Saturday, May 18, 2024
ORIGINS AND FACT CHECKS
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Byter Steve M sent me an email:
A couple of interesting things here…mind you P’s and Q’s in particular…it’s probably a crock of you know what!
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The item that Steve sent was as follows:
In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb.
Hence we have:
'the rule of thumb'
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Many years ago in
Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled
‘Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden’.
Thus, the word GOLF entered the English language.
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The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred & Wilma Flintstone
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Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.
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Coca-Cola was originally green.
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It is impossible to lick your elbow.
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The State with the
Highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska
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The percentage of
Africa that is wilderness: 28%
The percentage of
North America that is wilderness: 38%
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The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $16,400
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The average number
of people airborne over the U.S. In any given hour: 61,000
(this is significantly less since Covid-19)
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Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.
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The first novel written on a typewriter:
'Tom Sawyer'
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The San Francisco
Cable cars are the
only mobile National Monuments.
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Each king in a deck
Of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades:
King David
Hearts:
Charlemagne
Clubs:
Alexander The Great
Diamonds:
Julius Caesar
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111,111,111 x
111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987, 654,321
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If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air,
the person died in battle.
If the horse has one front leg in the air,
the person died because of wounds received in battle.
If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.
(If the statue is on the ground it is because of political reasons!)
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Only two people
signed the 'Declaration of Independence' on July 4 ….. John Hancock & Charles Thomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2; but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.
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Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace
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Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession
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Q. If you were to
spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'?
A. One Thousand
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Q. What do
Bulletproof vests, Fire escapes, Windshield wipers & Laser Printers have in common?
A. All were invented by women.
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Q. What is the only
Food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey
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In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by rope.
When you pulled on the rope, the mattress tightened,
making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase:
'Goodnight, sleep tight'
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It was the accepted
practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.
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In English pubs, ale
is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when
customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them
'Mind your pints & quarts, & settle down'
It's where we get the phrase: 'mind your P's & Q's'
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Many years ago in
England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service.
'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice.
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At least 75% of
people who read this will try to lick their elbow!
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Some of these have been looked at in Bytes in the past and disproven.
The following is a 2020 fact check article from USA Today at:
It looks at some of the main ones above and comes to the conclusion that:
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Article:
Fact check:
Origin stories for popular phrases are nothing more than urban legends
A list claims of common idioms have various origins. USA TODAY took a look at each claim on the list and found most of these are nothing more than unproven urban legends.
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"In the 1400s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb.' "
In April 1998, the Baltimore Sun investigated the etymology of "rule of thumb" and found no clear evidence that the domestic abuse story was true. The Sun suggested the phrase could have come from brewers' practice of using their thumb to test the temperature of beer.
“Despite the phrase being in common use since the 17th century and appearing many thousands of times in print, there are no printed records that associate it with domestic violence until the 1970s, when the notion was castigated by feminists,” explained website the Phrase Finder.
Both the Sun and the Phrase Finder acknowledged a story in which a judge supposedly told a man he could beat his wife with a stick so long as it was thinner than his thumb. Allegedly, Judge Sir Francis Buller’s 1782 decision inspired cartoonist James Gillray to publish a satirical illustration the following year, which dubbed him "Judge Thumb."
However, there is no evidence Buller ever made this decision. “(N)o substantial evidence has been found that he ever expressed so ungallant an opinion,” Edward Foss wrote in "The Judges of England" after investigating the claim in 1870.
“(F)igures of speech can work much the same way that urban legends do: They may appear mysteriously, spread spontaneously and contain elements of humor or horror. And, like urban legends, a figure of speech may contain a grain of emotional, if not actual, truth,” wrote the Sun.
Both sources concluded the term is more likely to derive from a thumb’s use for general measurements (distance, alignment, temperature, etc.) than the domestic violence legend.
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"Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden' ... and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language."
The first documented use of the word "golf" was on March 6, 1457, in Edinburgh by King James II. Several sources confirm golf cannot be an acronym because the word was used in different variations before there was a standardized spelling.
