Random Thursday

I can't believe there's only 6.5 pages left in The Little Book of Answers by Doug Lennox! I feel like we just started this book and yet, I also feel like it's been ages! Lol! That's what happens I suppose when you share a page or two every week! I've got another little book of randomness to share with you after this one...then I need to start looking for a new one! Lol.

(image borrowed from ThoughtCo)

In the 12th Century, Henry I of England made it so that one yard would be measured by the distance between his nose to the thumb of his outstretched arm. Despite the lunacy, Henry was only off by one-hundredth of an inch from today's "yard." The meter came from the French after the revolution and was meant to be exactly one ten-millionth the distance between the North Pole and equator, which was calculated as 39.37 inches.

This basically showed or explained why meters and yards are so different in length...but really, I felt like it was more an origin story. Whatever!

(image borrowed from CBS News)

Pirates (and other sailors and warriors) wore earrings for a very particular reason, and it had nothing to do with fashion. Earrings were given to young sailors as a symbol of their first crossing of the equator. The purpose of the earring was to protect their eardrums during battle. Pirates who fired the ship's cannons would keep wads of wax attached to the dangling part so that they could easily grab it and plug their ears.

That's very interesting.

 (image borrowed from Cheezburger)

The expression "possession is nine-tenth's of the law" comes from the 18th century and means the pursuit of justice possession in a dispute over property outweighs the other nine essential elements of a good court case: a lot of money [duh!], a lot of patience, a cause, a lawyer, counsel, witnesses, a jury, a judge, and good luck.

Huh. Interesting. Never knew what the 10 "attributes" of the law were until now. Or that there were actually 10 "attributes!"

(image borrowed from Kali Concrete)

Ever notice that we PARK in DRIVEways and DRIVE on PARKways? "Driveways" and "parkways" come from the times when only the wealthy could afford a car. The long winding roads from the highway that led to the manor were called driveways. On other end of that, to ensure the pleasure of driving, highways were built carefully with planted trees and groomed medians to imitate the natural beauty of a park, thus earning the name "parkway," meaning left in an enhanced natural state.

More new and interesting information to me!