This blog is dedicated to my Grandiest Granny WMW and her torturing companion AH_TK. LOL. Don't ask me the story behind this dedication.

As part of my Did You Know? series, in this blog, I am going to dedicate in writing about idioms and phrases relating to punishment.

Did You Know Series:-

1. Did You Know?  2. Did You Know? - Continuation   3. Did You Know - Another Continuation   4. Did You Know - Not Another Continuation!   5. Did You Know? - Gosh! Will it Never Ends?   6. Did You Know? - Oh No! Not Another One!   7. Did You Know? - Here Comes Another One!  8. Did You Know? - Another One?   9. Did You Know? - One, Two, Eighty Six?

1. Scot Free

We always heard the expression "scot free" when it's being associated with escaping without punishment or getting it without incurring any payment. The origin of this expression is very interesting. It's derived from the Scandinavian word of "skat" which meant tax or payment. When the word "skat" migrated to Britain, it's evolved to a new word "scot" which carried the same meaning. In as early as 10th century, various forms of scots had been to represent various taxes. People hated paying taxes, and people will get scot free since the 11th century until to-date.

2. Tarred and feathered

Tarred and feathered someone meant to serve a vigilante punishment to the person perceived had done the wrong doing. This was originated from the medieval punishment from centuries past. It was said that the "guilty" person would be held down by townsfolk and hot pine tar would be poured over that person. Then the angered townsfolk would dumped chicken feathers or other types of feather that person. The humiliating effect would be completed then. Now in modern time, when someone was said to be tarred and feathered, it meant that person had been handed a brutal and humiliating punishment.

3. Face the Music

When someone was said to "face the music" it meant that person had to accept the unpleasant consequences of his(her) actions. The origin of this phrase was believed to be from the military tradition. It was said that a disgraced or dishonoured soldier was to be relieved of his duties and stripped of his rank by making a final march accompanied by drums. Some references said that the soldier was forced to sit on a horse backward, and thus facing his comrades, and thus facing the music. 

Okay.. enough about punishment for the moment. I don't want to you to take this blog as a punishment to whoever read it. LOL.

I love reading. As far as I can remember, I will always have a book in my hand where ever I go. I can even read when I was travelling either by bus or car, which most people cannot do because of the jostling about. But I have to admit, I do not like reading those inspiration or motivations books, self help books, or biographies. Most of the time, I just read fictions. So, maybe my bookprint is not as profound as some other members.

I used to read two to three books at one go and within a week, I will just flip from one book to another when the mood strikes me. So there are definitely a lot of books that I have read. I cannot remember much about most of them. I used only to read only books written in my mother's tongue, Malay, but then my friend introduced me to English materials. My first English material that I was willingly read was not an English book, but English Comic. 

The Adventure of Tintin was a comic series written by a Belgian cartoonist; Georges Remi (1907 - 1983). It was a story about a young Belgian reporter and his faithful dog, Snowy. Tintin got involved in many adventures as he investigated his stories. Tintin and Snowy had saved each other in many occasions. The Adventure of Tintin opened my eyes to the beauty of English words. I wrote about my experience about it in my blog; Rin Tin Tin - My English Hero. Tintin will forever have a special place in my heart because it changed my view about English. That is why he is forever be my English hero.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was so profound that I thought Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were real. This book is a collection of twelve short stories and how Sherlock Holmes used his power of deduction to solve the mysteries. This book made me read all other Sherlock Holmes adventures. I even felt so sad and cried when he was killed in "The Final Problem" and like most readers before me, cannot believed that he died. I really thought that Holmes was real. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle successfully made me believed that the characters were real. That proved his power as an author.

"Please Sir, I want some more?" was the famous line uttered by Oliver Twist written by Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist was born into the live of poverty and misfortune. When he said that word to ask for some more food from a board of well-fed gentlemen who administered the workhouse where he worked, an uproar was ensured because no one ever asked a second helpings from these men. Later he had the misfortune to met with the Artful Dodger and Fagin and became a pickpocket. Oliver Twist introduced me to the wonderful world of Charles Dickens' books. Though Charles Dickens was born during Victorian period, but his novels and his social views remained timeless.

First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer introduced me to a more "grown up and serious" book. It was about four young men journey in the world of British politics and ultimately the keys to the No. 10 Downing Street, the official resident of British Prime Minister. The book unfolding the stories of these young men for three decades. Jeffrey Archer remains as one of my favourite authors.

I was compelled to read the novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo when I read an article about the late author Stieg Larsson. He was a Swedish author and journalist. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a part of a Millennium trilogy series written by Stieg Larsson. It was about a journalist, Mikael Blomkvist quest to uncover the truth about the disappearance of Harriet, the grand niece of Henrik Vanger. While he was investigating the story, he met with a brilliant hacker Lisbeth Salander who assisted him and eventually became his lover. The novel made me read the whole trilogy and also made me read English translations of other non-English authors such as Jo Nesbo. All these while, I only read books written by English speaking authors.

This is my bio, kindly written by one of EC most prolific writers. I was always amazed with the way ⊱ Mickey ⊰ could come up with ideas on what to write. Her "little novel" was really amazing, and her poems were poetic. Once again, ⊱ Mickey ⊰, thank you so much for this little bio. You are a remarkable sister and writer.

Ladies and Gentlemen, attention please! Mickey is going to introduce you a very kind friend. She is an old member of MyEC, who joined here in 2006. During the long journey, she left here for several times due to some personal reasons, but finally she stays. Now she is one of the spambusters here.

What impress me most are her sincerity, diligence and humor. She is sincere, yes, ask the friends here, and you'll know she treats every of her friend kindly with her warm heart. She often supports her friends to keep practising English, including me. I've picked up a lot new words and expressions from her blogs, and it's she who is the first person on MyEC to encourage me to be brave and write whatever I like in English. Moreover, she always leaves very positive and complimental comments as long as she has read the blogs. She warmly welcomes new members who join in EC whether in the main chat or in the blog part. She is generous to share her English learning experiences and methods to people.