According to the USGA, "golf" is not an acronym but a Scottish adaptation from the Dutch word "kolf" or "kolve," which meant "club" and was a Dutch game played with a ball and a stick. USGA notes that the Scots adapted the term to "goff" or "gouff" in the 14th and 15th centuries until it ultimately became "golf" in the 16th century.
Scottish Golf History suggests the term may have, “derived from Scots words 'golf,' 'golfand' and 'golfing,' which mean 'to strike' as in 'to cuff' or 'to drive forward with violence.'"
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"Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: Spades - King David, Hearts - Charlemagne, Clubs - Alexander the Great, Diamonds - Julius Caesar"
Snopes debunked this claim in 2007, concluding that although the kings on cards had assigned specific kings and queens for a period between the 15th and 18th centuries, the practice was never standardised. Modern playing cards no longer represent specific royals.
The Atlantic noted that British and French decks of playing cards do tend to feature the same four kings, Charles, David, Caesar and Alexander the Great.
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"In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes... Hence the phrase... 'goodnight, sleep tight.'"
Indiana University's Wylie House Museum debunked this myth in 2018. Wylie House noted that the first documented use of the phrase “sleep tight” wasn’t until 1866, centuries after rope beds were invented in the 16th century. The phrase's late origins indicate it was not in reference to rope bed frames.
Wylie House noted that the word "tight" was often associated with safety or comfort, like many people colloquially say they are "tight" with a friend or family member. "Sleep tight" more likely references wishing someone a good night’s sleep than a rope bed frame.
The Phrase Finder investigated the claim and also concluded it had more to do with the meaning of the word tight than the furniture.
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"It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink ... this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon."
Country Living and Insider both took a look at the claim and found there is more to the story.
There are several theories about origins of the term "honeymoon." According to a 2016 Country Living article, couples did drink honey-based alcohol on the “moon” after their wedding throughout history. Wedding guests often gifted the couple “mead” in hopes of an early pregnancy since the alcoholic beverage was believed to be an aphrodisiac.
Dictionary.com states that “honeymoon” references customs of giving newlyweds mead to last through the sweet period after the wedding.
"The word may come from the Nordic word ‘hjunottsmanathr.’ This refers to when the groom would actually kidnap his bride and hide her until her family stopped looking for her," wedding trend expert Kim Forrest told Country Living.
Oxford English Dictionary traced early use of the word to British writer Robert Greene before his death in 1592. Greene uses the word “honney moon” to describe the sweet (like honey) short period of time (like a month or lunar cycle) after a marriage.
“Hony mone, a term proverbially applied to such as be newly married, which will not fall out at the first, but th'one loveth the other at the beginning exceedingly, the likelihood of their exceeding love appearing to aswage, ye which time the vulgar people call the hony mone,” wrote 16th century author Richard Huloet.
Insider reports honeymoons didn’t refer to vacations until 1791.
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"In old England, when customers became unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' It's where we get the phrase 'mind your Ps and Qs'."
Snopes found similar claims that "mind your Ps and Qs" came from bartenders telling patrons to "mind their pints and quarts" to be false in 2010. The term, which was first recorded on 1756, has several possible origin stories.
Business Insider investigated the phrase's origin in 2015 and concluded there was no evidence to support the urban legend. The article referred to several versions of the phrase used during the 17th century in a singular rather than plural context to debunk the "pints and quarts" theory.
(I have previously written about this, the most common explanation being that it was a caution to printers to be careful when setting type, the Ps and Qs being in compartments next to each other.
- Otto)
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"Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice."
Whistle has been a metaphor for mouths since the 14th century because it is an instrument for noise. “(W)histle logically calls for wet — similarly, the mouthpiece of a musical instrument sometimes needs to be wetted,” Merriam-Webster explains.
According to Merriam-Webster, the term came to reference drinking, especially alcohol, over time.
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"In 1696, William III of England introduced a property tax that required those living in houses with more than six windows to pay a levy. In order to avoid the tax, house owners would brick up all windows except six... As the bricked-up windows prevented some rooms from receiving any sunlight, the tax was referred to as 'daylight robbery'!"
