Oopsies and other strange, interesting, and useless information....

[Lady Sidhe]

I find this stuff all over, and since I'm bored, I thought I'd share it. You can never know too much interesting, yet utterly useless, stuff...

I like looking up word origins, and here's where a few interesting phrases come from:



Someone who faces the glare of publicity may be said to be
in the limelight. American chemist Robert Hare discovered
that a blowpipe flame acting upon a block of calcium oxide,
which is lime – produces a brilliant white light that could
be used to illuminate theater stages.


Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted
people without killing them used to burn their houses down-
hence the expression "to get fired."


In 1945 a computer at Harvard malfunctioned and Grace
Hopper, who was working on the computer, investigated,
found a moth in one of the circuits and removed it. Ever
since, when something goes wrong with a computer, it is
said to have a bug in it.


"Second string," meaning "replacement or backup," comes
from the middle ages. An archer always carried a second
string in case the one on his bow broke.


"Long in the tooth," meaning "old," was originally used to
describe horses. As horses age, their gums recede, giving
the impression that their teeth are growing. The longer the
teeth look, the older the horse



And an interesting headline I found:

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee - Picnickers were horrified when a man's
hand was ripped off at the wrist during a game of tug-of-war.
Stanley Harris, 21, had wrapped the rope around his wrist for
a better grip during the tug-of-war between teams of 25 adults
each. One hard tug backed by the strength of 50 people,
including Harris himself, was sufficient to completely sever
his hand. He was rushed to Erlanger Medical Center, where
doctors were attempting to reattach the hand. A hospital
spokeswoman said Harris was in fair condition.