She is diligent, yes, ask the friends here, and you'll know she has written a lot of brilliant blogs and discussions. Check her page, and you'll see a long list of them. Her English is elegant. As I have told you, I've learnt a lot of new stuff from her creative blogs. She has tried different writing styles and different genres, legends, novels, life and work experiences and so forth...

She is humorous, yes, ask the friends here, and you'll know the way she chats brings people lots of laughter. She knows Mr. Google well, and she digs quite a few funny and lovely cat pictures. She has left a batch of "cats" in my wall, my blogs, my discussions and other parts. Her jokes aren't the sarcastic ones but mild, cute and polite. Trust me, this granny cat is interesting!

One look is worth a thousand words. I'll stop here and let you find her! Oh, her sweet name is NOASLPLS. [I call her sis pls often. It's easy to remember, no asl pls. It means if you ask her for help about English learning, she is at service whenever she is here, but for games, no need to waste your time even ask her asl. Lo and behold, she is a girl of character.

I know you guys are counting the series, and thinking when this will end. So lets us count together, shall we?

Did You Know? series:-

1. Did You Know?  2. Did You Know? - Continuation   3. Did You Know - Another Continuation   4. Did You Know - Not Another Continuation!   5. Did You Know? - Gosh! Will it Never Ends?   6. Did You Know? - Oh No! Not Another One!   7. Did You Know? - Here Comes Another One!  8. Did You Know? - Another One?

1. Baker's dozen

Baker's dozen simple means thirteen, or sometimes but rarely fourteen. The origin of this phrase can be traced back to the medieval time practice by the bakers who normally gave an extra loaf for customers that bought a dozen loaf. It was believed that many societies throughout histories believed that it was easy for bakers to cheat their customers by selling them than what they were getting. Since bread was the primary source of food for most medieval societies, they took this matter very seriously. Therefore various punishment had been given out to bakers to be found cheating their customers, from the ancient Egypt, Babylon to Britain. The punishments were severe such as nailing their nails to the bakery door, chopping baker's hand, and fines. Therefore, in order to avoid of being seen as cheating their customers, most bakers would put an extra loaf in their dozen.

2. A Dime A Dozen

A dime a dozen means anything that is very cheap and abundant in quantity, or something easily acquired. A dime was first produced from 89.24 percent silver and 10.76 percent copper. However, the Coinage Act 1965 changed the composition of a dime. It was now 75 percent copper and 25 percent nickels. This composition made it cheaper to produce the dime. It was said due to the cheaper cost of producing the dime, thus, it was minted in millions and made everyone able to have it. Another source said it was referring to the ordinary things that could be bought cheaply, i.e. with just a dime. 

3. Sixes and Sevens

The idiom "sixes and sevens" means the state of confusion or disorder, or disagreement between two parties. The origin of this idiom can be traced back at the medieval Europe. It was said that the most popular game was "Hazard" which involved the outcome from the roll of a dice. A foolish may bet on a roll of a five and six,  known as “setting on cinque and cice” (from the French words for five and six). The entire fortune could be loss with just one toss. Over time, the expression became "to take a great risk" and "cinque and cice" became "six and seven".

By 16th Century, Shakespeare used "six and seven" as "in great confusion" in his Richard II. By 18th Century, "sixes and sevens" became the standard form and it carried the meaning of "in stubborn disagreement".

4. Catch 22

Another interesting phrase which often being used is "catch 22". Catch 22 means a no-win situation or a paradox in which an attempt to escape makes escape impossible. It was said that the origin of the phrase was from a book "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller which was published in 1961. The paradox was represented as a trap that confined US Air Force in logical term. It was like, "a chicken and egg" situation, or "heads, I win, tails you lose" scenario.

5. Eighty Six

This idiom simple mean a certain item is no longer available. It also mean, to throw away. This idiom seemed related to restaurant business. The Phrase Finder listed three possibilities of the origin of this idiom.

- From Chumley's Bar and restaurant at 86 Bedford Street in Greenwich Village NYC.

- A reference to article 86 of the New York state liquor code which defines when bar patrons should be refused service.

- From Delmonico's Restaurant in New York City. Item number 86 on their menu, their house steak, was often unavailable during the restaurant's early years."

 I am sure there's another numerical idioms out there. But my mind just drew blank at the moment. LOL

I have added a few idioms about monkey from my original blog, since there are a lot more and interesting idioms about them. The additional idioms are highlighted in blue font. LOL. I was writing this during the EC upgrading period. The chat had been disabled, of which was good for me. LOL. I have a better time in researching more obscure facts.

Did You Know? Series:-

1. Did You Know?   2. Did You Know? - Continuation   3. Did You Know? - Another Continuation

4. Did You Know? - Not Another Continuation!   5. Did You Know? - Gosh! Will it Never End?

6. Did You Know? - Oh No! Not Another One!   7. Did You Know? - Here Comes Another One!

Did You Know?

1. House of Cards

House of cards means that a flimsy structure, arrangement, or situation that is in danger of collapsing or failing. The origin of this phrase can be traced back to John Milton; the poet, in the 17th century. Even though the meaning did not change much, but Milton used it more of pagan's nature of playing cards which during that time was viewed as evil. Therefore, house of cards were not only structurally unstable but morally unstable. Thus, as far as Milton's concerned, the destruction was as religious as practical.

2. Monkey is very popular.

While the EC chat was down for a few days, some of EC members found various ways to communicate and monkeying around. LOL. "Monkeying around" means doing random and unplanned activities. Another expression that can be used is "horsing around". Both expressions originated from the the behaviour of both animals which like to frolic and just doing unexpected things.

