by Paolo Camera
Josef “Pepi” Bican was a Czech-Austrian footvall forward. Records are not entirely complete, but it has been estimated by soccer statisticians that Bican scored 800 goals in all of his competitive matches, not including friendly games. For this, the International Federation of Football Historians and Statisticians awarded Bican the “Golden Ball” as the greatest goal-scorer of the last century.
Didn’t know?
Now you know!
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During the 1800s in America, the word bird was used as a slang term for an impressive and exceptional accomplishment. On the golf course, when someone played a hole in one stroke under par, a companion might say, “That was a bird of a shot,” in the same way that someone today might say, “That was a cool shot.”
Out of the word bird hatched the expression birdie, which was in common use in golf to describe a hole played under par by 1910. By 1922, the term eagle appeared on American golf course to describe a two-under-par hole, presumably because this bird was so admired by Americans.
]]>Q: Why do we say a person isn’t “up to scratch”?
A: During the early days of bare-knuckle boxing, a line was scratched across the centre of the ring, dividing it into two halves. This is where the fighters met to start the contest, or where they “toed the line” to begin each round. If, as the fight progressed, one of the boxers was unable to toe the line without help from his seconds, it was said he had failed to come “up to scratch.”
photograph by Dave Hogg
Photograph by cpt.spock
Q: Who are the Broad Street Bullies?
A: During the 1970s, the Philadelphia Flyers became notorious for their brawling, rock ‘em, sock ‘em style of playing. Since their arena at the time, the Spectrum, was on South Broad Street in the City of Brotherly Love, the Flyers were dubbed the Broad Street Bullies. In the 1970s timid players frightened by the Phillies were said to be overcome with the Philly Flu during the time they spent in Philadelphia. They were no doubt intimidated by the likes of Flyers hard guys such as Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, Andre Dupont, Barry Ashbee, Ed Van Impe, and Joe Watson. However even a great player like Philadelphia centre and captain Bobby Clarke was someone to be feared. After all, he infamously put Soviet superstar Valeri Kharlamov out of commission with a vicious slash to the ankle during the Canada-Soviet Union Summit Series in 1972. The Flyers’ ultra-aggressive playing certainly contributed to the two Stanley Cup championships they won in 1974 and 1975. However, they haven’t won a Cup since the 1970s.
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Photograph by aussiegal
Q: How did the dandelion and the daisy get their names?
A: The dandelion and the daisy are both named for a particular physical characteristic. The English daisy, with its small yellow centre and white- or rose-coloured rays, closes at night and reopens
with daylight like the human eye, and so it was named the “day’s eye.” The dandelion, because of its sharp, edible leaves, was named by the French “dent de lion”, the “tooth of the lion.”
Photograph by eye of einstein
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- by Swami Stream
Q: Why is a theatrical flop called a “turkey”?
A: A “turkey” can describe any person or endeavour that doesn’t live up to its promise, but is most commonly used to describe a bad play. In the late nineteenth century, the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas was the busiest season for the opening of new plays, just as it is now for movies. This hurried effort to catch the tourist trade served up disappointments with the same tedium as the turkey served for dinner between the two holidays, and so they were called turkeys.
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Photograph credit: bsabarnowl
Ever heard someone say, “that’s a real doozy”? Did you know that it meant something was incredibly impressive? But why? Let’s look at the origin of this expression:
Q: Why is something incredibly impressive called a “real doozy”?
A: “real doozy” may be an old-fashioned expression, but it still means something remarkable. I twas used to describe one of the most impressive cars ever made. Built between 1920 and 1937, the
Duesenberg was the best and most expensive American car ever built. During the Great Depression, and at a time when a Ford sold for $500, a top-of-the-line Doozy retailed for $25,000. With a custom-built body and a high-horsepower engine, the Duesenberg quickly became a favourite vehicle of the rich and famous. It still is! As one of the most collectible cars in the world, Duesenbergs in mint condition have sold for millions of dollars. Now that’s a doozy!
Photograph by Osbornb
Ever wonder who it really is…?
Q: Who is the Thinker in Auguste Rodin’s famous statue?
A: The French sculptor Auguste Rodin’s statue commonly called “The Thinker” (Le penseur) is one of the best-known pieces of art in the world. Yet when Rodin (1840-1917) first cast a small plaster version in 1880, he meant it as a depiction of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (circa 1265-1321) pondering his great allegorical epic “The Divine Comedy” in front of the Gates of Hell. In fact, Rodin named the sculpture “The Poet”. It was an obscure critic, unfamiliar with Dante, who misnamed the masterpiece with the title we use today — The Thinker.
Rodin’s statue is naked because the sculptor wanted a heroic classical figure to represent thought as poetry.
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