Random Facts no one needs to know

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European IS a national identity these days.

The American Indian tomahawk was patterned after a Barbarian throwing ax called the Fransisca.

The Saxons were named after the seax.

Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what
the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or
radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs,
and bars. They were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's
conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at
different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words
"go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion
and, thus we have the term "gossip."

In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was
either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed
him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others
showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not
based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were
to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would
cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you an
arm and a leg."

In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one
chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was
used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair
while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who
was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal.
To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called
the one sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business, we use
the expression or title "Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."

Shigeru Mitamoto, creator of Super Mario Bros. series and The Legend of Zelda series, the god of video games, has AS.

The Colosseum in Rome had a retracting fabric roof.

It is illegal to harvest female crabs.

One of the fattiest fishes is salmon: 4 ounces of the delectable fish contains 9 grams of fat.

18th century pamphleteer Thomas Paine had a legendary disdain for religion. One of his favorite activities was to actually attend church services, and interrupt the proceedings by standing up in the middle of the sermon and launching into a speech attacking religious ideas. He would leave his seat and head beyond the altar, towards the apse of the church, to vandalize the church's assets. This became such a common nuisance that exasperated clergy and churchgoers alike that a famous phrase arose from Paine's hobby.

Perhaps you have used this phrase, when you have called someone a "Paine in the Apse."

I am currently unable to scrape the dirt from underneath my fingernails.

I feel so depressed that I feel like throwing up, but five minutes I was very happy.

Wonderfull...I got some dirt out from underneath my fingernails! Now if only the rest will come...

ca. 1946
Former US Senator Edmund Muskie, on being a Democrat in heavily Republican Maine- "Somebody has to do it."

2007
Former US Represenative Tom DeLay, on being a conservative commentator on semi-liberal CNN- "Somebody has to do it."

Eerie.

Between 1856 and 1960, the state of Maine gave its electoral votes to a Democratic presidential nominee only once. That was in 1912, when the national Republican party was split between supporters of incumbent President William Taft, and the more progressive followers of ex-President Teddy Roosevelt.