Interesting Stuff

From yet another e-mail I received...

Q: Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?
A: Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called "pygg". When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as "pygg banks." When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a bank that resembled a pig. And it caught on.

Q: Did you ever wonder why dimes, quarters and half-dollars have notches, while pennies and nickels do not?
A: The U.S. Mint began putting notches on the edges of coins containing gold and silver to discourage holders from shaving off small quantities of the precious metals. Dimes, quarters and half-dollars are notched because they used to contain silver. Pennies and nickels aren't notched because the metals they contain are not valuable enough to shave.

Q: Why do men's clothes have buttons on the right while women's clothes have buttons on the left?
A: When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. And that's where women's buttons have remained since.

Q: Why do X's at the end of a letter signify kisses?
A: In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.

Q: Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called "passing the buck"?
A: In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility, he would "pass the buck" to the next player.

Q: Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?
A: It used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for the guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would then just touch or clink the host's glass with his own.

Q: Why are people in the public eye said to be "in the limelight"?
A: Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and stage lighting by burning a cylinder of lime, which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, performers on stage "in the limelight" were seen by the audience to be the center of attention.

Q: Why do ships and aircraft in trouble use "mayday" as their call for help?
A: This comes from the French word "m'aidez" -- meaning "help me" -- and is pronounced "mayday."

Q: Why is someone who is feeling great "on cloud nine"?
A: Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest cloud. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well above worldly cares.

Q: Why are zero scores in tennis called "love"?
A: In France, where tennis first became popular, a big, round zero on scoreboard looked like an egg and was called "l'oeuf," which is French for "egg." When tennis was introduced in the U.S., Americans pronounced it "love."

Q: In golf, where did the term "caddy" come from?
A. When Mary, later Queen of Scots, went to France as a young girl (for education & survival), Louis, King of France, learned that she loved the Scot game "golf." So he had the first golf course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and when she returned to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she took the practice with her. In French, the word cadet is pronounced "ca-day" and the Scots changed it into "caddy."

So now you know!

Special Request

I had lunch with Lulu the other day, and she requested that I blog about my impending nuptials. I realized that she's right, I haven't really written about anything wedding-related! So here you go.

So far everything has been going well. (OK, sorry, here I have to interrupt to note that my co-worker is loudly talking on the phone about how a catheter irritated his bladder. Volume control, please! There are actually some things a newsroom should not know.) Anyway, we got a lot of things done early, and now we're basically down to the fine details. The last big thing on the list is meeting with the DJ, which we're doing on Saturday, to set the playlist.

What I'm tackling right now is the fact that I can't take a deep breath when I have my dress on. The alteration lady advised that I lose 5 pounds. I already lost 6 before I went in for the fitting, so now I have to shed 5 more! She actually repeatedly reminded me not to lose more than 7-10 pounds, or the dress would be too loose. I was like, don't lose MORE than that? I really don't think that's going to be a problem! So here I am, fiendishly dieting...and by that I don't mean I am starving myself, I mean that when faced with an item of food, I have to ask myself: "Do I really need this?" Most of the time it's no. If I'm hungry, I eat a snack or some fruit. Lean Pockets are great for lunch, and I can usually have a normal dinner. For afternoon snack I have a cereal bar (because we have a TON left over from our Appalachian Trail trip). I've also been eating breakfast religiously, because I've read in numerous places that eating something within 2 hours of waking up jumpstarts your metabolism. So I usually have cereal with almond or rice milk, or oatmeal. (Recently I discovered a nice concoction: heat up some regular oatmeal and stir in a spoonful of peanut butter and a little sugar...good source of fiber and protein.) Wow...long paragraph on my eating habits. But anyway, NO soda -- not even diet -- and occasionally I'll have a little ice cream, but usually some nuts or some fruit for dessert works. Whatever I'm doing is working, because I've lost the 6 pounds. I'm also pumping a little iron, and will soon focus very intensely on the abs.

