OMG I'm thick as mince

[OopsInamechangedagain]

I was just doing an online trivia quiz and one of the answers mentioned that zebra crossings are so-called because the black and white stripes resemble a zebra's coat. I can't believe that not once in my 40-odd years on this planet did I twig the connection!

What else have I missed...?

Festive, I was under the impression that the Romans inserted July (from Julius) and August (from Augustus) thus moving Sept, Oct, Nov and Dec all out by 2 months.

I only recently discovered that the little arrow next to the petrol gauge sign on your dashboard indicates which side of the car your tank is on 🙈

oh yes i also dont have one of them on my car dashboard nor my old car

I worked with a girl who thought Tipperary was not a real place, just a song😂

@WitcheryNights Yes, Leeds Castle in Kent, nowhere near Leeds. If Dover Castle is in Dover, and Deal Castle is in Deal... you get the idea.

*Smidge, I have read that on some sources. I think its highly unlikely that there was "dead space" (not assigned to any months) between Dec & March, though. I can see how days may have been "borrowed" to make each month roughly the same length.

smidge I thought that too, about July and August, but apparently they were called something like Quintillius and Sextillius and were renamed after Julius and Augustus. January and February were the ones added.

@wanderings
Leeds is a village in Kent so the castle is named appropriately.

Groups of girls living together do end up having periods at the same time.

This man’s misconception lay in extrapolating that idea to all women. The women at his office, the women in his household, women around Britain ... and presumably beyond. I don’t know how far he bothered to imagine it going, whether he thought it was linked to the moon or what.

So what sort of pigs eat roast beef and why?

Pigs will eat anything.

The Berkeley hunt is pronounced Barclay, so the rhyming slang thing makes no sense.

For anyone interested, here's some information about the months. It seems more likely that the agricultural year was 'dead' between December and March and therefore there wasn't much worth recording/celebrating.

I love these threads, I always learn something new. Thanks to this one I feel suitably stupid not realising navy blue or who mommy was really kissing under the mistletoe 🤦‍♀️

Not sure how true this one is but was told this on a recent tour of London. When hangings were public they would attract large crowds of spectators who treated them as a bit of a celebration and an excuse for a piss up. The next day they would feel like crap as a result of drinking too much at the hanging = hangover

I worked with a girl who thought Tipperary was not a real place, just a song

When I drove through the town sign said,
"Welcome to Tipperary, you've come a long way"

"The Berkeley hunt is pronounced Barclay, so the rhyming slang thing makes no sense"

But the word in question rhymes with hunt, so it doesn't matter how you say Berkeley-it could have been any old Hunt!

'only the lower jaw moves'...

Can my defence be that I've just never thought about it before?

But the word in question rhymes with hunt, so it doesn't matter how you say Berkeley-it could have been any old Hunt!

But it does matter if you're trying to say that calling someone a berk is the same as calling them a cunt.

But the word in question rhymes with hunt, so it doesn't matter how you say Berkeley-it could have been any old Hunt!

@diddl - I think the point being made is that the pronunciation would lead you to "Bark" not "Berk" (the first post on this, said "berk" is a synonym for "cunt" because of the rhyming slang).

@Chesntoots - although I take your point, I don't think this rules out the possibility, as language evolution (especially with slang, I suspect) doesn't always make sense. We need some actual evidence!

Does anyone remember the 'chicken of the sea' moment on Newlyweds with Jessica Simpson?! She would be able to contribute a lot to this thread.

Posted to soon... Though if the etymology of Berkshire Hunt is good enough for the Oxford dictionary then I can't argue

I've just read the dictionary thing too! Still doesn't make sense because surely it was always pronounced Barclay?

That's pretty much going to annoy me for the next couple of days (yes, I am a sad cow, and, no, I have nothing else to think about!)

Anyone remember those 'Paws for Thought' teddies /cards/pharapahanalia?

Pause for Thought

Took me a while

Puts, I do indeed!! I think that was when I realised how utterly stupid people could be!

Bowl Great Britain is a single island. It doesn’t include the other islands that are part of England, Scotland and Wales (so Portsmouth isn’t part of Great Britain).

Puts, I do indeed!! I think that was when I realised how utterly stupid people could be!grin

Haha, me too.

Mind you, I can't talk as it only occurred to me tonight that actors/actresses say 'break a leg' because they want the person to get in the cast.