Although William III of England did enact a Window Tax that inspired some taxpayers to brick up their windows, the Phrase Finder states the tax is unrelated to the term because the phrase isn’t documented until 1916.
In 1916, Harold Brighouse’s comic play, "Hobson’s Choice," used the term in a context outside the Window Tax.
“So, if the phrase came from the Window Tax, why no mention of it in print for over two hundred years after the tax was introduced?” asked the Phrase Finder. “Unless and until evidence that relates the phrase to the tax is found we have to say that the origin is unknown.”
Idiom Origins agrees the Window Tax myth is a hoax. “Daylight robbery is simply what is suggested by the phrase, a robbery that takes place in broad daylight; hence its figurative meaning as a blatant over-charging for goods or services,” Idiom Origins concludes.
Friday, May 17, 2024
REMEMBERING HEROES
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The stories behind the names on the signs at the rest stops on the Remembrance Driveway, which goes from Sydney to Canberra.
The highway commemorates persons awarded the Victoria Cross by naming rest stops after them.
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The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces
The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War.
The metal used to make every Victoria Cross medal has been made from cannons captured by the British at the siege of Sevastopol.
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In 19991 the Victoria Cross for Australia was created, so that the VC no longer needed to be awarded by the British monarch. The Victoria Cross for Australia is the "decoration for according recognition to persons who in the presence of the enemy, perform acts of the most conspicuous gallantry, or daring or pre-eminent acts of valour or self-sacrifice or display extreme devotion to duty". Awards are granted by the Governor-General with the approval of the Sovereign.
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PETER BADCOE VC
Peter John Badcoe (1934 – 1967)
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Rest Stop:
Location:
Federal Highway, Lake George, Australian Capital Territory.
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Early life:
Badcoe was born Peter John Badcock on 11 January 1934 in the Adelaide suburb of Malvern, South Australia. His father, a public servant, was opposed him joining the Army. Despite his father's opposition, he enlisted in the Regular Army on 10 June 1950.
Badcoe graduated from the Officer Cadet School, Portsea, in 1952 as a second lieutenant in the Royal Australian Artillery.
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In 1956, aged 22, he married 17-year-old Denise Maureen MacMahon in Sydney. Over the next five years, the couple had three daughters.
A series of regimental postings followed his graduation, including a tour in the Federation of Malaya in 1962, during which he spent a week in South Vietnam observing the fighting. During the previous year, Badcock had changed his surname to Badcoe. After another regimental posting, he transferred to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps, and was promoted to major.
Vietnam service:
He arrived in Saigon in August 1966 to fulfil his ambition of joining “The Team”, already regarded as an elite unit.
Badcoe was initially allotted as sub-sector adviser to Nam Hoa district of Thua Thien province, where the war was almost constant and intense. His role was to train and lead two companies of South Vietnamese territorial soldiers. In December he became operations officer, responsible for operations in the entire province.
The role of sector operations adviser at the provincial headquarters in Huế generally involved planning, liaison and staff work, but Badcoe interpreted his duty statement flexibly and led local forces into combat whenever he got the chance. According to a fellow AATTV officer, Captain Barry Rissel, he was a "veritable tiger" in combat, a characteristic that led his US allies to dub him "The Galloping Major". At his first meeting with Badcoe, Corporal Chris Black described the scene:
An old, bright red beret sat jauntily on his head. His drab jungle greens were almost hidden under the most amazing collection of weapons I have ever seen on one man. A Swedish sub-machine gun, his favourite, hung over one shoulder. It was balanced on the other side by a snub-nosed grenade launcher. On his belt an Australian pistol hung heavily and in one hand he heft an American machine-gun. He lowered the armament to the floor, crossed the room, shook hands, refused a drink and talked about his boys.
To his colleagues, Badcoe was a quiet but friendly officer with a dry sense of humour. He was an intensely private man whose wife remained his sole confidante. He neither drank alcohol nor smoked. Bored by boisterous mess activities, he preferred the company of a book on small arms or military history. In action, he seemed invincible, at the forefront of his troops, conspicuous in his red paratrooper beret.
