origins

Chaucer (MM #4758)

It’s April Fools’ Day, one of my least favorite days of the year. I love a good joke, but I never got into pranks. I know this is something I talk about every year. It’s a day for amateurs to try to be funny, and they often fail. I always assumed that this was a…

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Hunkering Down (MM #4208)

As I mentioned the other day, my parents decided they were hunkering down to ride out the storm in Florida. So far, Hurricane Ian hasn’t been very kind. Many friends have reached out to check on my folks, and none were surprised that they stayed in place. But it did make me wonder why we…

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The Wishbone (MM #3901)

If you had a big turkey for Thanksgiving, the youngsters are likely fighting over the wishbone. For some reason, kids love getting a chance to snap that bone and make a wish. I won a few and lost a few over the years, but I never got my wish. So I have to wonder where…

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Origins (MM #3553)

Yesterday I was discussing my interest in copycat recipes. So, of course, that got me wondering about the origins of the word copycat. I’ve heard it used forever, but it’s never made sense why we say, copycat. What does it have to do with cats? Of course, I had to find out…  

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Counting Sheep (MM #3147)

As you get older, you sometimes have issues with falling asleep. Some people actually trying counting sheep to help them sleep. So of course that gets me to thinking, why sheep?

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Merry Instead Of Happy (MM #2834)

It’s Christmas and of course that makes me wonder. Why do we say Merry instead of Happy Christmas? Of course I just have to find out…

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Taxi Cabs (MM #2197)

My wife and I were driving down the road the other day and she had a question about taxi cabs. Are they really taxis or are they cabs? And more importantly, does it really matter?

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Labor Day Origins (MM #1993)

I’ve always been the curious sort. And since today is Labor Day, I got to wondering about how it started. Little did I know that the Labor Day origins involved a controversy…

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You’re On The List (MM #1203)

I feel like I owe someone a big debt of thanks. I just don’t know who to actually say thank you to….

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