Blog of Answers

Why did Charles Schulz name his Charlie Brown comic strip Peanuts?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 05:57:00 +0000

Charlie Brown first appeared as a character in a syndicated cartoon in September of 1950, which was named Li’l Folks. The most popular children’s television show at the time was Howdy Doody, and the syndicator insisted that the strip be renamed for the kids in Doody’s cordonedoff area for his live children’s audience, which was called the “peanut gallery.” And so the most popular comic strip in history became known as Peanuts.

How did the centre of world commerce, Wall Street, get it's name?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:26:00 +0000

In September of 1653, the settlers in what is now New York City felt threatened by the local Natives and by the possibility of an invasion by Oliver Cromwell’s army. For protection, they built a large protective wall that stretched a half-mile across Manhattan Island. That wall was situated on the exact spot that we now know as the financial centre of the world: Wall Street.

Why are only citizens of the United States called “Americans”?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 05:40:00 +0000

After discarding dozens of suggestions, Canada took its name from the Native American word kanata. The most popular of the names considered by the United States was Columbia, which is why the nation’s capital is located in the District of Columbia. But because they couldn’t make a final decision, the people of the United States have accepted the unofficial name given to them by the British during the war of independence. They are, simply, Americans.

How did Father’s Day get started?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 07:21:00 +0000

During a Spokane, Washington, Mother’s Day service in 1910, a Mrs. Sonora Dodd thought of how she and her five brothers had been raised on a small farm by her single father. She proposed a Father’s Day celebration, but although it caught on locally, it was a political hot potato and didn’t receive permanent recognition until an edict by President Richard Nixon in 1972. Father’s Day is now the fifth-largest card-sending occasion in North America.

Why is June the most popular month for weddings?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Fri, 23 May 2008 04:19:00 +0000

The ancient Greeks and Romans both suggested marriage during a full moon because of its positive influence on fertility. The Romans favoured June, a month they named after Juno, the goddess of marriage, because if the bride conceived right away, she wouldn’t be too pregnant to help with the harvest. She also would probably have recovered from giving birth in time to help in the fields with the next year’s harvest.

What are the origins of the wedding ring?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:35:00 +0000

A school of thought persists that the first wedding rings were used by barbarians to tether the bride to her captor’s home. This may or may not be true, but we do know that around 2800 B.C., because the Egyptians considered a circle to signify eternity, rings were used in marriage ceremonies. The Romans often added a miniature key welded to one side of the bride’s ring to signify that she now owned half of her husband’s wealth.

Why do we call the first weeks of marriage a “honeymoon”?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:39:00 +0000

The custom of a “honeymoon” began over four thousand years ago in Babylon, when for a full lunar month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the honey-beer he could drink. It was called the “honey month.” The word honeymoon didn’t enter our language until 1546, and because few people could afford a vacation, a honeymoon didn’t mean a trip away from home until the middle of the nineteenth century.

How did throwing confetti become a wedding custom?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:30:00 +0000

Because the main purpose of marriage was to produce children, ancient peoples showered the new bride with fertility symbols such as wheat grain. The Romans baked this wheat into small cakes for the couple, to be eaten in a tradition known as conferriatio, or “eating together.” The guests then threw handfuls of a mixture of honeyed nuts and dried fruits called confetto at the bride, which we copy by throwing confetti.

Why do bridegrooms have a best man?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:26:00 +0000

In ancient times, most marriages were arranged, and so the groom wasn’t always the bride’s first choice. The man she favoured would often swear to carry her off before or during the wedding. To avoid this, the groom stood on the bride’s right to keep his sword arm free and would enlist a warrior companion to fight off the rival if he showed up. This companion was, in fact, the “best man.”

Why is every fourth year called a “leap year”?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 04:48:00 +0000

A leap year has 366 days, with an extra day added to February. Every year divisible by four is a leap year except those completing a century, which must be divisible by four hundred. It’s called a leap year because normally the date that falls on a Monday this year will fall on Tuesday next year and then Wednesday the year after that. In the fourth year it will “leap” over Thursday and fall on Friday.

Why do the hands of a clock move to the right?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:46:00 +0000

Early mechanical timepieces didn’t have hands. They signalled time with bells. Then one hand was introduced, indicating the hour only, until eventually sophisticated mechanics introduced the more precise minute and then second hands. Because clocks were invented in the northern hemisphere, the hands followed the same direction as the shadows on a sundial. If they’d been invented in the southern hemisphere, “clockwise” would be in the opposite direction.

Where did the pharmacist’s symbol of “Rx” come from?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:07:00 +0000

To the Romans, the pursuit of the healing arts and the distribution of medicine was the highest professional calling possible and therefore could only be ordained by Jupiter. The “R” in “Rx” is from the Latin word recipere, meaning “to have been prescribed” or “to take,” while the small “x” was the god king’s symbol of approval. To the Romans, the “Rx” meant that the great god Jupiter himself had a hand in the prescription.

Why is the common winter viral infection called the “flu”?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:55:00 +0000

In 1743, an outbreak of a deadly cold-like fever originated in Italy and swept through Europe. Because doctors believed that diseases and epidemics were ordained or influenced by the stars they called it (as the press reported it from Italy) an influenza. The English word for influenza is influence, which although abbreviated to flu still means the disease flows from the influence of the heavens.