I think another idioms that can be associated with the good-natured pandemonium during that period is " barrel of monkeys". A barrel of monkeys means a good-natured chaotic state, some form of light-hearted pandemonium, which what had happened to most EC Members during that time. LOL. The origin was unknown, but according to Charles E. Funk, word historian; "One monkey arouses a great deal of amusement. Two or more then double the interest and amusement. If one were to release a barrel full of monkeys, we must suppose that their antics would become hilariously comical." 

Another idiom is "monkey business" which means foolish or mischievous activity, It also can mean silliness or dishonest tricks. The origin of this phrase is believed to be from 1904 Brooklyn Standard Union newspaper article. Though the Phrase Finder also listed an earlier reference to an article in 1828 as the origin of the phrase.

"Get the monkey off someone's back" means to stop a bad habit. It is also mean to stop annoying someone.

Surprisingly, I missed those time. LOL. So, the next time EC is going to undertake an upgrading, I think I will call those monkeys. Haha.

I was writing this fables because Bala asked me about cats' fables. Though this fables didn't give a good view for a cat, I like to share with all of you. This was a story about a cat and a tiger.

The Story of a Cat and a Tiger

Once upon a time, a cat and a tiger were the very best of friends. In fact, the cat was more of a teacher to the tiger. The cat would teach the tiger on how to hunt in the deep jungle. He also would teach the tiger to art of stalking its prey. The tiger was well know to have a very short temper and easily lost its patience when trying to hunt its prey.

Due to the clumsiness of the tiger, most of the time it failed to catch any prey, so it always went hungry. Therefore, whenever the cat caught any rat, he will share them with the tiger. Since the tiger was much bigger than the cat, it ate a lot. Thus, the cat had to catch a lot of rats to satisfy tiger's hunger. But he never complained. He did it because they were best of friends.

Day by day, the tiger was getting better in mastering the art of stalking its prey. At first, it managed to catch just a small rat. He was so happy, so did the cat. He can see the progress the tiger was making. 

One day, while the cat was sunning itself on the top branch of a tree, a loud noise came from the ground. "O Master Cat, please come now!" bellowed the excited tiger. "Please hurry! I want you to watch me catch a mouse deer." The tiger cannot hide his excitement and eagerness.

Not to hurt his pupil's feelings, though it was really a sunny and good day to take a nap, the cat climbed down the tree with such ease and agility. With a smile he said, "Okay my dear Tiger. Show me." "Shush, don't make any noise. The mouse deer can hear you. Then it will run away, and I can't show you my skills" The tiger admonished the cat. Silently and cautiously both of them were peering at a mouse deer which was happily munching on the grass near the river bank. Suddenly, the tiger roared and pounced the mouse deer. Due to the suddenness of the attack, the tiger managed to catch and killed the mouse deer.

"Well done, dear Tiger. I am so proud of you. You have shown great patience and great skills in killing me this mouse deer" said the cat while enjoying the succulent mouse deer meat with the tiger. He felt like a proud parent. "Hahaha.. I know O Master Cat! I am the best! Soon I will be the best of all the hunters in this wide jungle." said the tiger with a boastful voice. 

"O dear student. Please use your skills carefully." advised the cat. "Hah! Why should I? I have learnt these skills to be the best. Now that I have mastered it, I think I need to use it, and not to hid it" said the proud tiger.

The cat was sad when hearing such words from the tiger. From that day onward, they became strangers. Time passed, and one day, while napping and dreaming chasing a big rat on top of his favourite tree, the cat heard a loud roar. "O Master Cat! Please come down now! Stop being too lazy. I want you to teach me something". 

The cat was surprised hearing the loud roar from the tiger, but at the same time he was happy to see his friend. Eagerly he climbed down from the tree. He tried to hug the tiger but was dismissed. "O my friend the Tiger. I am so happy to see you. It's been a while since we hunt together" the cat cannot contain his excitement when looking at his friend. 

"Ahh .. stop this nonsense. I don't have the time for such nonsense. I just want to see you so that you can teach me how to climb a tree. Now that I am the best hunter in this whole wide jungle, I find that I am still lacking one skill, that is climbing a tree. I want you to teach me now!" 

"Oh my dear friend. You are still being impatient. You need to learn to be patient, then I will teach you on how to climb a tree. Because climbing a tree really needs patient and agility." said the cat. Hearing the words from the cat, the tiger was so angry. "I don't need to be patient! I am the best hunter now. Everyone is afraid of me now. Why do I need to be patient?" he said.

"Then, I am sorry my dear friend. I cannot teach you. I will only teach you if you learn to be patient" said the cat with a sad voice. He was sad when he realised that his friend the tiger had became so arrogant with his new found skills. "What did you say? You don't want to teach me?" the tiger was so angry that spits spewing from his mouth. "I want you to teach me now, otherwise I will kill you" the tiger said.

The cat hastily ran and climbed his favourite tree. He sat on his favourite branch and cannot stop from shedding a few tears. Tears for the lost of friendship, tears of regret. The tiger was furious. He waited and waited and waited. After some times, the tiger was getting impatient. He growled a few times, but to no avail. The cat sat patiently on the tree branch.

The tiger finally had enough, and left. Before he left, he said a few parting words to the cat. "Don't ever let me meet you or your family. This time I am letting you go. But even if I smell your excrement, I will hunt you down and kill you".

