How did the honeymoon custom originate?

The original honeymoon, perfected in ancient Norway, was rough
stuff. True, the couple found a hideaway for their first nights together,
but only because the "groom" was on the lam. He hadn't asked for the
bride's hand, but rather grabbed it and the rest of her along with it. Her
family would be after him for abducting his sweetie from their village.
The "honeymoon," a word that comes from the Norse hjunottsmanathr,
would be over when things quieted down and his involuntary in-laws gave
up their search.The word itself comes from the honey wine, or mead, that
new couples traditionally drank. "Moon" was a reference to the fact that
the first month might be a delight, but not necessarily every other one.
Over the centuries, romance softened the custom, making it the blissful
gateway to marriage (first marriages and each succeeding one.)


Why is the bathroom on a ship called "the head"?

The use of "head" in this context sounds like an anatomical
joke, or the work of someone who, to put it delicately, didn't
know their head from their foot. But after a dip into some
maritime history, calling a ship's bathroom the head makes
perfect sense.
That's head, as in the forward part of the ship, the bow.  In
the days of sailing vessels, there wasn't any indoor plumbing
on land or at sea. Sailors took care of business while hanging
over the edge of the ship by ropes or on a platform--always at
the bow.
Why the bow? Because sailing ships had to have the wind coming
from behind them to power their sails. Thus if the sailor
chose the stern, or back of the ship, the wind would be coming
toward him. And, well ... you wouldn't *spit* into the wind,
would you? 

Was there really a Mother Goose?

In Boston you can visit the grave of Elizabeth Goose, who in
1719 wrote the nursery rhymes now attributed to "Mother
Goose." That's one version of the story. Another has it that a
bookstore owner in Boston, Elizabeth Goose's son-in-law, 
published a collection of rhymes for children called "Songs
for the Nursery or Mother Goose's Melodies for Children".  His
title, supposedly a tribute to Elizabeth Goose, was actually
ironic. Her son-in-law found her singing unbearable.
There's only one problem with these stories. They are about as
true and reliable as, well, fairy tales. The character known
as Mother Goose was first heard from in English in a
collection of British nursery rhymes, "Mother Goose's Melody;
or Sonnets for the Cradle", published in 1781 in Britain. She
was fictional, probably derived from a French collection of
fairy tales, "Tales of Mother Goose," published in 1697.

How did that military vehicle get to be called a tank?

Did you ever stop to think of how strange it is that we call
that formidable fighting machine on treads, with its canon,
machine guns and armor, a "tank," as if it were filled with
water?  That's an amazingly benign name for such a powerful
weapon.
As it turns out, the name was meant to sound incongruous with
the thing itself. It was used by the British as a code name
for their new armored vehicles in World War I. They wanted to
preserve the element of surprise, and so they referred to it
by this innocuous name, which surprisingly took hold and has
lasted through the present.

What was the first successful video game?

You might have to be an aging baby boomer to remember Pong,
that simple black and white arcade game resembling ping-pong,
in which two players used virtual paddles to bat a blip of
light back and forth. As the digital age goes, its origins are
truly ancient history, dating back to 1972 in its commercial
incarnation and to 1958 when it first saw the light of day as
the brainchild of a man named William Higinbotham. 
Higinbotham invented it for the amusement of visitors to the
Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he worked. But he didn't
commercialize it. By the time Atari brought out the arcade
version, it was too late for Higinbotham, who had never
bothered to get a patent and was thus shut out of the profits.


Why do we "pass the buck"?

Hunters, of course, never pass the buck, preferring instead to
take careful aim. However the rest of us are all occasionally
guilty of not taking responsibility when we should. But what
is this "buck" that we pass when we offer our pathetic
excuses? Surely it can't refer to the American slang for a
dollar bill.
No, we don't come that cheap. In fact, that hunter I mentioned
is connected to the origins of the phrase. "Buck" was
originally buckshot, which was used as a token in card games,
being passed to the person whose turn it was to deal. One
responsibility the dealer had was to place the first bet,
which not everyone wanted to do. If they weren't up to it,
they could pass the buck.  There you have it: your deal.

Did someone actually invent credit cards?