What is the origin of the red and white barber pole?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 05:54:00 +0000

The Roman word for beard is barba, which gave us the term barber. Early barbers cut hair and trimmed beards, but they also pulled teeth and practiced medicinal bloodletting. This last procedure required the patient to expose his veins by squeezing a pole painted red to hide the bloodstains. When not in use the red pole was displayed outside wrapped in the white gauze used as bandages, and it eventually became the official trademark of the barber.

What’s the difference between a spider’s web and a cobweb?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 05:53:00 +0000

All spiders create their webs through a liquid secretion that hardens in the air. These webs are nearly invisible, especially to the insects they trap. In modern language, the spider’s web becomes a cobweb only after it collects dust and becomes visible, so the webs are different in name only. The word cob came from writings as early as the thirteenth century and had evolved from coppe, an early word for spider.

What part did the Big Dipper play in naming the frozen north the Arctic?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:52:00 +0000

As part of the constellation of Ursa Major, the Big Dipper can be seen the entire year throughout Europe and most of North America, and it becomes brighter as you travel north. The Romans followed the Greeks in naming the seven-star constellation containing the Big Dipper “the Bear,” which in Latin is ursa. In Greek the word for bear is arktos, which gave us the name Arctic for the northern land beneath the Bear.

Why is a complete list of letters named the “alphabet,” and why is a river mouth called a “delta”?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 05:51:00 +0000

One of the first things we learn in school is our ABCs, a list of all letters used in the English language. The name comes from the first two letters in the original Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. The triangular mouth of the Nile River was called a “delta” because, like all rivers leading into the sea, it’s shaped like the fourth Greek letter. Every delta in the world took its name from the Nile.

What is the rule of thumb?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:50:00 +0000

In 1976, NOW incorrectly linked the expression “rule of thumb” with a 1782 public statement by an English judge that in his opinion, a man should have the right to beat his wife as long as the stick used was no thicker than his thumb. In fact, the real “rule of thumb” is a reference to building or baking something through the knowledge of experience rather than precise science, with the thumb being an instrument for a rough and improvised measurement.

Why is a hospital’s emergency selection process called “triage”?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:47:00 +0000

Triage is from the French trier, meaning to compare and select, and was used in reference to sorting livestock for culling or slaughter. Triage entered medicine during the First World War, when battlefield physicians were overwhelmed with the wounded and dying. The least likely to live were treated last. In modern hospitals the order of triage is reversed, with priority given to the most seriously in need.

Is there a difference between a penknife and a jackknife?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 05:45:00 +0000

The original difference between a jackknife and a penknife was size. Both had blades that folded into the handle for safety. The small penknife came first and was carried in a pocket in a sheath and was used for making or repairing quill pens. Pen is derived from penna, the Latin word meaning “feather.” The jackknife was simply a large, allpurpose penknife, so called because it was a handy tool for sailors, who, at the time, were called “Jacks.”

What is the origin of the polka dot?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:43:00 +0000

The polka dot is a leftover from the polka dance craze that was introduced to America in 1835. Polka is the Polish word for “Polish woman,” but the dance came from Czechoslovakia — just like the song “American Woman” came from Canada. The dance was in vogue up until the end of the nineteenth century, during which time dozens of by-products capitalized on its popularity, including one that still lingers: wearing apparel with the polka dot pattern.

What does the Statue of Liberty have to do with the word gadget?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 20:22:00 +0000

The word gadget first appeared in 1886, the year the French gave America the Statue of Liberty. That same year, a man named Gaget, one of the partners in the French company that had built the Liberty, conceived the idea of creating miniature statues to sell to Americans in Paris as souvenirs. The Americans mispronounced “Gaget” and called their miniature Libertys “gadgets,” and a new word for something small was born.

What is the difference between a settee, a divan, and a couch?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 20:21:00 +0000

A settee, a divan, and a couch are all parlour furniture designed for sitting. Settee entered the language from the German setlaz, which means simply “seat.” Divan is from the Persian word for “council of rulers” and was given as a name to an armless couch. The word couch originally referred to a bed and comes from the French word coucher, meaning “to lie in place” … like “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi.”

Why are precious stones such as diamonds weighed in carats?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:19:00 +0000

The word carat comes from the carob bean, which grows on the cerantonia siliqua tree. Each bean is so remarkably near the same size and weight that the ancients used it as a universal measurement for precious stones. There are approximately 142 carob beans, or carats, to the ounce. Each carat is divided into one hundred points, individually weighing about the same as three bread crumbs.

Why do so many Scottish and Irish surnames begin with “Mac” as in MacDonald, and “O” as in O’Connor?

noreply@blogger.com (Cleng) — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 20:18:00 +0000

One of the ancient Celtic traditions of Scotland and Ireland was (in much the same manner as for American slaves) that all the serfs who worked his land used the name of the clan chieftain. In Gaelic, the prefix Mac means “son,” while O means “grandson” or “descendant of.” Both were used to keep track of the true bloodline. MacDonald means “the son of Donald,” while O‘Connor means “the grandson of Connor.”