Random Thursday

After this week there's just one more week's worth of facts in the Politics and History section of The Little Book of Answers by Doug Lennox! I'm excited to get to some of the other more potpourri topics!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

In the 9th century in Northern Ireland, the British imposed a harsh tax of one ounce of gold per year on all households. It gained the nickname, "Nose Tax" because if someone didn't pay the tax they'd have their nose slit. This is where the expression "paying through the nose" came from.

Daaaang! Like ow. Seriously, OW!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

The expression "justice is blind" actually dates back to Egyptian times. When the pharaohs were concerned with the judge being influenced by courtroom theatrics, they held the trials in darkened chamber rooms. It was this concept that inspired "Lady Justice" that you see in the picture above.

That's actually pretty cool! I didn't know how far back the "justice is blind" went!

(image borrowed from Virtual Hold Technology)

When someone displays complete loyalty they are said to be "true blue" coming from the slogan "a true covenator wears true blue." The Scottish Presbyterians made blue their color in the 17th century in their defense against Charles I. Scriptures 15:38 gave them instruction which tells the children of Israel to fringe the borders of their garments in ribbons of blue. In Judaism, blue is a power symbol and it's the national color of Israel.

That was all new to me!

(image borrowed from Wikipedia)

In the 16th century a bar was used in courtroom to separate the judge, lawyers, and other people involved in the courtroom from the "riffraff" that sat in the public area. This bar underlies the English word, "barrister," which meant the lawyer who gets to argue the case. When someone "passes the bar", it meant that person was allowed to go past the bar that separates the courtroom people from the public.

So in a roundabout way it means the "riffraff" becomes the lawyer and is allowed to "pass the bar." Lol.

(image borrowed from NPR)

In British courts the judge wears a large white wig while the lawyer wears a smaller white wig that's not as impressive as the judge's. That's why he's called the "bigwig." When a lawyer is crafty enough to win a trial against all the odds, it's like he blinded the judge with his own wig. It's said that judge has had "the wool pulled over his eyes."

That's an interesting factoid.