Don't Sweat It

 There are many myths about the human body and even though most have been debunked there are still a few diehards. Sweating was thought to remove toxins from the body, in reality sweating only removes water and salts. The liver and kidneys handle detoxication. Same deal with sweating to lose weight, the only weight lost is water weight, not fat and as soon as you rehydrate you're back to square one. The last myth to bust today is every parents nightmare, the sugar high. It has been proven that sugar has nothing to do with hyperactivity though the parents and children often make it a self fulfilling myth. On the other hand the sugar crash is real, when blood sugar gets low it can trigger shakiness, fatigue, and weakness. 

Signs

 Though the meaning or even name of various signs change over time the @ symbol started out meaning "at" in the 16th century as used by merchants to indicate pricing like 5 apples @ $2. Then in 1970 its use changed when the first email was sent though the meaning remained the same. Next we have the ampersand which used to be considered the 27th letter of the alphabet in the 1800s. When children would recite the letters they would end with "and per se and" which eventually slurred into the word ampersand. Last on today's list is the dollar sign, $ originally referred to the Spanish peso in the 18th century. It started out as "p$" then over time the "p" evolved into the straight line part of its form and merged with the "S" making it the $ we have today. 

Old Time Insults

Today's post features insults hurled by non other than Shakespeare himself, but still totally fitting today. In fact many of them bring a certain person to mind. 

 “You have such a February face, so full of frost, of storm, and cloudiness.”

“[You] rough rugheaded kern, Which live like venom.” 

“A coward, a most devout coward, religious in it.” 

“That’s somewhat madly spoken.”

“[H]e has not so much brain as earwax.”

“[You are] a very superficial, ignorant, unweighing fellow.”

“Heaven truly knows that thou art false as hell.” 

Idioms by AI

 When AI errs it's called hallucinations and though the whole AI thing is a bit scary it's also f

Wine poured from the sky won't make you fly

Always pack extra batteries for your milkshake

It's called a hallucinations when AI makes an error and as you can see by the examples above it is aptly named. People online made up idioms then asked AI to tell them what they meant. Funny yet scary, though I can see a future for AI in the justice system. 

Money Talks

Money idioms are not always straightforward so lets take a look at some of the more obscure sayings. We've all had to fork it over on occasion and it's never in a good way when you're called on to "fork it over", probably because the phrase originated in the 19th century and referred to picking pockets because the fingers resembled to tines of a fork. How about riding the gravy train? Only the most fortunate get a ride on that train, oddly enough it actually came from railroad workers between 1910-1920 when they were on a run that paid well but had little work. We'll wrap up with two opposites, burning a hole in my pocket vs saving for a rainy day which are very different camps when it comes to money but also fairly self explanatory. Not sure yet if there will be a post tomorrow or not, I need to take one of my rigs in to have an electrical problem ran down so I have no idea how long that might take. 

Multiple Meanings

 One of the reasons English is a tricky language is words can have more than one meaning. For most speakers that isn't much of a problem as the meaning can be determined by context though that isn't as easy for people learning the language. For instance the simple word "punt" can mean to kick a ball, to propel a boat with a pole, a long narrow flat bottomed boat with square ends, the monetary pound of Ireland, to play a gambling game against a banker, the concave indentation in the bottom of a wine bottle, and to indefinitely defer a decision. Nothing against football players but I wonder how many meanings they know for this simple four letter word? There will be no post for tomorrow as I have an out of town appointment. 

Dog Tales

 Many of the dog breed names are self explanatory, though others aren't. For instance what is up with poodle? a dog that poos? Actually the name comes from a German word, pudel, meaning to splash in water, and that makes sense since they were bred as water retrievers, plus it is unknown if the breed originated in Germany or France. Next we have the darling corgi which coming from Welsh means cor (dwarf) and gi (dog). We'll finish up today's offering with the schnauzer, another German breed bred for versatility and intelligence with their name meaning mustache or snout. Who doesn't love a dog, no matter their origins?