wouldn't literately be invisible, I would be more like a ghost to those around me.
Once I was done with all my travels, I would gather all my info and write a book about what I experienced. Possibly do videos on youtube even though I hate being in front of the camera. I know I would have disbelievers and haters especially when talking about religion but that's ok. In the end I know what I experienced and the evidence I had would be real. Going through time would be an awesome way to learn the history of life.
While writing all of this, I am now coming up with a story to write. CRAP! I have so many stories already that I want to dive into. The story(ies) would be about what I just talked about but it would be like if it really happened. The hard part for me is that it wouldn't be a kid's story nor a short story which I am used to writing. It would have to be a novel, maybe a total of three. I have never done anything like this before and it would be very challenging but I am still going to do it. Thanks for taking the time to read my rambling. I have two more things about this this subject that I want to write about when I can. These are the weird things that pop in my head. Then I must write to get it out. :-]
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