SpinnerBait_Nut
Honorary Moderator Emeritus
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2002
- Messages
- 17,651
"Toast"<br /> <br />Why do people clink their glasses before<br />drinking a toast?<br /> <br />It used to be common for someone to try to<br />kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink.<br />To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it<br />became customary for a guest to pour a small<br />amount of his drink into the glass of the host.<br /> <br />Both men would drink it simultaneously. When<br />a guest trusted his host, he would then touch<br />or clink the host's glass with his own.<br />_____________________________________________<br />"Limelight"<br /> <br />Why are people in the public eye said to be<br />"in the limelight"?<br /> <br />Invented in 1825, limelight was used in<br />lighthouses and stage lighting by burning a<br />cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light.<br /> <br />In the theater, performers on stage "in the<br />limelight" were seen by the audience to be<br />the center of attention.<br />______________________________________________<br />"Mayday!"<br /> <br />Why do ships and aircraft in trouble use<br />"mayday"as their call for help?<br /> <br />This comes from the French word m'aidez -<br />meaning "help me" - and is pronounced<br /> "mayday."<br />_______________________________________________<br />"About Clouds"<br /> <br />Why is someone who is feeling great "on<br />cloud nine?"<br /> <br />A: Types of clouds are numbered according<br />to the altitudes they attain, with nine being<br />the highest cloud. If someone is said to be<br />on cloud nine, that person is floating well<br />above worldly cares.