No, plastic is not a holdover from the Garden of Eden. It's a
modern invention, like long underwear, cell phones, and TV
talk shows. And it's time we acknowledged it, giving credit
where credit is due.
The credit card is rooted in the idea of allowing consumers to
buy on time, which took hold in the 1920s. By the late 1940s,
some department stores and gasoline companies had issued
courtesy cards to their customers, granting them credit in
advance of a purchase. Then, in 1950, businessman Francis
Xavier McNamara was having lunch and discovered he had left
his cash at home.
He was so embarrassed that he invented the Diners Club, which
issued a card good for meals, lodging and other travel
expenses, the prototype for all future credit cards. We owe
him a debt of thanks, which he will get after we first pay off
Visa and American Express.

Why do we spell colonel like that?

Of all the irregular spellings in English, this has always
seemed one of the weirdest. I always suspected that there
might be some connection to the word "colonial," perhaps
because a person with this military rank might typically be
posted to a foreign colony. But there's not a kernel of truth
to that.
It turns out that it's not so much the spelling of colonel
that's irregular, but rather the pronunciation.  The word
derives from "column," because a colonel  headed the first
company of a regiment. But for some reason it entered the
English language in the 16th century as "coronel." Eventually
the spelling veered back towards its original source, the word
column, but the pronunciation just kept marching straight
ahead. Now if someone would give it the command to halt, I
might stop misspelling it.

What do the bar code lines on supermarket products mean?

The first thing they mean is don't assume that just because
your purchases are scanned you are being charged the correct
price. That's one bit of information not included in those
white and black lines. The price is in the store's computer
data base, from which it's retrieved during the scanning
process. That's why I was overcharged for a carton of orange
juice the other day: a clerk had entered the wrong price into
the store's computer.
Having gotten that off my chest: the lines--the Universal
Product Code--hold 11 numbers, each of which is a code that
describes the product. The size, weight, and manufacturer or
distributor, for example, are each represented by a number. 
The numbers are in the form that computers can read, 0's
(black lines) and 1's (white lines). I guess lines and
supermarkets just go together.


What makes something a "red letter day"?

Guessing won't help on this one. For example, it has not the
slightest connection to Communism or to Nathaniel Hawthorne's
novel, The Scarlet Letter. And it certainly has nothing to do
with the ugly red letters that appeared at the top of your
school papers after your teachers got through with them.
In fact, its origins are in the Roman Catholic Church. In the
Middle Ages, monks working as scribes marked Saint's days and
other religious observances in red on the calendar. Such dates
needed to stand out because they were special and sometimes
required preparation. 
Modern calendar makers have preserved that practice, marking
holidays in red. By extension, any day that's really special
for you, because you did something great or had some good
fortune, is a red letter day.

How come we only hear about Third World countries and not
First and Second World nations?

Third World nations are in third place because their economic
development lags behind that of countries such as the U.S.,
Britain, and Germany, which are part of the First World
(although they are rarely labeled that way). But then who are
the mysterious members of World Number Two? 
The answer is in the history books. The three groupings date
from the Cold War and originally depended on politics even
more than economics. In The First World were the Western
nations, those countries still economically number one today. 
The Second World consisted of the Communist countries. In the
Third World were those "neutral" nations committed to neither
of the two main power "blocs." Many of them are still third
economically. Although we don't use "Second World" any more,
Russia and China would probably be in it today based on their
economies.

What do they do with the rest of the lobster when restaurants
serve lobster tails?

Even if I liked the hard work involved in eating a lobster, I
would hesitate to devour a creature with whom I had just made
eye contact as I passed the big tank at the front of the
restaurant. And I'll be darned if I'll wear a bib in public. 
Still, I've had tablemates who adored lobster. But they
couldn't answer this anymore than I could.
The secret is that there are two kinds of lobsters. There's
the kind that gives its all to make sure you have eaten well. 
This is the Maine or American lobster, all of which, claws to
tail, is eaten, usually with pronounced slurping noises and
looks of satisfaction (on the diner's face, of course).
The spiny or rock lobster, on the other hand (or claw), the
source of lobster tails, has only one really thick and juicy
part, and it's aft. The rest ends up in soups, sauces, seafood
salad and egg rolls.

