Sadly, I'm one of those people who finds useless tidbits of information fascinating, probably because I like to know the history behind everything. As a writer, I think the nuances of language are especially interesting, and I wanted to share with you some of the facts I've come across.
Did you know:
Until the seventeenth century the word "upset" meant to set up (i.e. erect) something. Now it means the opposite: "to capsize".
The Byzantines never called themselves "Byzantines". This term was first used during the Renaissance, and was derived from Byzantium, the former name of the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul). They called themselves Romans, while Western Europeans called them Greeks.
The combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful plough man strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."
The verb "cleave" is the only English word with two synonyms which are antonyms of each other: adhere and separate.
The word "dunce", meaning a dull-witted or ignorant person, comes from the name of John Duns Scotus (1265-1308), one of the greatest minds of his time. Scotus was educated at Cambridge and Oxford and pursued his master's degree in theology at the University of Paris where, in 1303, he became embroiled in one of the most heated disputes of the day. France's King Philip IV had moved to tax the Church in order to finance his war with England; in response, Pope Boniface VIII threatened to excommunicate him. For supporting the pope, Duns Scotus was banished from France. The term "dunce" was coined two centuries later by people who disagreed with Scotus' teachings and his defence of the papacy. To them, any of his followers was dull-witted, "incapable of scholarship and stupid".
Kentucky Fried Chicken’s slogan, “Finger lickin’ good,” once came out as ”eat your fingers off” in Chinese.
Punctuation was not invented until the 1500's.
Vergil's quest for perfection nearly cost posterity his twelve-book Latin classic, the Aeneid, a national epic and a literary masterpiece. Generally accepted as the greatest of the Roman poets, Vergil left the instruction that when he died the manuscript should be burned because he had not had time to polish it. The Roman emperor Augustus - at whose request Vergil may have initiated work in the Aeneid - stepped in and countermanded Vergil's request. He had others apply what little polish was needed, and ordered the work published.
Shakespeare coined 1700 words.
There is a word in the English language with only one vowel, which occurs five times: "indivisibility."
The computer programming language ADA was named in honor of Augusta Ada King. The U.S. Defense Department named the language after the Countess of Lovelace and daughter of Lord Byron because she helped finance and program what is thought to be the first computer, the “analytical engine” designed by Charles Babbage.
The word boycott comes from Charles C. Boycott. He was hired by an Irish earl to collect high rents from tenant farmers who completely ignored him.
So what interesting information or not-so-well-known facts are you able to share with us? Here at the pleasure garden, we appreciate the value of being able to interject a well-timed useless fact at garden parties, business meetings and awkward get-togethers with the in-laws.
23 comments:
OMG Those things are so cool. I love finding facts like that, but I rarely remember them.
As a child I had a fascination with animals (as most children) only I know a ton of useless information about animals.
The right whale was named such, because it would float when it was harpooned. Being it is mostly made up of blubber, and not really the sought after meat and ambergris of the sperm whale.
I used to say frig instead of the f word all the time. Till I realized frig used to mean masturbate/get off yourself, or by another, whether man or woman. I no longer use frig instead of the f-word. I just stick to the f-word :)
To come to crisis means to come.
I should probably stop. I know a lot of these old naughty things too. More useful than the animal facts I'll probably never use.
LOL, Tiff. It figures all of your useless facts are naughty ones.
Well, I feel so much smarter now! If only I could remember... I'm reading this cool book on Shakespeare and his times right now, which is the only reason I remember anything. Plays always had some funny dance or something after them, even tragedies, kind of like the bonus cartoons of the old days in movie theaters before the show. Hamlet took 4 1/2 hours to perform, even w/o intermission.The box office is called the box office because theater goers dropped their penny into a box and during the performance it was locked in a room. Actors performed 5 different plays a week, because people wanted to see something new (and HOW did they rememeber their lines?). I could go on, but I'll spare you.
Tiff, you and my husband are a pair. He's always been known as the guy who knows how every animal mates.
Maggie, don't spare us, I want to hear more.
Hmmm... That reminds me. Dolphins and humans are the only two species to have sex for fun.
though chimps and other monkey's/apes tend to whack off.
did you really want to know that? probably not. lol!
OMG, I loved all of these!!! Keep these coming...these are all so interesting!
I did know that about the dolphins. And when they have sex, they spin in the water.
I have a major headache and can't think right now, but even if I didn't, I doubt I'd have anything to add.
