Did you know that…. In the seventeenth century, a person’s social standing determined what he or she ate at dinners. The best and most expensive food was placed next to the most important people. Also, people didn’t tend to sample everything that was on the table, they just ate what was closest to them. […]
Tag: history
DYK: Pulling the wool over one’s eyes
In the 18th century it was the fashion to wear white, curly wigs. They were often powdered. The wigs were called wool possibly because they resembled a sheep’s fleece -if a wig slipped, one could have the “wool pulled over their eyes”
DYK: The real meaning of “set the table”
Did you know that…. In olden days, space was limited so to “set the table” meant you had to take the board hanging from the rafter in the kitchen and “set” it on trestle legs where the meal would be eaten. For example, “set the table” in front of the fireplace or “set the […]
My father’s Vietnam Experience
My father James Paul Goodyear along with his four brothers Jerry, Fred, Bobby and Walter served in the Military during the Vietnam War. My father did not share a lot of what happened over there but he did share quite a bit of what happened when he returned. Once I asked him about his experience […]
DYK: Have you ever been given the cold shoulder?
In olden days if you were served a cold shoulder of mutton instead of hot meat, you knew your were not being encouraged to call again…hence you gave someone the “cold shoulder.” Check out historical, genealogy books and novels by Donna R. Causey
Do you remember the days when ladies wearing trousers was frowned upon?
The Way We Were by Joyce Ray Wheeler Edmonson County in rural Kentucky where I grew up was known as the poorest county in the state. My father, a bachelor at this time, owned the first car in the county. It was a Ford, and on the day of the purchase, someone showed him how […]
DYK: The true meaning of a long shot?
Did you know that…. In the past, guns were only accurate at short range and a ‘long shot’ (fun fired over a long distance) only had a small chance of hitting its target. That is how the term ‘long shot’ derived.
DYK: Pease porridge hot, peace porridge cold
Did you know that…. In olden days all kinds of food went into a big pot for cooking. If you sat down to a meal with a family you often had to take ‘pot luck’ and could never be quite sure what you would be served. Sometimes what was in the pot might be […]
DYK: A visit to the powder room
In olden days, after ladies had their hair styled by a servant, they would have a servant fill a bellows with powder to powder it. To contain the powder, there was often a small room set outside for this called the Powder Room. Thus, the name of the powder room came into being. VINEGAR OF THE […]
The Night 30,000 people drowned in the Baltic Sea within minutes
We often remember the Titanic sea disaster, but did you know there was a sea disaster that even surpasses the Lusitania and Titanic combined. Excerpts (in italics) are from The Milwaukee Sentinel Feb. 7, 1954, The Night 30,000 people drowned in the Baltic Sea by C. S. Forester. On 30 January 1945, 30,000 people mostly […]