Badcoe quickly acquired an understanding of the Vietnamese people, and an affectionate regard for the soldiers he trained and led. He traded spirits and souvenirs from the Australian canteen with American Marines in Danang in order to obtain equipment for his poorly provisioned troops. He also acquired food and supplies which he donated to a local orphanage.
He gradually grew disillusioned with the conduct of the conflict in Vietnam. He began to view it as “an unwinnable war”. After napalm airstrikes against a village occupied by the Viet Cong left 40 civilians dead or wounded, Badcoe spent two days trying to help survivors. The experience deeply disturbed him.
Nevertheless, in three separate actions in early 1967 he performed feats of individual heroism which earned him the Victoria Cross.
On the 23 February, during a small operation in Phu Thu district, he ran across some 600 metres of fire-swept open ground to assist a territorial platoon. Taking charge of the unit, Badcoe led it in a frontal attack. He single-handedly charged an enemy machine-gun post and shot the crew. He also retrieved the body of an American adviser killed in the action, and then braved further enemy fire to rescue another who was wounded.
On 7 March, the district headquarters of Quang Dien near Hue came under attack from a strong Viet Cong force. While commanding the province's reaction company, Badcoe organised and led a series of fierce assaults which drove out the Viet Cong and saved the headquarters.
One month later, on the 7 April 1967, he wrote to his wife: “It’s time I came home. I'm getting bitter and cynical … I can see more and more good about the Vietnamese and less and less about the US advisers.”
This was his last letter home.
That same day he learned that the Reaction Company of the South Vietnamese 1st Division was in difficulty near the hamlet of An Thuan. Knowing that the company would be denied air support unless advisers were present, he drove a jeep there with a US Army sergeant.
Finding that the force had fallen back, he took charge and rallied the men in the face of withering fire. Crawling ahead, he made several attempts to silence a machine-gun with grenades. At one stage the American sergeant pulled him out of the line of fire. Rising again to throw another grenade, Badcoe was shot and killed instantly.
Peter Badcoe had been an inspiration to his Australian, Vietnamese, and American comrades-in-arms. Attendance at his memorial service in Hue was the largest that could be recalled for any allied soldier.
He had confided to his wife that he believed military funerals were horrendous for families, so he preferred to be buried in Terendak military cemetery in Malaysia. His headstone bears the simple, poignant inscription provided by his widow: “He lived and died a soldier”.
Badcoe's grave in the Terendak Garrison Cemetery
In 2015, the Australian government repatriated the remains of 22 Australian soldiers buried at Terendak, but the Badcoe family asked that he remain buried there, in accordance with his express wishes.
Victoria Cross:
For his courage and leadership on 23 February, 7 March, and 7 April 1967, Badcoe was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in battle that could be awarded at that time to a member of the Australian armed forces.
Denise Badcoe received her husband's Victoria Cross from the Governor-General, Lord Casey, at Government House, Canberra, on 5 April 1968.
Badcoe was awarded the United States Silver Star with bronze oak leaf cluster, Air Medal and Purple Heart, and was made a Knight of the National Order of Vietnam. South Vietnam also awarded him the Cross of Gallantry with Palm, Gold Star, and Silver Star, the Armed Forces Honor Medal, First Class, Vietnam Campaign Medal and Wound Medal, and he posthumously received the Vietnam Medal and Australian Defence Medal from Australia.
The Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948–1975 judged that Badcoe was "a dedicated career soldier" who "quickly acquired an understanding of the Vietnamese people and their customs along with an affectionate respect for the Vietnamese territorials he trained and led".
Afterwards:
The soldiers' club at the 1st Australian Support Compound in Vung Tau was named the Peter Badcoe Club in his honour in November 1967.
At Portsea, the assembly room and library was named after him, complete with a portrait and bronze plaque. After Portsea closed in 1985, the main lecture theatre in the Military Instruction Block at Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra was named after him.
In 1998–1999, a rest area in Badcoe's honour was established near Lake George on the Remembrance Driveway between Canberra and Sydney.
