I just found out the origins of the slang terms 'Quid' and 'Bucks', do you have any random interesting general knowledge you'd like to share?

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

Ds asked me today why we call money quid and not bucks like the Americans, so we looked it up.

Quid comes from the Latin Quid Pro Quo, meaning something for something.

Bucks comes from early colonial use of deerskins as barter currency 'buckskins'.

I was pleased ds had asked as I find these things fascinating and pleasing.

I'd love to hear anyone else's fascinating facts.

@NeonK how do you leave Iceland by train?

[quote RokosBasilDish]@NeonK how do you leave Iceland by train?[/quote]
With great difficulty.

@IncludeWomenInTheSequel

The term 'capital punishment' is a contraction of 'the man without the capital gets the punishment'.

Basically, if you can't pay for your crime either directly or indirectly through good legal representation , you pay for it with your life.

Really threw me to realise that inequality was actually built into the justice system on purpose.

No, I think that’s a back formation to make a point about the economics of injustice.

The “capital” part of capital punishment refers to your head, (think also of capital cities and capital letters) which you would lose in traditional deCAPITAtion.

I always used to get told "never put your elbows on the table" by my granny growing up and one day I asked why.

My papa (who always put his elbows on the table) said it came from way back, 1600/1700s. It was a way to easily spot a sailor because they'd put their elbows on the table to hold their plates in place as the ship rocked. So in taverns and pubs at port people knew to never put their elbows on the table in case a naval officer came to force them into service (they would take the sailors first).

Impressment / the press / press gang is the term for that ^.

Disclaimer, I haven't fact checked this but it made perfect sense to eight year old me.

American police used to wear copper badges to identify them - right at the beginning before there were uniforms etc. People called for the Copper Badges which obviously contracted to COPS over time.
Another one about them - the New York cops. There were a lot of Irish in the force at a time when immigrants were arriving from all over Europe. Why so many Irish? They had height requirements and the Southern Europeans were too short. Am reading a History of New York (random but fascinating).

@IncludeWomenInTheSequel

The term 'capital punishment' is a contraction of 'the man without the capital gets the punishment'.

Basically, if you can't pay for your crime either directly or indirectly through good legal representation , you pay for it with your life.

Really threw me to realise that inequality was actually built into the justice system on purpose.

That's a quote from an American nun who campaigns against the death penalty - I only know this because I heard an interview with her the other day

The capital bit actually comers from the Latin for head, as opposed to corporal which means body. I'm guessing it is legalese meaning something like taking the head.

Oh but wait surely it still applies then; rich people probably could have paid a fine, poor people would go straight for the chop.*

No, beheading was the form of execution used for rich people because it was quicker.

@smallandimperfectlyformed

Noone ever finds this interesting but I learnt from a Tony Hawks (comedian, not the skater) is that the Bible Belt isn't just called that because of how religious it is, it's also their major leather producer.

I think that would just be a happy coincidence.

H L Mencken coined the term Bible Beltin the 1920s, writing about the Scopes trial.

NeonK I used to livery with a lady from Iceland. When she broke up with her boyfriend she went back to Iceland. She took her horse, Florence, with her. This was in 2004-2005. Have the rules changed since then?

The country is divided into 6 segments, spreading out from London and all the roads are numbered accordingly. So if you woke up somewhere randomly you could check a road sign and know which segment you're in (eg M5, A5, B52)

If you add all the numbers on a roulette wheel they add to 666 also, another very random one is all packets of crisps go out of date on Saturdays!!

The military salute comes from raising your visor to be recognised.

Anne Boylene was executed by sword - by a french swordsman. It was seen as mercy as I think she was originally meant to burn.

@NewSpark

If you add all the numbers on a roulette wheel they add to 666 also, another very random one is all packets of crisps go out of date on Saturdays!!

I just checked the calendar and our crisps do indeed expire on Saturday 13 February! Need to eat them quick!

@StrictlyAFemaleFemale

The military salute comes from raising your visor to be recognised.

Anne Boylene was executed by sword - by a french swordsman. It was seen as mercy as I think she was originally meant to burn.

I think she was supposed to be beheaded by axe, but the sword would be sharper and quicker.

I’d highly recommend the podcast ‘Something Rhymes with Purple’ for all you word lovers!
It is all about the origins of words and is very funny and interesting.

The full monty apparently comes from the creator of Burton Menswear (Montague Burton) who wanted to make 3 piece suits accessible to more than just the rich who could afford a made to measure suit.

Iceland has a lot of horses and very few horse related diseases. They also want to keep bloodlines pure, so it's correct that there are laws preventing horses being imported even if they came from there originally, once they leave they cant go back.

Their laws are so strict that used leather tack and used riding gloves are not allowed in to protect the horses from external diseases. If you go on a riding holiday they're quite strict about what you can bring and it has to be disinfected

@CodMouth

I always liked that “daylight robbery” was from the times when window tax existed. The more windows you had the more you paid.

I don't think that's true.

The term means someone is taking your money from you really obviously, not stealing your actual daylight. The metaphor it is setting up is it's like a burglar coming in to rob your house in broad daylight when everyone can see them, ie shamelessly, instead of creeping into your house under cover of darkness so as to remain undetected.

@FellowFlipFlop

Iceland has a lot of horses and very few horse related diseases. They also want to keep bloodlines pure, so it's correct that there are laws preventing horses being imported even if they came from there originally, once they leave they cant go back.

Their laws are so strict that used leather tack and used riding gloves are not allowed in to protect the horses from external diseases. If you go on a riding holiday they're quite strict about what you can bring and it has to be disinfected

The Icelandic horses are also unvaccinated which is another reason. Mast.is has information for the really interested.

Quarantine comes from the Italian for 40 days, quarantena. During the Black Death in the 14th & 15th centuries ships arriving at Italian ports were required to dock and isolate 40 days before coming ashore in case they were infected with the plague.

Cockney rhyming slang was originally invented by the criminal underworld in London so that they could talk while staying elusive to those not in the know.

A sort of secret code to exclude anyone outside their cockney bubble.

@Stonehopper

Maybe just check your ‘facts’ before posting them, rather than trying to make them true, *@IncludeWomenInTheSequel*?

Oh get a grip.

@susiella

NeonK I used to livery with a lady from Iceland. When she broke up with her boyfriend she went back to Iceland. She took her horse, Florence, with her. This was in 2004-2005. Have the rules changed since then?

The import ban dates from 1882 apparently?

blessiblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/no-law-banning-import-of-horses-to.html?m=1

@susiella

NeonK I used to livery with a lady from Iceland. When she broke up with her boyfriend she went back to Iceland. She took her horse, Florence, with her. This was in 2004-2005. Have the rules changed since then?

Noz the rules haven't changed. The importing of horses to Iceland is still banned as they have very few diseases I'm iceland and are protecting their native breed. You must have misremembered the story or she said she took her horse back but didn't. It is correct that even horses bred in iceland are not allowed to return once they have been exported.

Origin of Pompey:

"Volunteer firemen in the eighteenth century (known as pompiers) exercised on Southsea Common. In 1781, some Portsmouth sailors climbed Pompey's pillar near Alexandria and became known as the “Pompey boys”. The pomp and ceremony connected with the Royal Navy at Portsmouth led to the adoption of the nickname, “Pompey”."