The cat was so sad when hearing the parting words. He decided to leave his beloved jungle, and go to the nearest village. He always remember tiger's parting words. Therefore, ever time he defecated, he will make sure that his excrement will leave no odour. That was why cat will bury its excrement and sniff it around to make sure no odour will ever leaked through.

~~~~~~~ The End ~~~~~~~

Hahaha .. I hope you enjoyed reading this fables. Bala , you are making me seek high and low for this story, because it was centuries ago that I read this one. Thank you for making me remember this fables.

Hahaha .. you thought that I have had enough torturing you guys with all those obscure and maybe needless facts? You thought wrong. LOL. Here comes another one in the Did You Know? Series.

1. Did You Know?

2. Did You Know? - Continuation

3. Did You Know? - Another Continuation

4. Did You Know? - Not Another Continuation!

5. Did You Know? - Gosh! Will it never ends?

6. Did You Know? -Oh No! Not Another One!

Did You Know?

1. Why happiness is always associated with animals?

There are many idioms/expressions/figure of speech which associate happiness with animals. This is because we tend to anthropomorphise animals, which attributing human emotions and motivations to us. There are three clear expression of happiness which associated with animal.

One is "as happy as a lark". This figure of speech/expression means extremely happy. A lark is a bird that has a beautiful and melodious song. It's always said that when we are happy we will sing, thus, as happy as a lark.

Second one is "as happy as a clam". This means we are happy and contented. This is the shorter version of the expression. The original version is " as happy as a clam at high water". It was said that a happy clam looks like smiling. This expression was believed to be originated from North Eastern states of USA.

However, a third expression "as happy as Larry" is not derived from animal. It was believed originated from Australia or New Zealand. One source said it was referring to Australian boxer Larry Foley (1847-1917). However, another source said it was referring to term "larrikin" for a street rowdy or young urban hooligan, recorded from the late 1860s but known especially in Australia and New Zealand from the 1880s onwards in reference to a specific subculture.

2. As snug as a bug in a rug

This is a humorous way of saying very warm and comfortable. The origin of this idiom is very interesting because of the three key words in here; snug, bug and rug. The origin of these three key words themselves are as interesting as the idiom. Apparently the word "snug" was originally did not mean "comfortable" but instead "neat, trim, well prepared". It was John Lane who used the word "snugginge" to mean "comfortable" in his Continuation of Chaucer's Squire's Tale in 1595.

Then the origin of the second key word "bug". The word "bug" or "bugge" originally meant "ghost or ghoul" in the Coverdale Bible in Psalm 91:5. However, Daniel Rogers in his Namaan the Syrian in 1642 used the term "bugge" to refer to an ant, thus the first recorded citation of bug as an insect. 

Then finally, the third key word "rug". In Tudor time, the word "rug" meant the same thing as "rag". At that time, rug was a thick woolen blanket. It was not used on the floors as what it was now.

After considering all the origins of these three words, it was not surprising that the whole phrase meant very warm and comfortable since it was not hard to imagine a place more pleasant for a bug to snuggle down than a warm rug. 

Hmm ... that's all for this time.

This story is nearly forgotten among the Malay children. It's not as popular as other fables that involves tiger, mouse deer or even crocodile. I still remember this story which I read when I was a small kid centuries ago. I was surprised that when I tried to find this story online, I hardly find anything about it. Therefore, I would like to share this story with everyone, to keep it alives.

When writing this fable, it reminds me of one EC Member that I always teased by calling him "Python". I don't know why and when I started to tease him with that nickname, or maybe it was him who started to tease me about python when I said that a treadmills is a good place to sleep. LOL. So, Bruno caramigo, this blog is dedicated to you.

How the python lost its venom

A long long time ago, among all animals and snakes, python was the most feared and revered snake. This was because python was the most poisonous snake. It was said that, so poisonous the python was, that if it bit even the foot prints of a man, that man will surely die.

One day, the python went fishing. He caught many fish and hide them near the bushes at the at the river bank. He was so happy because his abundant catches. While he was still fishing at the river, three young boys stumbled upon his hidden catches. After looking around and they did not see anyone, the young boys took the fish and brought them back to their village. The villagers were so happy because most of them were afraid to go to the river because of the python.

Shortly after, the python came back whistling with more fish. He was shocked when he noticed that the fish that he had hidden were all gone. He was furious and was looking high and low for the culprits who dared to steal from him.

Then he saw little footprints near his hiding place. Without thinking, he bit those little footprints. At the village, chaos ensured when the three boys suddenly vomited blood and died. The villagers knew then that those boys were bitten by the python. Everyone was sad. They were crying and shouting with anger. 

The noise reached the python. He was perplexed. When he saw a group of crows just came back from the direction of the village, he asked the crows. "Hey Crow the Bird, what is going on at the village? Why are there so much noise coming from them? I can't even take my afternoon nap".

The crows never like the python, because the python always looked down on them since they had no special power. So they thought this was the best time to get back to the python. So one of the crows said; "Oh! The villagers are so happy that three young boys caught so many fish and brought them home. It has been a while since they have such huge catches that they are having a party". 

Once again the python was furious. He thought that his venom was no longer poisonous. Without thinking he vomited all his venom to the ground. The group of crows decided to wash their beaks with the venom, and that's why the crows beaks were a bit poisonous now. Another animals came to the scene. A group of fire ants ate the venom, that's why their stings were fiery. Then came the last animals; the caterpillars. They were crying because they were the last animals to hear about the news and too late. So in frustrations, they rolled on the ground at the trace of the venom. That was why now the caterpillars made you itchy when you were in contact with them. As for the python, he's no longer poisonous. That's why now it constricted its victims.

~~~The End~~~

I hope you had enjoyed reading the story. As most fables, there are various versions on this one. I wrote this one based on my memory. I hope to see you in another fable soon.

To all my EC Friends

I know what some of you had been and still going through with the up-grading of EC. Some of you may find it hard not to be able to chat with your friends. I have to admit, I face the difficulty of not be able to chat with many of you too. But, don't let it bring your mood down. Here, I want to dedicate this wonderful song to all my wonderful EC friends. Smile! It's a wonderful world we are living in at the moment. Appreciate every seconds of it.