In 1999, the Ex-Military Rehabilitation Centre moved to the "Peter Badcoe VC Complex" at Edinburgh, South Australia.
In 2016, the South Australian electoral district of Ashford was renamed Badcoe in his honour.
In 2020, a 60-bed residential aged care facility named Peter Badcoe VC House was completed in Newcastle, New South Wales, by the Returned and Services League of Australia (New South Wales Branch) aged care arm, RSL LifeCare.
Since 2004, the award for the player displaying the most courage, skill, self-sacrifice and teamwork in the Australian Football League match in Adelaide on Anzac Day each year has been called the Peter Badcoe VC Medal. The medal has been won by three times by Travis Boak of the Port Adelaide Football Club, and twice by Joel Selwood of the Geelong Football Club.
Medals:
Badcoe's medal group and personal memoirs were offered for sale by auction in Sydney on 20 May 2008 and were sold for A$ 488,000 to the media magnate and philanthropist Kerry Stokes in collaboration with the Government of South Australia.
Badcoe's Victoria Cross and associated medals were displayed at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, prior to being toured to 17 regional towns in South Australia between 21 March and 20 June 2009, before being displayed permanently at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra from 2016. His VC was the 71st of the 100 VCs awarded to Australians to be placed on public display there.
Gallery:
Second Lieutenant (later Major) Peter John Badcoe,
A group of Australian Army officers in Singapore with Badcoe in the centre wearing glasses.
Thursday, May 16, 2024
FUNNY FRIDAY
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Helllo again.
The Federal Budget having been handed down a few days ago by the Treasurer Jim Chalmers it seems appropriate that today’s Funny Friday theme is money.
Enjoy. . .
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SOME HUMOUR:
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Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter and laid off half the staff, he’s planning on buying YouTube and Facebook and doing the same with them. To save even more money, he plans on merging the three companies into one…
…He’s going to call it YouTwitFace.
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A robber pulled a gun on the bank clerk and manager saying, “Give me all the money! I need it to set myself up in a trade or profession. You know, initial investment is needed to cover the overheads until my cash flow is established.”
The bank manager said to the clerk, “You’d better do what he says, I think he means business.”
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A man wanted to literally die with his money so he trusted a third of his money to a priest, a third to a doctor, and a third to his lawyer to bury him with it when he died.
After his death, at the man’s funeral the priest whispered to his dead body and placed a bag in his coffin. The doctor then proceeded to whisper to the body and placed a bag in there as well. Then the lawyer went and dropped off a bag and moved on.
As they were carpooling back from the funeral the lawyer asked what the priest whispered. The priest — with tears in his eyes — said that he had to confess he spent some of the money on an orphanage so that some hungry kids would not starve and that he feels bad for what he had done, but that he had no choice.
The doctor then admits that he too had to let him know that one of his patients needed a surgery that he alone could not do, that he spent some of the money to save the person’s life.
The lawyer looks at them with scorn and says, “How could you? You have betrayed a man’s last and dying request!” The doctor and priest look at the lawyer and asks, “So your bag had all the money he entrusted you with?” To which he replies, “Damn right, I wrote the cheque for the full amount, not a penny less!”
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I asked God for money.
I later found out that God doesn't work that way.
So I robbed a bank, then asked for forgiveness.
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When I was a boy my dad gave my money to go downtown and pay the electric bill but instead I bought raffle tickets for a chance to win a truck. I told my dad when I got home and he beat my ass but the next morning in the driveway sat a new truck. We all held each other and cried, especially me because it was the truck from electric company there to turn the lights off.
....Dad beat my ass again ....
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A jewel thief entered a house mid-afternoon. He tied up the woman and at knife-point asked the man to hand over the jewellery and money. The man started sobbing and said, “You can take anything you want. You can even pistol whip me, but please untie the rope and free her.”
Thief: “You must really love your wife!”
Man: “No, but she will be home shortly”.
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A lawyer was sitting in his office late one night, when Satan appeared before him. The Devil told the lawyer, "I have a proposition for you. You can win every case you try, for the rest of your life. Your clients will adore you, your colleagues will stand in awe of you, and you will make embarrassing sums of money. All I want in exchange is your soul and the souls of your wife and your children.”