Whew. OK. What else...we already picked the cake and we're designing our own cake topper. It will be a little Lego bride and groom, each sitting at a computer, because that's how Ryan and I met (hooray, Match.com). I designed the invitations and response cards, got them printed and my sister is in the process of addressing them so they can be mailed out. I'm pretty sure I've got the favors picked out, and I've shopped a little for bridesmaids gifts. The limo is booked, and everything is set at the hotel for out-of-towners. I met with my family friend last week about the flowers, because she is a flower arranger, and everything seems pretty set on that front.

Oh, Lulu found this interesting, so I'll share. The flower girl is actually not a "girl." She is the same age as me. She has been begging me for years to be the flower girl when I get married. Originally, a friend's twin daughters were going to be the flower girls. But then I had to fire that friend (from my wedding, from my life, etc. -- long story), so that also ixnayed the flower girls. When Ryan and I met with our officiant, he was writing out the order of the ceremony and asked who the flower girl was. I said I didn't have one, but joked that a friend my age really wanted to do it. He looked at us for a moment, then broke into a smile and said yes, we should definitely have her do it. So voila, I now have a flower "woman." She will have a cute dress and a little basket and everything.

Tuxes, done. Bridesmaid attire, done. Still need to do: programs, seating chart, order the favors, finish shopping for attendant gifts, figure out what the heck I'm doing for my bachelorette party! Oh yeah, and lose 4-5 pounds before my next dress fitting!

That's it for now. I probably have more to write, but I have to run out the door...

A Rant

Well, after all, this is the Rant Farm.

I need a moment to vent about the career field I have chosen for myself. I got into journalism because I felt I actually have some talent when it comes to writing, and the other journalism-y things just seemed to come naturally. Journalism sounds like a respectable field. When you go to parties and people ask what you do, and you say "journalist," I'll admit it sounds impressive.

However, no one tells you before you get into the j-field that it is looked upon with the same respect that garbage men command.

I get so frustrated with and tired of journalists always being dumped on. We're called liberals (which in itself is not really an insult, but since journalists are supposed to be unbiased, its intended meaning changes), communists, stupid, incompetent, inflexible, sensationalist...etc. I myself have been insulted on numerous occasions for what I do for a living. People really have NO understanding of how journalism works.

Everyone complains that they want fair and balanced coverage that we're not giving them. Yet they piss and moan all over us when we don't do a story entirely on their point of view. Why don't we? Because it's not fair and balanced.

Every time there's a controversial issue, people explode when we feature BOTH sides. Why? Because they feel that putting the other side in ruins their message. Yeah, well, that's not our problem. Yet, I still have to waste my time explaining this to these people over the phone and by e-mail. Over and over and over again. All the while they are calling me a liberal leftist communist bastard or whatever...and I'm supposed to sit here with my $50K a year and just swallow it? Want me to bend over, too? WTF?

Journalism has tainted my view of people. While I have encountered many nice folks who just have an interesting story to tell, there are still the flies in the ointment. The people who use and take advantage of you, yet still turn around and complain to your boss -- or anyone who will listen -- that it was your paper who took advantage of them! Shady. Shady, shady people. No common sense. They'll do anything to get their way. They want fair media, but they want it to be fair only when it favors them. It. Does. Not. Make. Sense.

I guess it's just really annoying to have to deal every day with people unhappy about EVERYTHING, and blaming you for it. They're grumpy, cranky, angry, etc., about things that happened in their past, which has turned them into the person they are today, and they have to take it out on you. Now it's the newspaper's fault we're not fulfilling their needs. Seriously, you'd be surprised at some of the calls/letters/e-mails/comments I receive. And some of them get really personal. All because I chose to be a journalist? WTF? That doesn't seem right.

I've been thinking about pursuing graphic design. I don't know how much money this will cost. If it's a lot, obviously I won't be able to do it. But I do want to look into what it would entail.

I'm not saying I don't have a thick skin. I'm just saying that this stuff is so irritating after a while! Anyway, I'm done ranting. Now I have to go to a meeting where who knows what will happen. Ciao!