What a Wonderful World - Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, 

Haha ... sorry guys. You have to bare with me on this series. I really like to bombard all of you with little known facts and maybe sometimes totally outrageous facts. I would like to apologise well in advance if some of you may find some word(s) in here is(are) a bit crude. I don't mean to be impolite.

Did You Know Series :-

1. Did You Know?

2. Did You Know? - Continuation.

3. Did You Know? - Another Continuation

4. Did You Know? - Not Another Continuation!

5. Did You Know? - Gosh! Will it never ends?

Did You Know?

1. The Stress Call S.O.S.

Did you know that the Morse code distress call S.O.S. does not stand for "Save our Ship"? S.O.S. was chosen to replace the original distress call of "C.Q.D" in 1910. The pattern of Morse code of three short, three long, three short letters was thought more easily distinguishable against background noise. CQ originated from the French word "secu" or "securite" followed by D which meant distress.

2. There is a real place name Fucking

I don't mean to be rude or anything, but there is a place named Fucking. Fucking is a village in Austria's Tarsdorf municipality. The village is 33 kilometres from North Salzburg. According to some sources, it was founded in 1070. Though the town has had its name since 1070, it was not until WWII when the British and American soldiers arrived to the area that it began to receive its "notoriety". Tourists like to take pictures by signage of the town's name, and sometimes some tourists vandalised the the signage or even took the signage, which made the locals getting pretty sick about it. There's a rumour that the locals voted to change the name of the town to Fugging, but apparently there's already a town nearby named Fugging. 

3. Origin of Golf

Contrary to popular believe, golf does not come from the acronym of Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden. LOL. Though there are many version of the origin of golf, but modern game of golf is attributed to Scotland. The word golf itself is thought derived from various words such as gowf, goff, goif and gauff. The first documented mention of the word "golf" is in Edinburgh in 1457, when King James II banned "ye golf", in attempt to encourage archery practice. "Gowf" had been banned in several occasion and even an Act of Parliament was passed to prevent it from being played on Sunday in order to preserve the game of archery. However, golf gained popularity and evolved there on until what it became now the modern golf. It was believed that St. Andrews of Scotland was the birth place of modern golf.

Okay, that's all for the moment. I hope you had a belly of laugh with this blog.

This fable is very famous among children in Malaysia and had been passed down from generations. A mouse deer is always being portrayed as a very pretty and intelligent animal. There are many fables portraying this intelligent animal, and I want to share with you one of the most famous one. It is about how a mouse deer played a trick towards a group of crocodiles. I hope you will enjoy reading it.

A Mouse Deer and Crocodiles

Deep deep in a quiet Tropical jungle, a crocodile was having a blast swimming in the river. He hummed and frolicked by himself while his other friends were napping. After feeling exhausted, he decided to take a rest underneath a durian tree.

In meanwhile, at the nearby area, a mouse deer was scavenging for fruits. But he was having a difficulty as fruits were scarce when he suddenly noticed that there were a lot of fruits on the other side of the river. "Hmmm .. how can I go to the other side of the river? There are a lot of hungry crocodiles in this river. But the fruits are really looking delicious", the mouse deer was saying to himself.

"I need to think of a clever plan". So the mouse deer decided to sit underneath a rambutan tree while munching some fruits. It took him in no more than a few rambutan fruits to concoct a plan since it's a clever animal. "What a clever plan that I've come up, if I say so myself" said the mouse deer with a smile.

"Psttt ... pssttt  .... wake up Mr. Crocodile" said the mouse deer to the sleeping crocodile. It took a while for the crocodile to open his eyes. First, he opened his right eye, and when he saw a nice plump looking mouse deer near him, he opened both eyes. He was thinking "hmm ... what a pretty plump nice dinner this deer going to be".

"What do you want, O Little Mousy Deer?" said the crocodile. "I have an important message from our leader the Tiger", said the mouse deer. "He wants to have a party to celebrate his birthday, and he likes to invite every animals in this jungle to attend. But he needs to know how many animals are there in this jungle so that he can prepare enough food for everyone".

"Wow, this is a good news indeed, O Little Mousy Deer. What do you want me to do?" asked the crocodile excitedly. "I would like for all the crocodiles in this river to line up across this river, and then I will count the number one by one", said the deer with a very serious tone.

The crocodile shouted to every sleeping crocodiles and asked them to line up across the river. "Please make sure they don't snap at me when I started to jump and count the number", the mouse deer reminded the crocodile. Then he started to jump.

"One two, little feet" 

"Three four, a little bit more"

"Five six, big belly indeed"

The mouse deer repeated the lines until he jumped safely to the other side of the river bank. "How many of us are there?" shouted the crocodile from across the river. "Ohhhh.... just nine stupid crocodiles. I just wanted to cross this river, and there is no party" replied the mouse deer while laughingly running away from the river bank. 

The crocodiles were angry for being made a fool by a little mouse deer. Meanwhile, the mouse deer was enjoying the abundance of fruits. However, he needed to think of a way to return back to his home across the river.

The End.

I hope everyone enjoy reading this little story. They are many versions of this pretty fable, but the context remains the same, and I have to admit I did change the details a little bit and using my own little version in writing this fable.

Hahaha ... I know, I know. When will this ends? LOL. I think my answer would be "Only God knows",  though I really hope you like this series.

In this blog, I am going to dedicate myself on writing the origin of certain expressions and idioms because I really like to read and know the origins of these idioms and expressions.

Did You Know? Series :-

1. Did You Know?

2. Did You Know - Continuation

3. Did You Know - Another Continuation

4. Did You Know - Not Another Continuation!

Did You Know?

1. Red tape

The expression "red tape" means rigid or mechanical adherence to bureaucratic rules and regulations especially those involving unnecessary paperwork. The origin of red tape stemmed from the usage of red tapes for binding legal and official documents in the 17th century, though some sources cited that 16th century, King Henry VII had besieged Pope Clement VII with various petitions for annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon as the origin of the expression of "red tape".