The lawyer thought about this for a moment, then asked, "So, what's the catch?"
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LIMERICK OF THE WEEK:
There once was a farmer from Leeds
Who swallowed a packet of seeds.
It soon came to pass
He was covered with grass
But has all the tomatoes he needs!
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GALLERY:
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CORN CORNER:
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What’s the favourite band at the Alzheimer’s home?
The Who?
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My father told me “It’s worth it to spend money on good speakers.”
That was some sound advice.
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What is a profession that begins with “P”, is often criticised, and is known for screwing people and taking their money?
Politician.
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I’m a good man, I give 50% of my money to Charity.
Except when she’s not working I give it to Destiny .
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
PHOTOGRAPHS
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From Historic Talk at:
by Jason Pasos
Images That Shed a New Light on History –
Nostalgia can be a powerful thing. We've all heard people say things like, "Things were different back then" or "When we grew up back then...." But it can be pretty easy to forget about many of the not-so-wholesome trends and ways of life that were considered normal only 50 or 60 years ago. Following is some vintage media from that era that reflect the reality of the good ol' days.
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What They Meant When They Said "Fun for the 'Entire' Family":
Gender roles were much different even a couple of decades ago, and it wasn't hard to find advertisements similar to this one. This is an early advertisement for Milton Bradley's classic Battleship game. The ad shows a father and son playing the game at the kitchen table, but the mother and daughter are suspiciously absent.
They're absent from the fun for the "entire family." Instead, they can be seen washing the dishes in the background. Historically, that was where women were expected to spend most of their time.
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One Ahead-Of-Her-Times Woman Had Something to Say About This Car Ad:
While a lot of the ads and photos on this list reflect popular views from a different era, not everyone shared those views. This graffiti on a billboard advertisement in the U.K. is a perfect example of that. The vintage advertisement would no doubt be considered sexist by today's standards, and apparently, it was also considered a bit sexist even by standards back then.
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Back in 1962, Workers Competed in "Asbestos Shovelling Competitions"
Today, it's common knowledge that asbestos is extremely dangerous. However, it used to be hailed as a miraculous material and used in everything from cigarette filters to roofs. This vintage photo was taken at an asbestos shovelling competition in the town of Wittenoom in the Pilbara region of Australia. At the time (1962), there was an asbestos mine there, so it was common for workers and their families to be exposed to the material.
Today, the area is deemed contaminated and unlivable. Historically, the surrounding town had around 20,000 residents living there at its peak. More than 2,000 of those residents have since succumbed to asbestos-related diseases.
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"Undercover" New York Police In 1969:
This photo is pretty funny. In 1969, New York was seeing a spike in attacks on women, so police went undercover in drag in order to try and catch the criminals. However, from the looks of this vintage photo, not everyone was fooled. The two women in the background are obviously wondering what's going on here. It's also good to note that this was a historical time when drag wasn't widely accepted.
So that could also help explain why the two women have such perplexed looks on their faces. Reportedly, this tactic did help clamp down on violence and crime, though.
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Old Lysol Ad Encouraged Women to Use It for Feminine Hygiene:
If you needed any more proof that things were different back in the day, then look no further than this old historical ad from Lysol. The company is still around today, but they aren't putting out ads like this anymore. It tells the story of a wife who won her husband back after using Lysol... for feminine hygiene. Today, we know that this kind of stuff is actually pretty unhealthy.
We also know that ads like this are outdated and that nobody should be put in a position where they're expected to try and "win back" their significant other back.
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This Toy Set Would Never Fly Today:
Here's another photo that shows just how drastically things have changed in the last 50 to 60 years. It used to be okay for companies to sell children's toys like the one pictured here. Historically, even after toys like this were removed from shelves, it wasn't uncommon to see characters smoking in cartoons or candy cigarettes being sold on supermarket shelves. Today, such things would be virtually unthinkable.
The toy set in this photo also includes batteries, which is pretty weird to see, considering you have to buy your own no matter what kind of toy you buy today.
