>>Here is a bit of history for you...[/align]>>[/align]>>In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either[/align]>>sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him[/align]>>standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed[/align]>>both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how[/align]>>many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted.[/align]>>Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would cost the buyer[/align]>>more. Hence the ___expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a[/align]>>leg."[/align]>>************* *************************************************[/align]>>As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year[/align]>>(May and October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their[/align]>>heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs Wealthy men could afford[/align]>>good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them[/align]>>they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake[/align]>>it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the[/align]>>term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the Big Wig"[/align]>>because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.[/align]>>****************************************** ********************[/align]>>In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one[/align]>>chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used[/align]>>for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while[/align]>>everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was[/align]>>usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit[/align]>>in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one[/align]>>sitting in the chair the "chair man." To day in business, we use the[/align]>>__expression or title "Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."[/align]>>****************************************** ********************[/align]>>Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women[/align]>>and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread[/align]>>bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When[/align]>>they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another[/align]>>woman's face she was told, "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman[/align]>>smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." In addition,[/align]>>when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . therefore,[/align]>>the __expression "losing face."[/align]>>****************************************** ********************[/align]>>Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and[/align]>>dignified woman, as in "straight laced". . . wore a tightly tied lace.[/align]>>****************************************** ********************[/align]>>Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax[/align]>>levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "Ace of[/align]>>Spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead[/align]>>Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be[/align]>>stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."[/align]>>****************************************** ********************[/align]>>Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the[/align]>>people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or[/align]>>radios, the politicians sent their as

 

Interesting. Where did it come from?

 

Very interesting stuff.

 

am email forward haha i wish it had a link to where the info was taken from but even if it all was false its atleast a very creative explanation

 

Very cool onfo, but someone had to much time on there hands.

 

Came across this years ago and thought it was cool, then I came across the sites that debunked them. Kinda like Mythbusters on TV.

http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.asp

http://www.takeourword.com/TOW190/page1.html

 

no cameras when george washington was pres? wow thats a dead give away that all this is made up....

look up camera obscura...

other than that, we have photo's handed down from our family's plantation durring "that" time period...

check your facts buddy....

 

hey thomasintexas i said it was an email forward and have no proof to the validity of the content , have a nice day buddy

 

The camera obscura (Lat. dark chamber) was an optical device used in drawing, and one of the ancestral threads leading to the invention of photography. In English, today's photographic devices are still known as "cameras".
The principle of the camera obscura can be demonstrated with a rudimentary type, just a box (which may be room-size) with a hole in one side, (see pinhole camera for construction details). Light from only one part of a scene will pass through the hole and strike a specific part of the back wall. The projection is made on paper on which an artist can then copy the image. The advantage of this technique is that the perspective is right, thus greatly increasing the realism of the image (correct perspective in drawing can also be achieved by looking through a wire mesh and copying the view onto a canvas with a corresponding grid on it).
With this simple do-it-yourself apparatus, the image is always upside-down. By using mirrors, as in the 18th century overhead version illustrated in the Discovery and Origins section, it is also possible to project an up-side-up image. Another more portable type, is a box with an angled mirror projecting onto tracing paper placed on the glass top, the image upright as viewed from the back.
As a pinhole is made smaller, the image gets sharper, but the light-sensitivity decreases. With too small a pinhole the sharpness again becomes worse due to diffraction. Practical camerae obscurae use a lens rather than a pinhole because it allows a larger aperture, giving a usable brightness while maintaining focus.

 

This is actually excerpt from a book wrote back in the late 80s. I had a good friend who read it way back when and I also thumb through it. If I'm not mistaken the name of the book is "Where Did It Come From" but I can't be 100% certain of the title. But I remember the passage about the brass monkey. It was about a hundred pages long, that I do remember for sure