But I love all these great facts. I'm always fascinated by the origins of things. It's rarely what one would think.
Terri, sorry about your headache. More opportunities to learn useless but interesting facts:
The ancient Greeks and Romans used peppermint tea to treat headaches and drank infusions made from camomile, rosemary and lavender. They also applied raw potato, cabbage and onion to the head in an effort to relieve headache.
In some ancient cultures, headaches were thought to be the work of evil spirits, and rituals were performed to drive them off. In the Neolithic period, circular chunks of skull were removed in order to let the spirits escape.
Umm, don't let Hellion anywhere near you with a drill...
I want to know about the lines too, Maggie. :)
Such an interesting blog!
The only interesting facts I can recall are about words.
In English the letter combination "ough" can be pronounced in nine different ways. The following sentence contains them all: "A rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a slough, he coughed and hiccoughed."
A hamlet is a village without a church and a town is not a city until it has a cathedral.
The phrase "sleep tight" originated when mattresses were placed upon ropes woven through the bed frame. The ropes sagged over time, and people would use a bed key to tighten the rope.
The meaning of "freelance" originally was quite literal; it referred to a knight whose lance was free for hire, that is, not pledged to one master.
Facetious and abstemious contain all the vowels in the correct order.
The word that has more definitions than any other word in the English language? "Set"
There is one other interesting bit, unrelated to words, that I carry in my head, never knowing when it may prove useful. A surefire cure for hangovers is to drink a banana milkshake sweetened with honey. It may soothe the stomach, and it builds up depleted blood sugar levels and electrolytes such as magnesium and potassium.
Janga, that last one for the hangovers would be better posted over at the Romance Writers' Revenge. Them pirates drink way too much.
Kris, are you suggesting I'm as old as the Neolitic period, or that I'm simply so interested in history I take re-enactments to new and exciting levels?
*writing down hangover cure*
And the hamlet, town, & city stuff is fascinating! Totally explains why Fayette's a city (pretty sure) and Harrisburg's a town.
Hellion, I'm saying you're evil enough to want to drill a hole in Terri's head :)
But hey, that's a good thing. You need to have that kind of reputation to captain a pirate ship, eh?
I don't have anything to add. Just wanted to say what a great blog this is J.K.!
Amongst Shakespeare's phrases are "vanish into thin air," "foregone conclusion," and "one fell swoop." Shakespeare stole his plots from everybody, but so did everybody else.
When Shakespeare talked about treasure, it was nothing our RWR pirates would be interested in. Wait, I take that back. I don't want Hellion to drill me.
Stop, Kris, you're making me blush... *blushing, sheepish look* You guys and your compliments....
Headache has receded and now I have vertigo. I hate when that happens. *sigh* I have no idea how my sugar drops when I eat so much chocolate during the day.
It figures, raw potato, cabbage and onion are three things I don't have in my house. And thanks for the advice but I already have a policy of not letting Hellion near my head with power tools. Or anyone else for that matter. Go figure.
I do have one little fact to share. It's where the term chapel-at-ease came from. In olden days when the main church was too far for folks to travel every Sunday, they would build a chapel closer and call it a chapel-at-ease. Eventually, those chapels would grow with the population and become their own parishes.
And that's probably the only bit of research I've done for my contemp that is at all interesting. LOL! Or not.
Wow, I love these stories, too. I know nothing like this, so I love learning more.
This stuff is awesome! I of course have nothing to add but I love to learn! The Shakespeare stuff would blow your mind - all the phrases he coined - there was a list of them once in a local newpaper and it was astounding. How one man could have such an impact for so long a period of time... fascinating!
Oh, I just thought of one - why people say "God Bless You" when you sneeze. It used to be thought that when you sneezed it was your body's way of releasing the evil in you and "God Bless You" was a guard against that evil.
Just for Irish (and the fact that I got to that part in the book):vanish into thin air, bag and baggage, play fast and loose,go down the primrose path,be in a pickle, budge an inch,milk of human kindness,cold comfort, flesh and blood, tower of strength, pomp and circumstance, with bated breath, remembrance of things past, foregone conclusion..." and a zillion more.And that does not count all the # of words he"coined," or which were at least written for the first time. I took a Shakespeare class in college (which I hated; the teacher was awful), but now I wish I paid more attention.
I have nothing interesting to include, but I loved the facts, everyone! Thanks! :) Oh, the headache one, absolutely appropriate for the boat.
Oh Maggie, keep reading that book and report back with more tidbits!
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