Misc. History: Rock Paper Scissors

Rock, paper, scissors, a game played by everyone young or old. So where did it come from? Well I found this on ask yahoo:

"According to Wikipedia, the game has its origins in China. It was popular among warlords (!) during the Han Dynasty. It's not exactly clear whether it was used to idly pass the time, to make cavalier decisions, or as something more akin to gambling.

Another source offers an extensive (and somewhat convoluted) history of a Japanese game called "jan ken pon." It's believed this game (basically "rock, paper, scissors") evolved from another Japanese game called "honken," which involved two players simultaneously extending zero to five fingers. With both hands hidden, each person would then guess the total number of fingers. Whoever guessed correctly won."

It isn't much but it is all I could find. I think it's interesting how things like this start out & evolve into something a lot different over the years. I wonder what things that are started today, will evolve into something different in the future & just how different.

Misc History: Origin Of Words & Sayings

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. :)

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. :-]

Twisted: Kids Cartoons

Cartoons, it's what we all grew up on and our kids growing up on. I still enjoy watching the cartoons I watched as a kid. As I sit there and watch them, I start to realize just how twisted they are.

One of the first Mickey cartoons, Mickey was abusive to animals. He pulled a cat's tail & twirled the cat around. He also used the animals as musical instruments in some of the worst ways. You knew the animals didn't like it either.


Bugs Bunny was bad too. There was violence and cross dressing (was Bugs gay?). Cross dressing isn't wrong but kinda weird for a kids cartoon. In Popeye, there was violence, kidnapping, bullying and abuse towards women.

In Snow White, you have witch craft, emotional abuse, trespassing, murder, kissing the dead and a zombie. I also question how on earth would Snow White's body not decay, why would the dwarfs put the key to the jewel vault right next to the door and why would the prince & Snow White go off together when they no nothing of each other?

How about those Christmas classic cartoons? In Santa is coming to town, there is trespassing into other people's homes, abandonment, breaking laws (even though the law is stupid, it's still wrong) and you have to question about a stranger going to town & giving kids toys (see other Twisted blog coming soon). Rudolph has bullying including from a parent & Santa himself. There is also some discrimination.

Even though all these things are in our kid's cartoons, it's still fun to watch them and there is nothing wrong with letting a kid see them. Kids just don't understand what is really going on, they just see the really good story going on right before their eyes. Kids can see things in a different point of view than us adults and their view can be a lot better than ours. It's kinda of sad actually. That is probably one of the reasons why I will continue to watch kid shows and movies, to see them through the innocent eyes of a child & enjoying what I see.

Cool youtube video

I found this video a few years ago and I think posted it on my myspace page. I think the video had to be taken down but it's back up and since I like it, I thought I would share it.

School Issues #1

I have been thinking of starting certain topics and writing about them when I can and when I have something to say on the matter. The one I will start off is school issues. I have so many issues about schools today that it makes me go grrrr. I am so glad that I really don't have to deal with them any more but they still get under my skin.

One of the issues I have with schools today is them trying so hard to control what the kids eat. Now I do understand that a lot of the food they serve is junk food and I do agree that they should have healthier foods. I think they are just putting way to much focus on it and it's starting to go overboard. Here are my issues on the school food.

1)They think that by having the kids eat healthier lunches, the kids are less likely to be over weight. How wrong can they be? Wait, they can be pretty freakin' wrong. The schools seem to forget that eating lunch at school is just one meal of the day. There is dinner which is served at home and snacks. Breakfast is both home and/or school, depends. The kids are not going to learn to eat healthier just by eating better lunches & their weight is not going to be controlled by what they eat at school. It starts in the home period.

2) The schools seem to think the kids can some how have some control what their parents buy at the grocery store. This baffles me. Since when do kids get to dictate what their parents buy and don't buy. The kids have to eat whatever the parents buy and feed them. The parents are going to buy what they can afford and/or whatever it is they want. Yes kids can say that they would rather have a banana than cookies or a nice chicken dinner with veggies instead of McDonalds but in the end, it's the parents that make the decision since they are the ones that make the money. There are a lot of families out there that can't afford to eat healthier since it does cost more.


