275 replies to this topic

[IzzyDead]

 

 

 

 

[IzzyDead]

[IzzyDead]

[duktayp]

1000s of years ago - when loading stuff on to ships for transport - containers were clearly labeled with important information, same as is done today

 

live animals, food, poison, etc.

 

it was soon learned not to store manure deep below decks, as when manure became wet the fermentation process started, creating flammable methane and possibly exploding ships

 

containers of manure were labeled so that they were stored on top, getting as much ventilation as possible

 

when the english language came about, containers of manure were clearly labeled in bold letters: S H I T

 

for "Ship High In Transport"

Edited by duktayp, 04 October 2013 - 20:42.

[TreeFrog]

The e-mail generally looks like this:
Subject: Fabulous bit of historical knowledge
Ever wonder where the word "shit" comes from. Well here it is:
Certain types of manure used to be transported (as everything was back then) by ship. In dry form it weighs a lot less, but once water (at sea) hit it. It not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas.
As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen; methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern. BOOOOM!
Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was discovered what was happening.
After that, the bundles of manure where always stamped with the term "S.H.I.T" on them which meant to the sailors to "Ship High In Transit." In other words, high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.
Bet you didn't know that one.
Here I always thought it was a golf term.

This bit of fiction has been traced, in a different form, to a Usenet posting from 1999. That one made reference merely to the smell.
 
True origin of the word:
The word is likely derived from Old English, having the nouns scite (dung, attested only in place names) and scitte (diarrhoea), and the verb scītan (to defecate, attested only in bescītan, to cover with excrement); eventually it morphed into Middle English schītte (excrement), schyt (diarrhoea) and shiten (to defecate), and it is virtually certain that it was used in some form by preliterate Germanic tribes at the time of the Roman Empire. The word may be further traced to Proto-Germanic *skit-, and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *skheid- "cut, separate", the same root believed to have become the word shed. The word has several cognates in modern Germanic languages, such as German Scheiße, Dutch schijt, Swedish skit, Icelandic skítur, Norwegian skitt etc. Ancient Greek had 'skōr' (gen. 'skatos' hence 'scato-'), from Proto-Indo-European *sker-, which is likely unrelated.

 

 

Sorry man, wasn't trying to steal your thunder, I just had to google that immediately.

Edited by TreeFrog, 11 October 2013 - 04:38.

[IzzyDead]

[IzzyDead]

[duktayp]

Sorry man, wasn't trying to steal your thunder, I just had to google that immediately.

 

Ha! i made you do homework 

 

 

 

[IzzyDead]

 

http://en.wikipedia....e_(Scientology)

 

http://blogs.village...mp_the_hole.php

[duktayp]

the berlin wall now has a fence set up to protect it

 

[tharzill]

Vespa crabro L. - European Hornet

The European or giant hornet is an introduced species first reported in the United States in 1840 in New York. Currently, its geographical range extends from the Northeastern states west to the Dakotas, and south to Louisiana and Florida. It belongs to a family of wasps called the vespids, which encompass all of the yellowjackets including the bald-faced hornets. Technically, the European hornet is the only true hornet in North America and is large and will aggressively defend their nests. Homeowners should be cautious when attempting to manage this hornet.

[duktayp]

[IzzyDead]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[IzzyDead]

[IzzyDead]

 

 

 

[IzzyDead]

 

 

[IzzyDead]

[IzzyDead]

Loading 5MB of Memory into a Pan am Jet, 1956

[IzzyDead]

U.S. chess prodigy, Bobby Fisher, playing 50 opponents simultaneously at his Hollywood hotel on 12 April 1964. He won 47, lost 1 and drew 2

 

Samuel Reshevsky, age 8, defeating several chess masters at once in France, 1920

Edited by IzzyDead, 31 December 2013 - 20:13.

[IzzyDead]