2. The writing on the wall

When people said it's "the writing on the wall", it means that the result is inevitable. The origin of the expression can be traced back to the Babylonian period. In the Babylonian legend, the evil King Belshazzar had looted a Temple in Jerusalem and drank from a sacred vessel. After that a mysterious hand appeared and to the astonishment of the King, wrote four strange words on the banquet room wall. Only the Prophet Daniel could interpret the mysterious message and told the King that the words spelled disaster. Soon after that, the King was defeated and slain.

3. The whole nine yards

The expression "the whole nine yards" means that a job had been completed without cutting any corners. The origin of this idiom are varied. 

The first origin of this idiom had been attributed to WW2 fighter planes. The exact length of a belt of 50-caliber ammunition for the Corsair fighter was exactly nine yards. If a target was shot with the entire band(belt), it was said to have been given "the whole nine yards".

Another origin was said to be from a tailor making the best suit which was nine yards of fabric. It is said that the best tailor made a proper suit indeed used nine yards of fabrics because a good suits has all the fabric cut in the same direction with the warp, parallel with the vertical line of the suit. This causes a great amount if waste in the suit making, but if anyone wants to go to "the whole nine yards", you have to pay for such waste.

Okay, that's all for now. Tell me if you know any origin of popular idioms or phrases.

I was reading this remarkable story about Richard Lee Norris who had "successfully" undergone a complicated face transplant procedure. I thought this story suits this month Writing Challenge : Pretty Paragraph since this is indeed a pretty remarkable story. Please click here to read the full article in Huffington Post UK.

Mr Norris lost most of his upper and lower jaw as well as his lips, teeth and tongue in a gun accident in 1997, and had been living as a recluse after that accident. Though the transplant is considered successful, Mr Norris will have to take medication for the rest of his life to mitigate the possibility of rejection by his body.

The Washington Post reported that Dr Eduardo Rodriguez with his team of 150 doctors and nurses had performed 36-hour operation at University of Maryland Medical Center. 

You may read more articles in this matter in the internet just by googling the key word "Richard Lee Norris". They are many interesting articles written about this man and the success story of this transplant procedure.

Whether this procedure on Mr. Norris will be truly successful in sense that his body will not reject his new face remains to be seen. However,  I believed this is one truly remarkable miracle of modern medical technologies and remarkable doctors and nurses. 

Here goes another blog in my "Did You Know?" series. I hope I did not bore you to death yet with this series. LOL.

Did You Know Series :-

1. Did You Know?

2. Did You Know - Continuation

3. Did You Know - Another Continuation

Did you know?

1. Lobsters are immortal 

I have came across this fact when I was researching for my blog Did You Know - Continuation. Did you know that a lobster can replace any of its body parts which make it immortal? LOL. Not really immortal, but it can grows to be 100 years old.  If a lobster lost its eyes, it can regenerate it. In fact, a lobster can regenerate its own legs, claws and antenna. A lobster can amputate its own legs to escape danger.Please read facts about lobster in this article.

2. Eureka Moment

The word "eureka - /yo͝oˈrēkə/"- which means a cry of joy or satisfaction when someone discovers something which came from Greek word which also meant "I have found it". Eureka moment is always associated with Archimedes, the  Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. It was said that while having his bath, suddenly Archimedes had his eureka moment about volume of water which plagued him for sometimes, and he leapt from his bath naked and ran through Syracuse naked and crying "Eureka".

3. The expression of blue blood

The "blue blood" expression can bring the meanings of "the blood that which flows in the veins of old and aristocratic families". It can also refers to the fair skin of upper classes. It also suggested a complete lack of tan, the sign of leisure/upper class who does not have to work under the sun. It was originated from the Spanish word "sangre azul" which literally translated as "blue blood". It was attributed to the Spanish oldest and proudest families, the Castile, who claimed never to be intermarried with other races at that time such as Moors, Jews or others. 

4. Yellow tennis balls

Even though tennis balls are predominantly fluorescence yellow in colour, actually in fact it can be of any colours. However, only yellow and white are the only colours approved by International Tennis Federation (ITF) and United State Tennis Association (USTA). Did you know that in 1972, the first yellow tennis ball was first introduced when it was found out that they are more visible on colour television. LOL. There was nothing too fancy or scientific about it.

Okay, that is all at the moment. Feel free to add.

I have posted the same topic in the forum. Therefore, feel free to add in here or in the forum.

Old wives tale

What is the meaning of "old wives' tale"? According to a simple definition it means a belief, usually superstitious or erroneous, passed on by word of mouth as a piece of traditional wisdom.

In nearly every Society, they have their own "old wives' tales" which had been passed down from generations. It doesn't matter if you believed these "old wives' tales" or not, but to read or listen about them are fun. 

Okay, here I want to share with you one of the most common "old wives tales" in my Society. It has to do with bad luck. It was said that in order to get rid of one's bad lucks, one needs to take a bath with water mixed with 7 different flowers. The flowers must be sweet smelling flowers.

So share with me your Society most common "old wives' tale". This is just for fun. LOL

My friend Sima's love story of Shirin and Farhad had aspired me to write this story. The Legend of Mahsuri is a famous Malay legend which had been told and retold countless times and became a myth. I never read any of English version of this story, if any. I'm writing this story after gathering information from various local sources and trying my best to stay true to the legend.

Mahsuri - The Legend

According to the legend, Mahsuri was a beautiful Malay lady who lived in Padang Matsirat, Langkawi Island sometimes in 19th century. Her family was from Phuket, Thailand (or formerly known as Siam). Langkawi is an archipelago of islands, north of Malaysia. It was said that Mahsuri was the most beautiful lady in Langkawi. 

