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Stump
Me Questions Answered in February 2002
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Q.: 1)
Where was the first computer built? Why was it
built? What was the name of the inventor?
What profession did the inventor have?
2) How did the phrase "Living high on the hog"
come about?
- Chris D. |
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A.:
1) There are so many ways to answer this one.
It pretty much comes down to how literally you want
me to answer this. Here's what I mean:
The first man to build a true computer was Charles
Babbage in 1822, the year he created the "Difference
Engine." The Engine was build of a system
of cogs and gears, and was designed to reduce the
number of inaccuracies he found in the mathematical
tables of the day.
The next possibility came in the late 1800s when
Herman Hollerith persuaded the U.S. Census Bureau
to use punch card calculating machines for the 1890
census. Hollerith's company would later be bought
out by another company that would later become IBM.
Other "first computers" include the ENIAC
(which did simple addition and subtraction), the Atanasoff
Berry Computer (also built for mathematical calculations
in 1942), and the computers built during World War
II to break the German's enigma codes.
The Enigma cipher - believed be many to be the world's
first true computer - was invented in Germany in 1923.
It was an electromechanical device for used for coding
and deciphering secret messages. In World War
II, Allies broke the cipher, but Germany kept refining
the machine throughout the war, making it increasingly
complex (although by that point the Allies were able
to keep up with the constant changes). In 1943,
Colossus I, the first electronic computer in the world,
broke the Enigma riddle.
2) Originating sometime during the 1940s, this
expression is a play on the way a hog eats...with
a great deal of self-indulgence. Unfortunately,
nobody knows for sure how the phrase came into being,
or why the word "high" was thrown in there.
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Q.: Is
there a connection between the modern word 'boob', for
breast, and the lumps that appeared on the bodies of
victims of the Black Death or bubonic plague?
- Brian R. |
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A.: It's
appears that it's very likely. While there's never
been a definitive link between the two, the use of the
word "boob" started sometime around the time
of the Black Plaque. This is the history as presented
in Cassell's Dictionary of Slang:
Bubo - from the 14th century, refers to a
swelling of some kind. The word bubonic is derived
from bubo.
Bubby - from the late 17th century, refers
to a breast or both breasts together.
Bube - from the late 18th century, refers to
a venereal disease. Bube also is a derivative
of bubo.
Booby - started around the 1910s. It
has been established that it came from Bubby.
Boob - started in the 1940s, and traced to
the word booby.
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Q.: Where
do we get the phrase "When in Rome do as the Romans"?
- Beth C. |
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A.: I
found your answer in The Dictionary of Cliches.
St. Augustine tells the story of how his mother, St.
Monica once asked St. Ambrose: "At Rome they fast
on Saturday, but not at Milan; which practice ought
to be observed?"
St. Ambrose replied: "When I am at Milan, I
do as they do at Milan; but when I go to Rome, I do
as Rome does."
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Q.: Where
does the phrase "shoot a wad" come from?
- Scott G. |
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A.: It's
from the 1920s. Originally it meant "to bet
everything," with shoot meaning "to
give or pay" and wad meaning "money."
It later adopted another meaning, "to ejaculate"
(with shoot meaning "to have sexual intercourse"
and wad meaning "semen." |
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Q.: To
whom is the following quote attributed: You can lead
a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
- David F. |
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A.: John
Heywood recorded the saying as a proverb in 1546.
"A man may well bryng a horse to the water, But
he can not make him drynk without he will." |
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Q.: How
did the phrase on the nose come about?
Example: I woke up at six o'clock "on the nose!"
I understand what it means, but don't understand the
part about the nose.
- Charles C. |
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A.: Directors
of early radio programs found that they often had to
communicate with people in front of live microphones.
In order to give directions without making sounds, a
special sign language was developed. When a program
was running precisely on schedule, the person watching
the time put a finger alongside his or her nose. |
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Q.: Where
did the phrase "I don't give a rat's ass" come from?
