The Oldies Thread

summerisle · Monday at 6:39 PM

The gun used to jam, as you shovelled as many of the metal balls into it as you could. :lol:

Cels · Tuesday at 4:44 PM

paultheblue · Tuesday at 6:08 PM

Ray Purchase said:
Remember when you went out on a Saturday night, with just a pocket full of sausage and mash, and the front door key.

Now I can't go anywhere without 3 pairs of specs, a variety of pills (prescription) travel pass, and a bag full of 'stuff'.

I have read this three times before I realised it was rhyming slang.
I couldn't work out why he had sausage and mash in his pocket

tonyhorne · Tuesday at 7:47 PM

paultheblue said:
I couldn't work out why he had sausage and mash in his pocket

Only posh people could afford plates in those days.

To be honest, it was a bit of a luxury to have a functional pocket to eat out of.

Go easy with the gravy, though ...

Eggs · Wednesday at 12:00 PM

Did you know the origins of some of our strange customs

.

*1. WHY:*
Why do men’s clothes have buttons on the right, while women’s clothes have buttons on the left?
*BECAUSE:*
When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. As wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid’s right! And that’s where women’s buttons have remained since.

*2. WHY:*
Why do ships and aircraft use ‘Mayday!’ as their call for help?
*BECAUSE:*
This comes from the French word _m’aidez_ – meaning, ‘help me’ – and is pronounced, approximately, ‘Mayday.’

*3. WHY:*
Why are zero scores in tennis called ‘love’?
*BECAUSE:*
In France, where tennis became popular, the round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called ‘l’oeuf,’ which is French for ‘the egg.’ When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans (naturally), mispronounced it ‘love.’ And then the word stuck on.

*4. WHY:*
Why do X’s at the end of a letter signify kisses?
*BECAUSE:*
In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.

*5. WHY:*
Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called ‘passing the buck’?
*BECAUSE:*
In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility of dealing, he would ‘pass the buck’ to the next player.

*6. WHY:*
Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?
*BECAUSE:*
In earlier times it used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would only touch or clink the host’s glass with his own.

*7. WHY:*
Why are people in the public eye said to be ‘in the limelight’?
*BECAUSE:*
Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and theatres by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, a performer ‘in the limelight’ was the centre of attention.

*8. WHY:*
Why is someone who is feeling great ‘on cloud nine’?
*BECAUSE:*
Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest cloud. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, then that person is floating well above worldly cares.

*9. WHY:*
In golf, where did the term ‘Caddie’ come from?
*BECAUSE:*
When Mary, Queen of Scots, went to France as a young girl; Louis, King of France, learned that she loved the Scots game ‘golf.’ He had the first course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and when she returned to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she took the practice home with her. In French, the word cadet is pronounced ‘ca-day’ and the Scots changed it into caddie.

*10. WHY:*
Why are many coin collection jar banks shaped like pigs?
*BECAUSE:*
Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of dense orange clay called ‘pygg’. When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as ‘pygg banks.’ When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a container that resembled a pig. And it caught on.

bigjonny · Wednesday at 11:29 PM

Eggs said:
Did you know the origins of some of our strange customs .

*1. WHY:*
Why do men’s clothes have buttons on the right, while women’s clothes have buttons on the left?
*BECAUSE:*
When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Since most people are right-handed, it is easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. As wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid’s right! And that’s where women’s buttons have remained since.

*2. WHY:*
Why do ships and aircraft use ‘Mayday!’ as their call for help?
*BECAUSE:*
This comes from the French word _m’aidez_ – meaning, ‘help me’ – and is pronounced, approximately, ‘Mayday.’

*3. WHY:*
Why are zero scores in tennis called ‘love’?
*BECAUSE:*
In France, where tennis became popular, the round zero on the scoreboard looked like an egg and was called ‘l’oeuf,’ which is French for ‘the egg.’ When tennis was introduced in the US, Americans (naturally), mispronounced it ‘love.’ And then the word stuck on.

*4. WHY:*
Why do X’s at the end of a letter signify kisses?
*BECAUSE:*
In the Middle Ages, when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document. The X and the kiss eventually became synonymous.

*5. WHY:*
Why is shifting responsibility to someone else called ‘passing the buck’?
*BECAUSE:*
In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck, from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility of dealing, he would ‘pass the buck’ to the next player.

*6. WHY:*
Why do people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?
*BECAUSE:*
In earlier times it used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would only touch or clink the host’s glass with his own.

*7. WHY:*
Why are people in the public eye said to be ‘in the limelight’?
*BECAUSE:*
Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and theatres by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, a performer ‘in the limelight’ was the centre of attention.

*8. WHY:*
Why is someone who is feeling great ‘on cloud nine’?
*BECAUSE:*
Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest cloud. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, then that person is floating well above worldly cares.

*9. WHY:*
In golf, where did the term ‘Caddie’ come from?
*BECAUSE:*
When Mary, Queen of Scots, went to France as a young girl; Louis, King of France, learned that she loved the Scots game ‘golf.’ He had the first course outside of Scotland built for her enjoyment. To make sure she was properly chaperoned (and guarded) while she played, Louis hired cadets from a military school to accompany her. Mary liked this a lot and when she returned to Scotland (not a very good idea in the long run), she took the practice home with her. In French, the word cadet is pronounced ‘ca-day’ and the Scots changed it into caddie.

*10. WHY:*
Why are many coin collection jar banks shaped like pigs?
*BECAUSE:*
Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of dense orange clay called ‘pygg’. When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as ‘pygg banks.’ When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a container that resembled a pig. And it caught on.

Another one similar to point 6. Your “ right hand man “ , the majority of people are right handed so you sit your enemy on your left side which makes it easier to reach for your dagger and stab him without turning to your right.
A “pig in the poke” and “ letting the cat out of the bag” are also connected - people would take a bag to auction and say it contained a piglet , the auction would take place and the buyer would then open it and it would be a cat which was of much less value.