Posted on 08/30/2013 1:39:08 PM PDT by B4Ranch
Early aircraft's throttles had a ball on the end of it, in order to go full throttle the pilot had to push the throttle all the way forward into the wall of the instrument panel. Hence "balls to the wall" for going very fast. And now you know, the rest of the story.
********************************* During WWII , U.S. airplanes were armed with belts of bullets which they would shoot during dogfights and on strafing runs. These belts were folded into the wing compartments that fed their machine guns. These belts measure 27 feet and contained hundreds of rounds of bullets. Often times, the pilots would return from their missions having expended all of their bullets on various targets. They would say, �I gave them the whole nine yards,� meaning they used up all of their ammunition.
********************************* Did you know the saying "God willing and the creek don't rise" was in reference to the Creek Indians and not a body of water? It was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. He was a politician and Indian diplomat. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington . In his response, he was said to write, "God willing and the Creek don't rise." Because he capitalized the word "Creek" it is deduced that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water.
********************************* 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.' (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint.)
****************************** As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October). Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig'. Today we often use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
********************************* In the late 1700's, 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.'
********************************* Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, 'mind your own bee's wax.' Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term 'crack a smile'. In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt. Therefore, the expression 'losing face.'
********************************* Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in 'straight laced' wore a tightly tied lace.
********************************* Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the 'Ace of Spades.' To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't 'playing with a full deck.'
******************************** 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.'
********************************** At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in 'pints' and who was drinking in 'quarts,' hence the phrase 'minding your 'P's and Q's'.
********************************** One more: bet you didn't know this! In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem....how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a 'Monkey' with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make 'Brass Monkeys.' Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey; Thus, it was quite literally, 'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.' (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)
If you don't send this fabulous bit of historic knowledge to any and all your unsuspecting friends, your hard drive will kill your mouse.
An entertaining email, to be sure, but at least three are not true: Brass Monkey, Save Face, and Gossip. I didn’t have the time to look up the rest.
I did know most of these.
Cool...thanks for sharing.
“balls to the wall”
First time I heard that expression it was a Navy guy saying it.
And he wasn’t a pilot.
” Did you know the saying “God willing and the creek don’t rise” was in reference to the Creek Indians and not a body of water? It was written by Benjamin Hawkins in the late 18th century. He was a politician and Indian diplomat. While in the south, Hawkins was requested by the President of the U.S. to return to Washington . In his response, he was said to write, “God willing and the Creek don’t rise.” Because he capitalized the word “Creek” it is deduced that he was referring to the Creek Indian tribe and not a body of water.”
I read a long site a day or so ago, disputing this. Gave lots of examples, and sited lots of research.
Thanx. This will keep my smartass liberal sister-in-law busy for quite a while fact checking all this stuff.
The only one up there that I know to be true is the 27 feet of ammo and the expression “the whole nine yards.” But it only applied to the P-51 Mustang. Other aircraft had differing amounts.
And the most common use of the phrase was after a young pilot got caught sneaking onto the base after a night out with his English girl friend. To a common question, “well, did you get into any trouble?” The usual reply was, “yea, they brought me up in front of the old man and he gave me the whole nine yards.”
Since when do libtards care about facts?
bookmark
This stuff is almost as bad as the ‘pluck yew’ email that makes the rounds every couple of years.
The Las Vegas triple-A baseball team has a nickname of the “Las Vegas 51’s.” Now, is this a reference to Tin-Foil Hatness (as in Area 51), or a reference to being one card short of a full deck?
This one does. Snopes is her Bible. And we know how unbiased Snopes is.
She just commented the other day about how the people who know where came from are dying off. (Pilots had access to silk when it was hard to find.)
I always thought “balls to the wall”, or “balls out”, referred to the governor on a steam engine running full speed. Pretty sure “losing face” is wrong, as it has been used in Asian cultures for ages. Fun to talk about these things anyway.
I thought ‘balls to the wall’ was in reference to ball speed governors for steam engines. The balls spin and centrifugal force makes the balls go out and this action can be used to limit a throttle.
Most fighters of the day in WWII fired .50 BMG ammunition. The average ammunition load per machine gun was 300 rounds per gun. For example, the P-51 Mustang carried 4 - .50 M1 machine guns and a total of 1260 rounds or 315 rounds per gun.
The base of the .50 BMG is .804" in diameter.
315 X .804" = 253".
253" / 12" = 21'.
So, a belt of 315 rounds of .50 BMG ammunition is actually, at minimum, 7 yards, not 9.
Calculations for .30-06, which is the other commonly used aircraft ammunition, comes up with a similarly different number than 9 yards.
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