Why are so many weathervanes topped by the silhouette of a rooster?

To paraphrase a Bob Dylan song lyric, "You don't need a
chicken to tell which way the wind blows." Nevertheless, when
you look at many weathervanes, a rooster points the way. 
What's he doing up there, predicting fowl weather?
Believe it or not there's a religious origin to this
meteorological icon. In the Middle Ages a Papal edict decreed
that the image should appear on top of churches as a kind of
wake-up call to parishioners that they should attend services. 
The image was actually a reference to Peter's betrayal of
Jesus, who said, "I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow
this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest
me." The faithful, by attending church, would show that they
were not betraying Christ by turning away from Him. Eventually
the image became secularized, appearing atop other kinds of
buildings on weathervanes.

Why is that hair on the side of a man's face called "sideburns"?

Elvis Presley had them. So did several presidents of the
United States in the late 19th century. But more to the point,
Civil War General Ambrose Everett Burnside wore them and
started a fashion trend. They were even called burnsides,
after him. 
In fact, it's about the only thing at which he was really a
success. He developed the breech-loading rifle, but then
failed to market it effectively. He was a flop as a general,
and was blamed for Union losses at Fredericksburg and
Petersburg. Later he was a U.S. Senator and Governor of Rhode
Island, but nobody can remember anything he did while in
office.
(Ok, I can hear it coming a mile away.  How did "burnsides"
become sideburns?  Because a mirror gives a reverse image and
therefore they reversed the word? No. Probably just because
they are on the sides of the face.)

Why do we do something in "one fell swoop"?

I am sure that at least once this expression must have come
from a radio or TV announcer as the blooper "one swell foop." 
In truth, it doesn't sound much stranger that way than it does
if you say it correctly.
As for how the individual words came to mean a strong and
decisive action, as in a battle, some people guess that it's a
comparison to the way a hawk swoops down for its prey. The
comparison was right, but the words don't mean quite what they
seem to mean.
"Fell" doesn't mean drop from the sky. It's Middle English for
cruel--from the same root as felon. Swoop meant "snatch" in
Middle English. So one fell swoop does describe what birds of
prey do, but not exactly in the way you might have thought.

Why do we falsely praise something with a "left-handed compliment?"

There they go again, beating up on lefties. This time being a
southpaw is short-hand for being insincere or false. I'm just
waiting for them to say that someone in a bad mood must have
gotten up from the left-hand side of the bed.
The phrase left-handed compliment refers to marriage in
medieval Germany. But then you probably guessed that, right? 
In those days the powers that be sought to discourage the
nobility from marrying commoners. A nobleman who did marry
down had to give his bride not the usual right hand at their
wedding but his left. Neither his wife nor his children could
inherit his property or title. In many ways it was a marriage
in name only. It was left-handed, meaning not really what it
seemed. Hence the insincerity of a left-handed compliment.

Why do we call someone a stuffed shirt?

We've all known stuffed shirts. In old movies it was often the
boss, who used words like "hrrumph!" Or teachers whose
existence seemed to be justified by their ability to dampen
any child's spirit. Such people always keep their top button
buttoned and are never able to unbutton in any other sense. 
They have starch in their veins and are held upright and stiff
by the narrowness of their outlook.
Stuffed shirts have about as much life and dynamism as a
scarecrow, the object from which the expression comes. We know
we've come across the human variety when their shirt or blouse
might as well be stuffed with straw for all the vitality and
flexibility they display.

Why would anyone believe that someone could give them "the
evil eye?"

Ah, if looks could kill. In fact, many people throughout
history have believed that they could.  The evil eye has
inspired fear in many cultures. This power to slay with a
stare was believed in ancient Rome, by Eastern European
gypsies and in India. Why would such a belief be so universal?
The best explanation is scientific, not supernatural. What
apparently set so many imaginations to conjure up an evil eye
was an image – the image of one person in another person's
pupils. Look into someone's eyes and you will see yourself
reflected back in miniature in their pupils, a word, by the
way, that comes from the Latin for "little doll." This ability
to "image" another person was thought to give one control over
that person. Add a deadly stare as a prop, and watch out!

