Thing For The Day 2
Today I learned yet another useless factoid. This one concerns the genius of a popular bar room/saloon favorite - the Gin and Tonic. In the 18th century the British and by extension the British East India Company had taken control of India. While there the British realized that many of their soldiers were dying of a strange disease called Malaria. Thankfully for British soldiers and the world at large a medicine called Quinine was developed to combat and prevent the disease. Unfortunately the medicine even in its most distilled form (Tonic Water) still tasted horrible. Accounts have described it as horribly bitter. So these intrepid souls decided to add a bit of booze to make this live saving process a little easier to manage.
The beverage returned to England in the hearts and in the livers of former British soldiers. No longer burdened with army rations the drink could be made more tolerable by including limes, lemons and or ice. Also, beneficial to the popularity of the drink was the fact that over time Tonic water came sweetened which put even more distance between the beverage and its bitter tasting past.
The beverage can now be found in bars, restaurants, homes and even grocery stores the world over.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Intro and Going To The Loo
Welcome to my new blog. You are probably wondering to yourself, what could the title, That's My Thing For The Day, possibly refer to. The answer is as clear as the idea is crazy. My mom once told me that it was my mission to learn at least one new thing a day. To really take life and explore it. Well, since I was rather young when I heard this I would often absorb random and bizarre facts and count that as "My Thing For The Day". It was almost like completing a chore. Okay, got that one done and now what else do I have to do.
This seemingly boring chore would have inspired some normal kid to go out and learn about science and the world around him or her. Well, me being me, all it really did was allow me to build up a wealth of useless information and a life long obsession with the etymology of words and phrases. Although I know full well that having a thing for the day no longer will get me in the good graces of my mother or provide a tidbit of knowledge I can actually use, I tend to keep at this ridiculous project of learning a new thing everyday anyways.
Thing For The Day #1
Have you ever wondered why your European friends refer to the toilet/restroom as The Loo? Well, if you have let me explain through this important fact that I just learned. Despite a reputation as being the classiest peoples on the planet, the Europeans weren't always the most morally or to be frank hygienically sound. As recently as the middle ages it was still common practice to throw the contents of your chamber pot out of your window and into the streets. This was not a new development at all. The practice dates back to at least Roman times. Man, no wonder the rich folks decided to live apart from the mass of humanity either on the Palatine Hill or move out to Suburbia.
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Bonus Fact: Suburbia refers to the Latin phrase "Suburbium". Sub means "under" and "Urbs" meaning city, which is where the word "Urban" comes from. The city of Rome ancient times wasn't always a great place to be despite the fanciful yarns spun by history. Rome at its height was the mecca of commerce and as such was an overcrowded place, full of 24 hour excitement, poverty and wealth.
What is a rich Roman who is trying to raise a family to do? The city is too loud, too polluted, full of debaucheries a plenty, crime and to make matters worse in the summer it smells horrible, probably due to people throwing their chamber pots out the window. You do the same thing that people in modern times do, you move away from the city and into the country. In Roman times the country was considered as territories outside the city. So if you lived in the country you were living under the city itself and hence the term, "Under the city" or Suburbia.
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At some point through history the French decided out of politeness or maybe just as precursor to laughing at you when you got hit, by yelling, ""garde a l'eau!", which translates to "Here comes the water!" before performing this infamous act. Eventually the phrase was anglicized and became "Gardy-Loo!", then just "Loo!" and eventually came to mean the device itself and not the action. Although if you ever find yourself in Europe and hear "Gardy Loo!," I would duck just for safeties sake, cause who really wants to be a shit-head.
See ya tomorrow,
Dan
This seemingly boring chore would have inspired some normal kid to go out and learn about science and the world around him or her. Well, me being me, all it really did was allow me to build up a wealth of useless information and a life long obsession with the etymology of words and phrases. Although I know full well that having a thing for the day no longer will get me in the good graces of my mother or provide a tidbit of knowledge I can actually use, I tend to keep at this ridiculous project of learning a new thing everyday anyways.
Thing For The Day #1
Have you ever wondered why your European friends refer to the toilet/restroom as The Loo? Well, if you have let me explain through this important fact that I just learned. Despite a reputation as being the classiest peoples on the planet, the Europeans weren't always the most morally or to be frank hygienically sound. As recently as the middle ages it was still common practice to throw the contents of your chamber pot out of your window and into the streets. This was not a new development at all. The practice dates back to at least Roman times. Man, no wonder the rich folks decided to live apart from the mass of humanity either on the Palatine Hill or move out to Suburbia.
--------------------------
Bonus Fact: Suburbia refers to the Latin phrase "Suburbium". Sub means "under" and "Urbs" meaning city, which is where the word "Urban" comes from. The city of Rome ancient times wasn't always a great place to be despite the fanciful yarns spun by history. Rome at its height was the mecca of commerce and as such was an overcrowded place, full of 24 hour excitement, poverty and wealth.
What is a rich Roman who is trying to raise a family to do? The city is too loud, too polluted, full of debaucheries a plenty, crime and to make matters worse in the summer it smells horrible, probably due to people throwing their chamber pots out the window. You do the same thing that people in modern times do, you move away from the city and into the country. In Roman times the country was considered as territories outside the city. So if you lived in the country you were living under the city itself and hence the term, "Under the city" or Suburbia.
----------------------------
At some point through history the French decided out of politeness or maybe just as precursor to laughing at you when you got hit, by yelling, ""garde a l'eau!", which translates to "Here comes the water!" before performing this infamous act. Eventually the phrase was anglicized and became "Gardy-Loo!", then just "Loo!" and eventually came to mean the device itself and not the action. Although if you ever find yourself in Europe and hear "Gardy Loo!," I would duck just for safeties sake, cause who really wants to be a shit-head.
See ya tomorrow,
Dan
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