[johnnymu]

I remember back in college, one of my thermal dynamic professor loved using the phrase 'rule of thumb'. Just wondering have you guys ever wonder where these phrase originated.

Rumor has it that it started by a British judge, Sir Francis Buller, was alleged to have stated that a man may legally beat his wife, provided that he used a stick no thicker than his thumb.

Ever since I found this out and hearing my prof. using that phrase I would have a little chuckle inside, even though it might not be true.

what phrases have you heard?
"God bless you"

[MontegoblueE92]

Originally Posted by johnnymu

I remember back in college, one of my thermal dynamic professor loved using the phrase 'rule of thumb'. Just wondering have you guys ever wonder where these phrase originated.

Rumor has it that it started by a British judge, Sir Francis Buller, was alleged to have stated that a man may legally beat his wife, provided that he used a stick no thicker than his thumb.

Ever since I found this out and hearing my prof. using that phrase I would have a little chuckle inside, even though it might not be true.

what phrases have you heard?
"God bless you"

That is actually true. Another one I found out was "Whole nine yards." It originated in WWII, because British Spitfires held a nine yard chain of ammunition for their cannons. So when they had run out of ammo and were asked how much they had used, they would respond with whole nine yards, and it became synonymous with everything.

[johnnymu]

Very cool.


Bless you the phrased you would used after someone sneezes.
The practice of blessing a sneeze, dating as far back as at least 77 AD, however, is far older than most specific explanations can account for.

One explanation holds that the custom originally began as an actual blessing. Gregory I became Pope in 590 as an outbreak of the bubonic plague was reaching Rome. In hopes of fighting off the disease, he ordered unending prayer and parades of chanters through the streets. At the time, sneezing was thought to be an early symptom of the plague. The blessing ("God bless you!") became a common effort to halt the disease.

Another version says that people used to believe that your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, that sneezing otherwise opened your body to invasion by the Devil or evil spirits, or that sneezing was your body's effort to force out an invading evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil.

this all courtesy of wikipedia. I heard about the first alternative but never the second. very interesting.

[Hawker 800XP]

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rule-of-thumb.html

[stimpy]

Man haven't you seen Boondock Saints??
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SUBARU

[Robertbog]

Originally Posted by stimpy

Man haven't you seen Boondock Saints??

+1

[martieg]

Originally Posted by johnnymu

Very cool.


Bless you the phrased you would used after someone sneezes.
The practice of blessing a sneeze, dating as far back as at least 77 AD, however, is far older than most specific explanations can account for.

One explanation holds that the custom originally began as an actual blessing. Gregory I became Pope in 590 as an outbreak of the bubonic plague was reaching Rome. In hopes of fighting off the disease, he ordered unending prayer and parades of chanters through the streets. At the time, sneezing was thought to be an early symptom of the plague. The blessing ("God bless you!") became a common effort to halt the disease.

Another version says that people used to believe that your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, that sneezing otherwise opened your body to invasion by the Devil or evil spirits, or that sneezing was your body's effort to force out an invading evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil.

this all courtesy of wikipedia. I heard about the first alternative but never the second. very interesting.

In many other languages (especially derived from Latin, like Spanish, Portuguese) the word used when someone sneezes is "health" (wishing health to the person sneezing). Curiously, the same word is used to toast. "Salud!"

[johnnymu]

Originally Posted by stimpy

Man haven't you seen Boondock Saints??

what's boondock saints?

[Robertbog]

Originally Posted by johnnymu

what's boondock saints?

One of the best independent films ever, rivals pulp fiction.

[Comet]

it was an independent? damn I would never have been able to tell... that's how good that movie was