Why do things appear darker when they're wet?

Grab a white shirt, dip it in water, and voila, it turns
gray right before your very eyes. If we hadn't all seen it
much too often it would make for an impressive magic trick.
Since we have, it's an excellent trivia question.
What causes this optical transformation is simple science.
When fabric gets wet, light coming towards it refracts
within the water, dispersing the light. In addition, the
surface of the water causes incoherent light scattering.
The combination of these two effects causes less light to
reflect to your eyes and makes the wet fabric appear darker.


Why doesn't drinking water cool your mouth after eating
spicy food?

The spices in most of the hot foods that we eat are oily,
and, like your elementary school science teacher taught you,
oil and water don't mix. In this case, the water just rolls
over the oily spices.
So what can you do to calm your aching tongue? Try one of
these three methods. Eat bread. The bread will absorb the
oily spices. A second solution is to drink milk. Milk
contains a substance called "casein" which will bind to the
spices and carry them away. Finally, you could drink
something alcoholic. Alcohol will dissolve the oily spices.


They weren't invented in France, so why does everybody call
them "French fries?"

It's true, the French fry wasn't invented in France.
(Its origin is probably Belgian.) But the "French" in
French fries doesn't refer to its country of origin. It
refers to the way in which this side dish is prepared.
Food that is cut into strips is said to be "Frenched."
Since French fries are strips of potato that have been
fried, they became known as French fried potatoes, or
"French fries."


How do astronauts go to the bathroom?

Thanks to gravity, we here on earth take going to the
bathroom for granted, but using the toilet in space isn't
nearly as easy. For a long time, says NASA, astronauts
actually taped a plastic bag to their backsides to collect
feces and used a hose-and-bag device to urinate.
Then, in the early 70s, NASA improved bathroom technology
with its vacuum toilet. To defecate, astronauts now sit on
this toilet and turn the vacuum on. Urination is done
through what looks like your vacuum cleaner's hose
attachment. Using this toilet is a bit tricky, so part of
the preparation for space travel includes potty training,
but it sure beats the old bag system.


Why is it called a "hamburger" if it doesn't contain ham?

At first glance, it seems that the word "hamburger" is a
combination of the words "ham" and "burger." Therefore, one
naturally assumes that a hamburger is a burger that
contains ham.
But the word "hamburger" actually traces its roots back to
Hamburg Germany, where people used to eat a similar food
called the "Hamburg steak." Eventually, the Hamburg steak
made its way to the United States, where people shortened
its name to "hamburger."


Were hot dogs ever made of dogs?

Nah. But when they were first introduced, people wouldn't
touch hot dogs for fear that they were made of dogs.
(More in the next question.)


How'd the hot dog get its strange name?

The hot dog was originally called "frankfurter" after Frankfurt,
Germany, its birthplace. But from the beginning people called
it "dachshund sausage," because it looked like the long, thin dog.
In the US, the German sausage was especially popular with New York
baseball fans, who bought the newfangled sandwich from vendors who
sold them by yelling, "Get your dachshund sausages while they're
red hot."
Ted Dorgan, a leading cartoonist, thought these vendors were so
comical, that he decided to lampoon them. In his cartoon, they were
shown selling REAL dachshund dogs in a roll, yelling "Get your hot
dogs!" at each other. The name stuck, and the rest is history.


Why do we bother to abbreviate "at" with @?

Email has made a celebrity out of this little symbol that
looks like an "a" figure skating. For without all the
LizzieBorden@hackersrus.com, AlfENewman@aol.com, and 
attilathehoney@ucla.edu's, where would the poor little @ be? 
Imprisoned on invoices, telling us how much each unit costs. 
Borrrring!!
But why abbreviate something as short as "at?"  Blame the
medieval monks. Inscribing everything by hand on scarce
parchment, they took every short cut they could. But long
after words like "ye" got dumped into the linguistic dustbin,
@ just kept on going. Its continued existence was insured when
several early typewriter manufacturers trying to impress
commercial clients, added it as a shift-key character. Then,
in 1971, when a programmer needed a character to separate
names from addresses on early email, there it was. Voil@!

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