The average commercial chicken lays 265-280 eggs per year.
Interesting that there are only 3 girls' names the same between the US and the UK, and 1 for the boys.
Phoenix
If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and six days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee
Concrete and steel expand and contract with temperature at almost exactly the same rate, and this wasn't discovered until AFTER someone had built reinforced concrete for the first time. And a good job they do, as well!
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what was considered important to the people.
Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs and bars who 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."
Most diamonds are over three billion years old, two-thirds the age of the Earth. There are a few "youngsters," though, which are only 100 million years old.
Logically, the above triangle would be impossible to construct.
A group of rhinos is called a crash
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."
A crash of rhinos is called a mess.
Ladies wore corsets which would lace up in the front. A tightly tied lace was worn by a proper and dignified lady as in "straight laced."
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. The wigs couldn't be washed so to clean them, they could 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.
a group of pedlars is called a malapertness
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."
So now you know
(I am loving this thread so much. Thanks to everyone who's been and enlightened us so far. Keep 'em coming, folks!)
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."
Needless to say, 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."
Also, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt and therefore the _expression losing face."
Thanks for starting this thread, this info has been collecting dust in my private collection.
A law in Fairbanks, Alaska, does not allow moose to have sex on city streets.
