GREY MUTTER: These days there’s a lot of interesting information out there. But much of the convincing-sounding and interesting titbits are often – far too often – just not true, writes Lance Fredericks.
BOY OH boy, do I have a buttload of useless trivia for you this weekend?
As the week unfolded, I thought to myself, “Look, it’s the Rugby World Cup, so no one is reading the newspaper anyway, are they?” But if you are, congratulations.
But may I also ask why you are not watching the rugby?
Anyway, all that aside, how about that useless trivia I promised?
Firstly, the ‘core myth’. Did you know that the long-held belief that you should eat an apple but discard the core is wrong?
The next time you eat an apple, take the time to slice the fruit into thin slices across. You will find that if you cut five millimetre slices you will not find a ‘core’. At one point you will see a star-shaped hollow with a few seeds, but no core. Apples, you see, can be eaten from the bottom all the way to the stalk with little to no waste at all.
Next, have you considered that screwdriver handles have a hexagonal shape so that you could put a wrench around the head to tighten screws? The wrench acts like a lever giving you more torque. Additionally, screwdrivers have a hole in the handle through which another screwdriver shaft can be passed to also give you more leverage if you need it.
But also beware; not all tips are good tips.
Using a wrench on a screwdriver is a great way to strip a screw. You could also disfigure your screwdriver handle. So be careful of accepting DIY advice from someone who isn’t watching World Cup Rugby matches, it could just be fairytales.
Speaking of which, did you know that the phrase from Arabian Nights, that Aladdin used to open the cave of treasure was mistranslated? Instead of him saying “Open Sesame”, he was actually saying, “Open Says Me”.
When I read that I realised why I was unable to open so many caves of treasure when I was a laaitie. I was saying it wrong … or was I?
Actually, what I shared is untrue.
The fact that “Open Sesame” sounds an awful lot like “Open Says Me” is a coincidence. The phrase “Open Sesame” comes from the Arabic phrase “Iftaḥ yā Simsim”which literally means “Open, Simsim.” Simsim is Arabic for sesame.
Now think about it; “simsim” is just a random word, which makes perfect sense. After all, why would you make the magic words to a secret chamber of riches something anyone could figure out, something as silly as “Open Says Me”?
I’ll bet you have a headache from all that random, confusing, contradictory information I just shared. You’re probably wondering if anything I say can be trusted. You must have a throbbing headache …
And if you do have a headache, be careful. Do you know the old nursery rhyme that goes: “It’s raining, it’s pouring; the old man is snoring. He went to bed and he bumped his head and he couldn’t get up in the morning”?
Did you know that the rhyme was composed to warn people against going to sleep with a concussion, seeing as you could slip into a coma and die?
Now ask yourself why it was necessary to compose a rhyme to warn against people going to sleep after bashing their heads? Were our forebears more prone to bumping their heads?
Actually, from what I could find, this rhyme goes deeper than mere carelessness. “It’s raining, it’s pouring” could, some suggest, refer to the fact that the old man took one too many ‘doppe’, became inebriated, staggered around and fell, bumping his head.
So the rhyme, it seems, could be a warning against the too liberal use of intoxicating substances.
And speaking of intoxicating substances, did you know that the word ‘bar’ is actually an acronym for “Beer and Alcohol Room”?
I’ll bet you must be feeling pretty stupid that you never, in all these years, figured that one out. I’ll bet you feel like kicking yourself or slapping your head – not too hard to cause concussion though.
My advice to you is not to do any of those things, because NO, “bar” does not stand for “beer and alcohol” room.
The English term “bar” originates from the Old French word “barre”, signifying a beam, gate, or pole employed as a barrier. In fact, “barrier” shares the same root. So “bar” simply means a counter serving as a barrier or partition separating the patron from the bartender.
I tried to warn you that I had a buttload of useless trivia for this weekend; speaking of which, did you know that the word “buttload” is not a vulgar term by any means?
This is actually true.
You see, a ‘buttload’ is an actual measurement of English Wine Cask units. It works this way: a tiny barrel holding four gallons (15 litres) is called a ‘pin’. A ‘firkin’ holds 30 litres, a ‘kilderkin’ has a 60.5 litre capacity, and a ‘rundlet’ holds just over 68 litres.
Next up, the ‘barrel’ holds 121 litres, the ‘tierce’, 159 litres, the ‘hogshead’, 238 litres, the ‘puncheon’, a healthy 318 litres and finally the ‘butt’ which accommodates a generous 477 litres. And if it’s 477 litres of wine, beer or spirits, that’s enough to help you to bed, with a bumped head so that you don’t wake up in the morning. So be careful.
Oh, in parting, did you know how the word ‘spirits’ came about?
Apparently, Aristotle in 327 BC thought that drinking a distilled beer or wine put ‘spirits’ into the body of the drinker. Similar to the ‘gees’ that comes from ‘doctored’ naartjies and cheers on the Bokke at the World Cup.
Or did he actually say that?
The point I am trying to make is that these days there’s a lot of interesting information out there. But much of the convincing-sounding and interesting titbits are often – far too often – just not true. In actual fact, these types of amusing (but often baseless) claims about the supposed etymology of common words are very popular on social media. ‘Etymology’ is the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history.
Maybe the reason why these clever yet false words and ‘alternative facts’, also known as lies, are becoming so popular is because they’re almost certain to rack up likes, shares, and engagement in the form of comments on social media.
But Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator Jordan Peterson warns us about these entertaining lies. He says, “The only thing you have (to sustain you) in a complex situation is the truth.”
Or, in what by now should be more familiar terms, when you are flooded with a ‘buttload’ of questionable information, it would be wise to apply a ‘pin’ of common sense.
