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Stump
Me Questions Answered in December 2002
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Q.: Why is it considered necessary to nail down the lid
of a coffin?
- No Name Given
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A.:
This from a mortician: "When rigor mortis sets in, the fluid in the body becomes tight and
constricts, which, on occasion, causes the body to move involuntarily.
When a body is placed in a coffin, the lid is nailed shut to prevent an arm or leg from forcefully
opening the casket. Although I imagine it was also done in
the past to help deter grave robbers."
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Q.: The phrase is "paid on the nail" -- meaning paid on time. What's the origin of that phrase?
- JP
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A.: This saying comes from Bristol,
England, once a well known place for slave trading. The nails in this saying were common accessories in medieval fairs; they were long, pointed and narrow sticks with a little platform on the top producing an overall appearance of a nail.
They were stuck in the ground and acted as the base for trade.
Two traders would reach a deal and one would pay the other by placing the money on the little platform - they paid on the nail.
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Q.: What did Hitler's SS do as an act of propaganda, in Poland, just before attacking
Poland?
- Chris D.
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A.: Hitler had no
real excuse for invading Poland so he staged a false attack on a German radio station near the Polish
border.
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Q.:
In the cartoon of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Rocky was called Rocket J. Squirrel. What does the J stand for?
- Henry H.
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A.: It's
a reference to Jay Ward, the producer of Rocky &
Bullwinkle. His cartoons are full of allusions to his name, especially in
his characters' middle initials. In addition to Bullwinkle J. Moose and Rocket J. Squirrel, there were such minor characters as Fiduciary J. Blurt, Sordid J. Scrivener, Hasty J. Rabbit, and Tycoon J. Fox.
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Q.: The Simpsons live at 742 Evergreen Terrace. Whilst this has been true for numerous episodes, another address has been given.
What is it?
- No Name Given
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A.: Depending on which episode you
watch, the Simpsons’ home address has been: 742 Evergreen Terrace
(the most often used address), In Blood Feud and Bart the Lover
the address was 94 Evergreen Terrace. In Mr. Lisa Goes To Washington
it was 59 Evergreen Terrace. In Homer the Vigilante
it was 723 Evergreen Terrace. In New Kid on the Block
it was 1094 Evergreen Terrace. In Kamp Krusty it was 430 Spalding Way.
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Q.: Where
is the original "Book of the Dead" located? And are
there copies of it you can purchase at a local bookstore or
online?
- Jessica P.
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A.: You
must have seen The Mummy movies. The Book of the
Dead is actually a series of papyrus scrolls covered with magical texts and illustrations which the ancient Egyptians placed with their dead in order to help them pass through the dangers of the Underworld and attain an afterlife of bliss in the Field of Reeds, the Egyptian heaven.
Some of the texts and illustrations are also found on the walls of tombs,
on coffins, or written on linen or vellum rather than on papyrus.
Various museums around the world have examples of the
scrolls. The scrolls are divided into individual spells, or chapters, nearly two hundred in number,
with no one papyrus containing all of them . You can find
translations at any major bookstore. Here's
a site that offers a translation of one of the major
collections.
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Q.: Why is Wednesday called hump day?
- Trish L.
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A.: I
looked around for a trick answer, but there is any according to
two of my trivia books. Since a typical week starts on
Sunday (not Monday), Wednesday is the exact middle of the
week. If you were to draw a curve, Wednesday would be the
hump that everyone must get over to begin the downhill side of
the week.
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Q.: What is the longest palindrome in the
English language?
- Ian T.
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A.: It's
15,139 words, and I'm not going to paste it onto this page (it's
too damn long and nobody's going to read it. You can,
however, see it here.
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