George Washington's Rules of Civility

1st. Every Action done in Company, ought to be with Some Sign of Respect, to those that are Present.

2nd. When in Company, put not your Hands to any Part of the Body, not usualy Discovered.

3rd. Shew Nothing to your Freind that may affright him.

4th. In the Presence of Others Sing not to yourself with a humming Noise, nor Drum with your Fingers or Feet.

5th. If You Cough, Sneeze, Sigh, or Yawn, do it not Loud but Privately; and Speak not in your Yawning, but put Your handkercheif or Hand before your face and turn aside.

6th. Sleep not when others Speak, Sit not when others stand, Speak not when you Should hold your Peace, walk not on when others Stop.

7th. Put not off your Cloths in the presence of Others, nor go out your Chamber half Drest.

8th. At Play and at Fire its Good manners to Give Place to the last Commer, and affect not to Speak Louder than Ordinary.

9th. Spit not in the Fire, nor Stoop low before it neither Put your Hands into the Flames to warm them, nor Set your Feet upon the Fire especially if there be meat before it.

10th. When you Sit down, Keep your Feet firm and Even, without putting one on the other or Crossing them.

11th. Shift not yourself in the Sight of others nor Gnaw your nails.

See full list at http://www.swiftys.org.uk/gwrules.html

Spurtle

Originally a flat spatula for flipping oatcakes on a griddle, the Spurtle is better known as a stick for stirring porridge.

Over time, this implement changed shape and began being used specifically for stirring oatmeal and soups.

It is similar to a wooden spoon without the bowl which was removed as it tears cooked oats apart.

It is in common use throughout Scotland.

From http://britishfood.about.com/od/glossaryconversiontable/g/Glossary.htm

Vampires & Mirrors

How do Vampires end up with perfect lipstick / hair when they can't see themselves in a mirror?

A Vampire considers buying a mirror. On reflection, nO.

Mohs Scale of Hardness

Mohs Scale was developed in 1812 by German mineralogist Friedrich Mohs (1773-1839)

Mohs Scale of hardness is a RELATIVE scale, not proportional. I mean by this that a mineral with the hardness of 8 will NOT be twice as hard as a 4. (For example, diamond is 4X harder than sapphire!).

It is really a scale of relative "scratchability".

#1 is softest..................#10 is hardest

1. Talc
2. Gypsum
3. alcite
4. Fluorite
5. Apatite
6. Feldspar
7. Quartz
8. Topaz
9. Corundum
10. Diamond

From http://www.gemologyonline.com/mohs.html

Ten Gallon Hat

A ten gallon hat is often thought to be large enough to hold ten gallons of water. This is not true (unless you have an exceptionally large head).

The gallon in "ten gallon hat" derives from the Spanish galón meaning braid. So a ten-gallon hat is a hat with a braiding around the brim.

A ten-gallon hat actually only holds 3/4 gallon or 3 quarts.

From http://www.villagehatshop.com/facts_10_gallon.html

Odin and Thor

Odin was the chief god in the Norse mythology, and the father of Thor, Balder, Hoder, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Ull, Vidar, Hermod and Vali. His wives were Fjorgyn, Frigga and Rind. He had a bad habit to roam around Midgard in human disguise seducing and impregnating women. This is why many mortals were able to trace their ancestry back to him.

Thor was the son of Odin and Fjorgyn. He was the god of thunder, the sky, fertility and the law. Armed with his strength-giving items, a belt and the hammer Mjölnir, he had a simple way of righting wrongs: he more or less killed everything that moved. The other gods -mostly Loki- occasionally took advantage of Thor's simplicity.

See more Viking Gods at http://www.rosala-viking-centre.com/gods.htm

Loxodrome

A path, also known as a rhumb line, which cuts a meridian on a given surface at any constant angle but a right angle.

If the surface is a sphere, the loxodrome is a spherical spiral.

The loxodrome is the path taken when a compass is kept pointing in a constant direction.

It is a straight line on a Mercator projection or a logarithmic spiral on a polar projection (Steinhaus 1999, pp. 218-219).

The loxodrome is not the shortest distance between two points on a sphere.

From http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Loxodrome.html