3) The schools also seem to think that kids can some how teach or convince their parents to eat healthier. Better yet, the schools act like they can try to have some control on what goes on in the home by trying to teach the parents themselves on how to eat better or what is healthy & not. Adults already know what is good and what is bad. We don't need school officials trying to step in and "teach" us. We are not stupid. 


4) Schools seem to think replacing soda with juice is good. Hello, juice has a lot of sugar in it too. Almost as much as soda. Fruit has natural sugar in it. When companies make juice, they tend to add even more. Wola, a sugar filled drink. Yes the fruit part is good but it still has a lot of sugar.


5) Getting healthier food for schools is going to cost a lot more money. Money they don't have. Maybe food companies could step up a little by helping with this problem so there could be better choices. I don't know how it all works but to me I think schools need to work with food companies (and vice versa)to get good deals that they can afford to get some better food.


I think the schools need to focus a little more on other issues and not be so hard ass on the lunches. They can alter the food menu so it's healthier and the drinks but wish they would stop acting like it's a serious issue that needs to be controlled in every way. 


Some parents do need to do their part as well. I am not talking about the ones that literately can not afford healthier foods, I am talking about the ones that let their kids eat whatever & however much they want which leads to their kids to being obese. That is a whole 'nother issue in itself. It's the parents responsibility to make sure their kids are as healthy as they can be & to teach them how to eat properly. Although I guess it can be a problem if the parents are having eating issues themselves. In that case it's a more serious issues that needs to be addressed. I am not trying to put down anybody so sorry if it does sound like that.


There is nothing wrong with eating junk foods as long as it's in moderation. We need to indulge ourselves once in awhile. Having the stupid food pyramid doesn't work and should be getting rid of entirely. Again, that is a total different issue that I will address at a later time. Schools just need to chill a bit. Period.

Halloween

Ahhh Halloween, the time of year to dress up, have costume parties, get candy and turning your house into a haunted one or just going to a commercial one. Don't forget pumpkin carving and horror movies on tv.

It's funny how we teach our kids to not take candy from strangers and not to beg yet for one night a year, that is exactly what happens. I like Halloween. I love seeing the cute kids in their cute costumes. Dressing up is fun too. Some day I want to decorate my house really spooky and have kids go through it to get their candy at the end. I also love Halloween decorations.

Some of the costumes I have had through out my life: a lion, devil, punk rocker, a baby, hobo, cheerleader, 50's girl with a puddle skirt, a playboy bunny and a hooker when I was 18. Eighteen was my last year trick or treating. I just had so much fun that I didn't want to stop. When I was a hooker, I had fish net stockings (I think), a guarder, my black tight dress that I made shorter and a red feather boa. I felt kinda naked but it was still fun. There were others things too and I still would like to dress up when I can.

One thing I miss are pumpkin patches. When I was a kid, I can remember going to them and just in aww with all the pumpkins that were everywhere. Trying to find that perfect pumpkin was like trying to find that perfect Christmas tree. Now, where I live, it's hard to find a real pumpkin patch. You have all these small areas of land with probably about 50 pumpkins and call them patches. : / You have to drive a long ways to find one. There needs to be thousands of pumpkins, hay rides, haunted train rides & houses for both kids and adults, a graveyard, colored corn, face painting etc. Also be open at night. Now that's a pumpkin patch. Oh and this patch should be closer to town instead of out in the middle of nowhere.

As for haunted houss, I love the creativity that are put into them. I personally can't go into one because my asthma acts up. Having people looking like something from a horror movie coming after you or acting like it can really get the heart pumping. Eighteen years ago I did try to go into one but couldn't finish. People getting in my face etc isn't my thing and can't stop having asthma problems.

Do you have any stories? What were some of your costumes & your favorite?