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Mama Was Shocked, to Say the Least:
Countries around the world celebrate Mardi Gras or Carnival in some form or another, but not everyone is familiar with Sydney, Australia's take on the holiday. In that country, Mardi Gras is used as a sort of Pride celebration. The celebration started in 1978, although this photo was taken in 1994. The woman looks like she's a bit surprised to see some of the attire worn by local revellers.
By the time this vintage shot was taken, the Sydney Mardi Gras had been going on for a couple of decades, so this shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise.
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More to come.
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
AESOP’S FABLE
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The Ant and the Dove
An ant went to the bank of a river to quench its thirst, and being carried away by the rush of the stream, was on the point of drowning. A dove sitting on a tree overhanging the water plucked a leaf and let it fall into the stream close to her. The ant climbed onto it and floated in safety to the bank. Shortly afterwards a birdcatcher came and stood under the tree, and laid his lime-twigs for the dove, which sat in the branches. The ant, perceiving his design, stung him in the foot. In pain the birdcatcher threw down the twigs, and the noise made the dove take wing.
Moral:
One good turn deserves another
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Another version:
A Dove saw an Ant fall into a brook. The Ant struggled in vain to reach the bank, and in pity, the Dove dropped a blade of straw close beside it. Clinging to the straw like a shipwrecked sailor to a broken spar, the Ant floated safely to shore.
Soon after, the Ant saw a man getting ready to kill the Dove with a stone. But just as he cast the stone, the Ant stung him in the heel, so that the pain made him miss his aim, and the startled Dove flew to safety in a distant wood.
A kindness is never wasted.
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A further version:
An Ant, going to a river to drink, fell in, and was carried along in the stream. A Dove pitied her condition, and threw into the river a small bough, by means of which the Ant gained the shore. The Ant afterward, seeing a man with a fowling-piece aiming at the Dove, stung him in the foot sharply, and made him miss his aim, and so saved the Dove’s life.
Little friends may prove great friends.
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Moral of the fable:
The moral of the story is that a good deed never goes unnoticed and comes back to us in one form or another.
The dove’s act of kindness returned to him when the ant saved his life from the hunter, i.e., if you do good, good will come to you.
Similarly, in life, doing good deeds and helping people might come back to us in some form. It’s the same with evil deeds, which may come back to us in some form.
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From Wikipedia:
There has been little variation in the fable since it was first recorded in Greek sources. An ant falls into a stream and a dove comes to the rescue by holding out a blade of grass to allow it to climb out. Then, noticing that a fowler was about to catch the dove, the ant bit his foot and his sudden movement caused the bird to fly away.
Other interpretations have been made of the fable. In a 1947 postcard series it is turned into a political statement in the aftermath of the occupation of France by the Nazis. There a little boy with a slingshot distracts a man with an armband labelled "Law" from chasing a girl who is running away with stolen apples in her pinafore.
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By the way:
The expression ‘one good turn deserves another’ has been in the language since at least 1636, as here in William Camden’s Remaines concerning Britaine:
“One good turne asketh another.”
‘One good turn deserves another’ is in use in colloquial English but is also a legal concept in the area of trade or exchange of goods or services. A contract has been said to be binding if it is ‘One good turn deserves another’, that is, if it involves an exchange of goods or services for something of value, usually money.
The proverb is often used to describe corrupt practice, where favours (notably political or sexual favours) are illicitly given in exchange for cash. that is, ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’.
A little wordplay involving the synonyms ‘turn’ and ‘tern’ was used by the scriptwriters of the 1991 thriller movie ‘The Silence of the Lambs‘, starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins as Clarice Starling and Dr. Hannibal Lecter:
Hannibal Lecter: Plum Island Animal Disease Research Center. Sounds charming.
Clarice Starling: That’s only part of the island. There’s a very, very nice beach. Terns nest there. There’s beautiful…
Hannibal Lecter: Terns? If I help you, Clarice, it will be “turns” for us too. I tell you things, you tell me things. Not about this case, though. About yourself. One good turn deserves another. Yes or no?
Monday, May 13, 2024
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