- Rex M. |
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A.: It's
just general slang that started up sometime during the
20th century. While nobody knows for sure how
it came about, it's believed that a rat was used in
the expression because of the way people view the rodent
(annoying and small). |
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Q.: Where
did the term "Shithead" originate and why?
- Dave C. |
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A.: Believe
it or not, shithead comes from another slang
word, shitbird. Shitbird is a term for a stupid
person (shit for crap and bird meaning
a person). Both terms popped up sometime during
the 1950s. As for the why, well there's no documented
reasons for it, but it does make sense when you think
of it. |
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Q.: What
is the origin of "lickety-split?"
- Paul |
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A.: It
originated in the United States during the mid 19th
century. It actually comes from a group of sayings
that meant the same thing: hellity-split, lickety-click,
lickety-cut, lickety-liner, lickety-smash, lickety-switch,
and lickety-wallop. In the end, only lickety-split
lasted beyond the end of the 19th century. |
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Q.: 1)
When is Linkin Park coming out with a new CD?
2) Why was the number 6 afraid of the number 7?
3) Who is your favorite music band?
4) Because you are Jewish, what temple do you
go to?
5) Who is your favorite Disney character?
6) Are you married?
7) What was the top grossing movie for 2001?
8) How many times do you predict that you will
be "Stumped" this year?
9) What do you think our country should do about
the whole Sept. 11th attack?
- Zach A. |
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A.: 1)
Not until at least after the Projekt Revolution tour
with Adema, DJ-Ztrip, and Cypress Hill.
2) Because 7 ate (8) 9.
3) Pink Floyd.
4) I'm a non-practicing Jew, which is to say
that I only participate in the major holidays.
Hence, I don't have a temple to call my own.
5) Come on...Donald Duck. Have
you seen his girlfriend?
6) Yup, since November 21, 1999.
7) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
(Philosopher's Stone in Europe).
8) Probably 5 or 6 times.
9) I think our effort to remove the Taliban
was a start in the right direction. America
is viewed in different ways by different people.
Our allies view us as a world leader who has the responsibility
to maintain peace throughout the world. Arab
nations view us as extremely biased towards Israel,
and that we're willing to turn a blind eye to countries
who disagree with our viewpoints. I think they're
both right.
The United States should continue to defend ourselves
and our allies, and we should also take the opportunity
to develop relationships with countries - African
nations in particular - who we've turned a blind eye
to in the past. But that's just my opinion.
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Q.: What
is the origin of the term "Juggernaut" to
mean something very large?
- Nancy |
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A.: The
Hindi word Jagganath is the title of Krishna,
one of the incarnations of Vishnu. It comes from
Sanskrit Jaganatha, a compound or jagat (world)
and nathas (lord). It's applied top a large wagon
on which an image of the god is carriedduring a precession.
It used to be said that worshippers of Krishna threw
themselves under the wheels of the wagon in an access
of religious ecstasy. And so juggernaut came
to be used metaphorically in English for an "irresistible
crushing force."
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Q.: The
statement You can't have you're cake and eat it to.
Shouldn't it be "you can't eat you're cake and
have it to?" I believe it came from one of
Shakespeare's plays where the line was something like
"once one has eaten his cake, he can not still
have it." What is the real take on it?
- Bob F. and No Name Given
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A.: The
original version was "you cannot eat your cake
and have it too." John Heywood's Proverbs
had that version back in 1584, which means that if it
was published then, it was around for even longer than
that. Incidentally, Heywood published it
as "Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and haue your
cake?" |
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Q.: Is
Marilyn Mason really that Paul guy on The Wonder
Years?
- Jessica P. |
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A.: Nope.
Manson's real name is Brian Warner. Paul was played
by Josh Saviano. |
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Q.: I've
always wondered why people yell "wooooo" when they get
excited or at a concert for example. Do you have any
idea how this started?
- Elise P. |
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A.: Pro
wrestler Ric Flair (whose trademark line is "WOOOO")
had this to say in an interview on the origins
of his "WOOO!" chant. He said that it came from
him hearing Jerry Lewis' Great Balls of Fire.