She was married to Wan Darus, a warrior. At one time, Wan Darus had to leave Mahsuri alone when he had to go to war. During his absence, Mahsuri befriended a young man named Deraman. Due to her beauty, Mahsuri was envied by most women in the Island, especially Wan Mahora, the wife of the village chief who was also her sister-in law. She started a vicious rumour saying that Mahsuri was having an affair with Deraman in the absence of her husband. Soon, the entire village people turned against Mahsuri and believed the rumour. Mahsuri pleaded her innocence but no one believed her.

The village then condemned her to death. She was tied to a pole and stabbed repeatedly with a keris, (a keris is a traditional Malay weapon), however she did not die. Mahsuri kept on pleading her innocence, but the people did not believe her words. After several failed attempts to kill her, Mahsuri told the people that the only way she can be killed was by using the family keris. 

When she stabbed with her family's keris, a white blood flowed from her body to signify her innocence. The villagers were shocked and regretted their action, but it was too late. With her dying breath, Mahsuri cursed the village to have bad luck for seven generations. 

When Wan Darus came back from the war, he was shocked to hear his wife had been killed. He decided to leave Langkawi with his young son, and his family in-laws. 

Many locals of Langkawi believed the legend to be true, citing decades of bad crops and various wars between Siam after the death of Mahsuri. At the last invasion by Siam, the local burnt their rice field rather than allowing the field to be fallen in the hands of Siamese soldiers. The place is still known as "Beras Terbakar - Burnt Rice". 

Only at the end of 20th century; supposedly after seven generations, that Langkawi begun to prosper and became a tourist destination. Beras Terbakar and Padang Matsirat until now become popular places being visited by locals.

My friend WMW asked me, how many Did You Know sequences am I going to write? Until now, I am yet to know the answer. However, here comes another blog Did You Know series, and I hope you can bear with me.

Did You Know Series :-

1. Did You Know?

2. Did You Know - Continuation

Did You Know?

1. Black Book expression/idiom

The idiom "in someone's black book" means that you are out of favour with someone. There are several stories with regards to the origin of this expression. One of the most popular is the 14th century story about King Henry VII. King Henry VII's agents would write names of people that need to be "censored" or punished especially those English monasteries of which lands King Henry VII wanted to acquire.

However, today "little black book" brings different meaning as compared to "in someone's black book". Little black book indicates a record, usually of names and contact details of persons with whom one has been, or would like to be, amorously associated. The history of "little black book" is more colourful than the history of "in someone's black book". Samuel Derrick was credited to be the first to create "little black book" with his Harris's List of Convent Garden Ladies.

2. The Blue People - The Fugates Family

There is a real "blue people" and not just the popular "Blue Man Group". LOL. Well, first let me explain to you what is Blue Man Group. It is a muscial group founded in 1987 by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. It produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring experimental music, comedy and multimedia.

The Blue People or the Fugates family, who lived in Troublesome Creek, Kentucky USA, were well known in the area because of their oddity that they were blue. The presence of methemoglobin which is a rare disorder in the red blood cells in concentrated amounts leads to tissue hypoxia and giving a purplish and bluish tome to the skin. The Fugates had the recessive gene of this very element in their blood and thus were an odd tint of blue. Please read in details about this family in this article.

I think that's enough for the moment. Hope you enjoy these little facts.

This morning, when I wanted to go to work, I heard a mewling sound coming underneath my car. Knowing that sometimes kitten(s) loved to lay down underneath my car, especially when it was a bit cold previous night, I tried my best to shush it away. I looked underneath my car, and was so relieved when I saw no kitten underneath it anymore, or so I thought.

As usual, it took me about 40 to 45 minutes to reach my office. Once I shut down the engine and took my handbag, suddenly I heard another mewling sound came from somewhere inside my car. I was shocked. I knew that I need some help to locate the sound. Thus, I rushed to the office and put my laptop and handbag on my desk. Fortunately, there was an office mate in the office already. 

I told him that I believed there was a kitten in my car engine. We went to the car park and sure enough, we heard the mewling sounds. He raised the hood of my car, but there was nothing. We could hear the mewling sounds still, but unfortunately, we cannot locate the kitten. By this time, we had attracted a few attentions from people who just parked their cars. Some of them were amazed that the kitten was still alive considering that I had driven the car for about 45 minutes.

Time passed, we still cannot locate the kitten. Another man came in and tried to locate it, but still no success. Suddenly, my office mate saw a tail of the kitten. It was next to the tire on the passenger's side. A few moments later, I saw it's big eyes peering through a small hole inside the engine. I tried to grab it without success. By this time, we knew it got stuck inside a small hole next to the tire. Finally, we decided to unscrew the flap (I'm sorry I don't know the term) next to the tire. It was big enough for my friend to grab its head and free it. 

It took us about one hour to finally be able to free that little rascal. When it was free, it was quivering. I am sure it was frighten and traumatic due to the experience, because I was too. It was decided then that I should send it back to my house since the office was not a good place for it. Since I was allergic to any furry animals, I decided to bring the kitten to my brother's home. 

After another 30 minutes drive, I reached my brother's home. Once I let it out from a bag, that little rascal ran away from the dining hall. Lo and behold, it climbed back once again into the engine of my car. Thank God, it only took us about 5 minutes to make it ran away from the engine. My brother decided to put in under a pail for a time being, until I drive away from his house.

I hope that little rascal will not find another car engine. I think it thought it was an F1 driver or something. LOL. I do not want anyone else had the traumatic experience as what I have gone through this morning.

This is a continuation of my previous blog; Did You Know. Feel free to add additional information or introduce new item(s). 

1. Post-its Notes were invented by accident.

Thank you for Vanessa for triggering about "Post-its" Notes. 

