When 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.
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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.
Whose 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 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 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 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 moreWhatever 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 moreWhy 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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