Random Thursday

Alrighty, we're still the the Politics and History chapter in The Little Book of Answers by Doug Lennox. So let's see what else we can learn!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert Lincoln, never went into politics after seeing his father die after assassination. Then 16 years later when he was Garfield's secretary of war, he witnessed the president get shot by an assassin. Then in 1901, he arrived at the American Exposition in Buffalo and saw President McKinley get murdered as well. 

Yeah...I'd stay away from politics after all that too!

(image borrowed from Goodreads)

Monarchs tend to use the "royal we" when speaking, it's to indicated themselves and their people. Richard I was the first king to do this. It was considered improper for nonroyals to do this though. So when Margaret Thatcher did it in 1989, people were not amused.

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

King Edward VII was the one to make it fashionable to leave the bottom button of a vest undone. King Edward VII had a big appetite and a big tummy because of it. He would leave the bottom button on his vest undone after a meal, because it was impossible to snap it close afterwards. Not wanting to upset the king, many other men did this as well to keep with the trend!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

When one kisses the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle in Ireland, it's supposed to transfer the gift of gab to the kisser. Elizabeth I of England believed the word "blarney" mean a smooth talker. She insisted that Dermont McCarthy give up Blarney Castle to prove his loyalty, but he continued to find reasons to not comply. He once eve exclaimed, "Odds Bodkins, more Blarney talk!"

This basically explains why the gift of gab is called "blarney."

(image borrowed from DelawareOnline)

When someone acts in the extreme, they call that behavior "beyond the pale," an expression taht dates back to the English Crown's first efforts to control the Irish by outlawing their language and customs. But the Irish were relentless and by the 15th century the English only controlled a small part of Dublin. It was protected by a fortification that was called "The Pale," which meant "sharp sticks." Going "beyond the Pale" meant to, the British, enter the uncivilized world of the Irish.