The Official Did You Know Thread

[Hungary Jack]

We need a thread for sharing random, if not irrelevant, tidbits of knowledge.

First one: Dogs will die of overheating if they eat hops.

No bull people.

[heyzeus]

Smaller dogs will also die if they eat chewing gum with xylitol. I know this after the $400 vet bill.

[Hudler]

The old saying "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey" came from the British Navy. If you've ever seen cannonballs stacked in a triangle shape on the deck of an old wooden British sailing ship, they have a rack under them called the monkey. In really cold weather the metal would contract enough that all the cannonballs would roll off.

True.

[go birds]

The old saying "It's cold enough to freeze the balls off of a brass monkey" came from the British Navy. If you've ever seen cannonballs stacked in a triangle shape on the deck of an old wooden British sailing ship, they have a rack under them called the monkey. In really cold weather the metal would contract enough that all the cannonballs would roll off.

True.

So i guess that's where the shorted version "freezing my balls off" comes from.

[Leroy]

Our Lit teacher put this out there:

According to witch-hunters during the height of the witch trials (c. 1645), the witches’ mark (also called a witches' teat) indicated that an individual was a witch. The witches' mark, witches' teat, and the devil's mark are all terms applied to essentially the same mark. The beliefs about the mark differ depending on the trial location and the accusation made against the witch. Evidence of the witches’ mark is found earliest in the 16th century, and reached its peak in 1645, then essentially disappeared by 1700.[1] The Devil's mark was believed to be the permanent marking of the Devil on his initiates to seal their obedience and service to him. He created the mark by raking his claw across their flesh, or by making a blue or red brand using a hot iron. Sometimes, the mark was believed to have been left by the Devil licking the individual. The Devil was thought to mark the individual at the end of nocturnal initiation rites.[2]

So that's where the phrase 'Colder than a witches t*t comes from.

[slide_into_first]

Mars’ soil will support asparagus

[wart57]

Bananas are a meber of the orchid family....

[Radbird]

The domestic cat is the only cat species able to hold its tail vertically while walking. All wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked between their legs while walking.

[clevername]

Our Lit teacher put this out there:

According to witch-hunters during the height of the witch trials (c. 1645), the witches’ mark (also called a witches' teat) indicated that an individual was a witch. The witches' mark, witches' teat, and the devil's mark are all terms applied to essentially the same mark. The beliefs about the mark differ depending on the trial location and the accusation made against the witch. Evidence of the witches’ mark is found earliest in the 16th century, and reached its peak in 1645, then essentially disappeared by 1700.[1] The Devil's mark was believed to be the permanent marking of the Devil on his initiates to seal their obedience and service to him. He created the mark by raking his claw across their flesh, or by making a blue or red brand using a hot iron. Sometimes, the mark was believed to have been left by the Devil licking the individual. The Devil was thought to mark the individual at the end of nocturnal initiation rites.[2]

So that's where the phrase 'Colder than a witches t*t comes from.

why is it cold?

[Leroy]

Our Lit teacher put this out there:

According to witch-hunters during the height of the witch trials (c. 1645), the witches’ mark (also called a witches' teat) indicated that an individual was a witch. The witches' mark, witches' teat, and the devil's mark are all terms applied to essentially the same mark. The beliefs about the mark differ depending on the trial location and the accusation made against the witch. Evidence of the witches’ mark is found earliest in the 16th century, and reached its peak in 1645, then essentially disappeared by 1700.[1] The Devil's mark was believed to be the permanent marking of the Devil on his initiates to seal their obedience and service to him. He created the mark by raking his claw across their flesh, or by making a blue or red brand using a hot iron. Sometimes, the mark was believed to have been left by the Devil licking the individual. The Devil was thought to mark the individual at the end of nocturnal initiation rites.[2]

So that's where the phrase 'Colder than a witches t*t comes from.

why is it cold?

Well, according to our professor (I was thinking the article mentioned it), the mark was a black wart or maybe a birth mark. It was believed that the wart was a pathway to hell, which was very cold for whatever reason.