Why do we refer to "a pair of pants" when referring to one garment?
We’ve heard it’s because pants and shorts have two legs. But shirts have two sleeves, and you don’t have a “pair of shirts.” Hmm, so much for that theory.
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We’ve all had the experience of suddenly wondering why something is referred to into a particular way, how things work, or where something comes from. In this series, I’ve used the inter-tubes to find what I can about a particular nagging question.
Whatever happened to the USFL?
The United States Football League is one of history’s more interesting failures. It was founded by entrepreneur David Dixon in
Read moreHow many murders go unsolved each year in the U.S.?
DNA. Carpet fibers. Fingerprints. Given the wealth of forensic information, you’d think police would solve each and every murder. Unfortunately, you’d be wrong. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 2004, 62.6% of homicides were “cleared,” leaving a substantial portion of murder cases unresolved.
Read moreWhy do we call them "Piggy Banks"?
No one invented the piggy bank. The piggy banks’ origin owes more to the history of language, than to an individual inventor. In old english (around the 15th century) there was a word “pygg” which referred to a type of orange clay. People made all kinds of useful objects out of clay, including dishes and jars to hold spare change. Around the 18th century, the word “pygg” now sounded the same as the word for the animal “pig”. An unknown person(s) thought to shape a “pygg” jar, to look just like a real “pig”. Perhaps an order came in for a “pygg” jar and the potter misunderstood.
Read moreAre digital cameras more popular than film cameras?
It’s looking that way. According to a recent article from IT Facts, last year more digital cameras were sold in the United States than film cameras. Just over 40 percent of U.S. households now have a digital camera.
Read moreWhose the majority, males or females?
According to GeoHive.com, a site specializing in population statistics, there are around 3,248,080,000 males on the planet and around 3,214,983,000 females. That translates to men accounting for 50.25% of the population.
Read moreWhen did we start paying, "A penny for your thoughts."
A penny per thought hardly seems worth it these days. However in the 1500s and earlier, it may have been a fair trade.
Read moreIs the MGM lion yawning?
It’s possible the lion in the famous MGM production logo may be more fatigued than ferocious. Hollywood thrives on illusion, after all. But to get to the lion’s heart of the matter, we’d need to know which lion you’re referring to.
Read moreIs there such a thing as a Second World Country
Third World countries (now known as “developing nations”) are countries with a low “Human Development Index.” First World countries (like the United States, Japan, and Germany) score much higher on the HDI. A nation’s HDI is determined by its literacy rate, poverty rate, life expectancy, etc. There is indeed a Second World, though the expression isn’t exactly parallel to the other terms, and these days, few mention it.
Read moreWhat’s the most fuel efficient car?
We’re all paying record high prices for gas making us chumps to the super profitable oil companies. Many people are taking hybrid cars more seriously now. So just which car is the most fuel efficient?
Read moreDo earlobes have a purpose?
The external ear itself has the valuable function of collecting and directing sound into the inner ear. The parts of the ear you can see without a doctor’s help are called the pinna; those curvy bits conduct sound vibrations in the air down into the tympanic cavity. The shape of the pinna helps your ear and brain figure out what direction sound is coming from. But the lobule — the part hanging down — isn’t any help. In fact, some people are born lobeless because of recessive genes, and this doesn’t seem to affect their hearing.
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