That's the only reference to its origins that I could
find. |
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Q.: What
is the origin of the phrase "Cock and bull story" .
I haven't been able to find it.
- Tom |
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A.: The
origin is tied to ancient fables wherein animals talked.
The earliest known citation is from John Day's 1608
play, Law-trickes or Who Would Have Thought It.
In it is the line: "What a tale of a cock and a
bull he told my father." |
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Q.: Where
does the word "cunt" come from?
- Robin K. |
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A.: The
word can be traced back to two words: the Greek word
konnus (a beard or the wearing of the hair in
a tuft) and the Latin word cunnis (a vagina and
the woman who possesses it). Many believe cunnis
is actually derived from konnus.
The first use of the word appears in 1230 when Gropecuntelane
is listed among the streets that made up the brothels
area of Southwark, England. Given the environment,
it's been assumed that the term became a shortening
of the word and was in wide use at the time.
By the 15th century, though, cunt was viewed as an
unacceptable word.
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Q.: 1)
What is your favorite color?
2) Why does Christopher Lambert (The Highlander,
sequels) from have such a weird accent?
3) How many people get their heads cut off in
the original HL movie?
4) How many licks does it take you, Glenn "Spot"
Weintraub, to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop
without biting it at any time?
- Xellchiri |
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A.: 1)
I have four: black, blue, purple & red (purple and
red are my fraternity's colors).
2) Because he was raised and has lived in several
European countries.
3) Four people lose their heads in the original
movie: Fasil, Ramirez, Kastagir and the Kurgan.
4) 32
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Q.: What
is the origin of the term "back-seat driver?"
- Bob B. |
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A.: Cars
of the early 1900s only had one seat, but it was able
to hold two or three people. When back seats were
eventually added, they were too far back to effective
have a conversation with the driver. All of that
changed with the introduction of the 1912 Essex coach,
which featured a box-like enclosed body that made it
easier to talk. Passengers started taking advantage
of the opportunity to talk to the driver from the back
seat, including where to turn or stop. |
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Q.: Are
you ever gonna make a compilation of your favorite Stump
Me questions?
- Ernie |
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A.: Nope.
I list every question I get, so why bother. |
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Q.: I’m
trying to find the origin of the phrase taken down
a notch. Any ideas?
- Becky B. |
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A.: As
a matter of fact, I think I do have some idea.
It comes from the way people used to be ranked.
Ships, for instance, used to be classified by colored
pegs, which were based on the honor that the ship had
gained through the years. As other ships earned
their reputations, their pegs' colors were changed,
sometimes knocking a ship down a notch.
One of the earliest known uses of this expression
is from the 1589 John Lyly story, Pappe with an
Hatchet: "Now haue at you all my gaffers
of the rayling religion, tis I that must take you
a peg lower."
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Q.: What
is the origin of BAR-B-QUE...the word, phrase or country
it originated in. Thanks.
- Bill B. |
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A.: It
originated in the language of the now extinct Taino
people of the West Indies. It first emerged in
the Haitian creole term barbacoa, which simply
meant "wooden framework." American Spanish
adopted the word and passed it on to English. |
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Q.: With
the collapse of Enron - I heard a news story about the
origin of the phrase The fall guy. He was
the fall guy, he took the fall, etc... They said
it actually comes from a man with the last name Fall.
I can't find anything to back this up on-line.
- Regis D. |
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A.: One
of my source books tells me something else. In
the early 19th century, professional wrestling was a
real, although relatively unpopular sport. It
wasn't until promoters started attaching story lines
to the show that people started taking notice.
The use of story lines made it necessary to fix the
outcome of the matches, with the loser taking the fall.
In sporting circles, it became common to speak of a
loser as a fall guy. |
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Q.: Has
Mindless Crap ever won any awards?
- Lisa W. |
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A.: So
far I've won two. The Quiz Queen named Mindless
Crap one of the five best trivia sites of 2001, and
I've also won two Golden Web Awards for entertainment
in 2001-2002 and 2003-2004. |
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