Take a thought-provoking trip into an interesting collection of peculiar, quirky and often surprising factoids about the origins of some common phrases, beliefs, practices and observations from our past.
What does the "rule of thumb" mean?
Today, the common phrase "rule of thumb" is used figuratively for any simple or roughly practical method of measurement (rather than any scientific knowledge or exact formula). But originally, more than 300 years ago, it literally meant measuring with the thumb.
Centuries ago, carpenters and clothiers regarded a thumb (or rather a thumb's width) as equal to one inch. This term was used as early as the year 1692, when historical documents mention a man named Hope, while writing about fencing quality, said: "What he doth, he doth by rule of thumb, not by art."
How long is "a coon's age?"
A coon's age, commonly used to refer to a very long time, is a misnomer of unknown origin. It was formerly believed, particularly in the South, that raccoons lived for a long time. In captivity, raccoons have been known to live for more than 10 years, but there's no documented proof that they live any longer than foxes, possums, minks, martens and other animals of similar size.
In England, they used to say "a dog's age" to reference the same meaning and a coon's age is believed to have derived from that earlier phrase.