Post-its notes were also invented by accidents. Dr. Spencer Silver, a scientist worked with 3M in the USA had accidentally developed "low tack reusable, pressure-sensitive adhesive" instead of super-strong adhesive. However, his invention was not well received among his colleagues. A few years later, his colleague, Art Fry, used his invention for bookmark his hymn book. 3M launched the product in 1977 but again, it was not well received. However, in 1978, 3M issued free samples to residents in Boise, Idaho and from there on, the rest was history.Read here to read the full history of "Post-its" Notes.

2. Shirt's buttons for men are on different side from women

Did you know that shirt's buttons for men are right hand side whereas shirt's buttons for women are on the left hand side? Traditionally, most people are right handed, thus, shirt's button are on the right hand sight. Traditionally and historically, men tended to themselves while buttoning their shirts, thus, it was only logical for the button to be on the right hand side. However, during the Victorian Era, women that could afford fancy clothes, and thus had buttons' shirts, were of the higher class and always had maids to attend to them. Therefore, the buttons were sewn on the left hand side of the shirt because from the maid's position, it was the right hand side. Got it? LOL 

3. A Valley in Wales, United Kingdom has the longest single word domain in Europe.

A Valley in Wales named Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch which contains 51 letters is the longest single word domain in Europe. Try to pronounce the name in a single breath. LOL. The name means "Saint Mary's Church in a hollow of white hazel near the swirling whirlpool of the church of Saint Tysilio with a red cave". 

However, a hill in New Zealand, which is called Taumatawhakatangjjihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu which contains 85 letters can claimed to be the longest single word domain in the world. The name means "The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who traveled about, played his nose flute to his loved one". 

4. Kuala Lumpur means the muddy confluence

The Capital City of Malaysia is Kuala Lumpur; pronounced as /ˌkwälə ˈlo͝omˌpo͝or/. In Malay, "kuala" means the junction between two rivers or confluence, and "lumpur" means mud or muddy. Therefore, Kuala Lumpur means "the muddy confluence". It thrived due to the tin mining activities. During the British colonization, it became the centre of commerce. Read here for history of Kuala Lumpur.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. As I said, please feel free to add any other facts. 

I like to find and read the origin of certain thing, be it words, inventions, or simply silly and obscure things. Here, I have collected a few things that I want to share with everyone. Feel free to add.

Did you know?

1. Corn flakes were discovered by accident

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will Keith Kellogg discovered corn flakes by accident when they left their cooked wheat unattended to attend more important matter. The cooked wheat had became stale, but due to their strict budget, they processed the stale wheat and discovered it became flakes of which they toasted it and served to their patients. You may read here to read more about it.

2. Potato Chips were a backfired plan

In 1853, George Crum, a Native American was employed as a chef in an elegant resort. A guest had requested to be served with French fries but then rejected the order because it was too thick. George Crum decided to serve the guest with thin and crisp fries. To his surprise, the plan backfired, and the guest love his thin and crisp fries. From there on, guests asked to be served with Crum's potato chips. Click here to read more.

3. Saved by the Bell Expression

The expression "Saved by the bell" means a last minute intervention. In the old days, people were buried even though they were not positively identified as dead. This was because of lead poisoning of which put them in coma of which sometimes could be construed as dead. Therefore, people at that time would attached a bell to a coffin just in case that the person was alive and avoid being buried alive. Another version of the origin of this expression is about a boxing term. A boxer who was in danger of losing a round could be "saved" from defeat by a bell that marks the end of a round. Click here to read about these two origins and decide for yourself. 

4. Bikini was named after an atoll

A French engineering Louis Réard was credited to be the inventor of modern bikini. He named his invention after the Bikini Atoll, in the Pacific, the site of an atomic test. He hoped that his invention would caused the burst of excitement as explosive as an atomic bomb. Click here to read the history of the bikini.

5. Chewing gum was invented from failed experiments

Thomas Adams was experimenting to make toys, masks, rain boots and bicycle trees with chicle from sapodilla tree from Mexico. However, all his experiments failed. One day, he popped a piece of surplus stock into his mouth and likes the taste. He had the idea to add flavour to the chicle and thus, chewing gum was invented. Read here about the history of chewing gum.

These are a few of collections of origins of facts, inventions and expressions that I have come across. You may add any additional information. 

This topic had been on my mind for quite some time. Recent events in EC prompted me to finally take a deep breath and write this.

EC Members who came to "know" me through chats, blogs and comments will realise that I tried to put things in more light and humourous ways. I tried my best not to take things too seriously in this virtual world.

Edward Bulwer-Lytton coined a very powerful phrase in his play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy, 1839: "The pen is mightier than the sword". Though in EC world; the virtual world, we do not use pen to convey our thoughts and feelings, I believed the phrase still hold. Yes, in our virtual world, our keyboard is mightier than the sword. What ever words that we type can cut deep enough that sometimes some careless words leave a member angry and hurt.

I've lost a few friends in EC through the years because of words uttered in the chat room. I even left EC a few years back when it was no longer conducive to chat. Recently, my previous ESL virtual friend came back to EC. She left a message in our ESL message board group that she had re-joined EC. Most of our ESL friends were surprised to know she and I had re-joined and maybe questioning our sanity. They had left EC for various reasons and see no reasons to come back. 

However, various things had been happening in the main room that make me ponder; again. I tried my hardest not to get involve with any arguments, even though I must admitted that once I saw red when a chatter started degrading women in general. When I started to argue, he laughingly said, something like "But Noas, I'm not like this in real life". That made me madder which I knew I should just ignored him, but I can't. What does he meant when he said he was not like that in real life? Does he meant he became a MCP (Male chauvinist pig, I'm sorry for putting this term in here) when ever he sat behind his laptop and chatted with us? Does he meant he became "braver" in putting his thoughts and views when he sat on that chair? Does he adorn another "persona" whenever he sit on that chair and became Dr. Jekyll and Hyde?

We know that subjects about politics and religions seemed to the "favourite" topics to some people. But it seemed most of them cannot talk rationally. They can't exchanged views and ideas without having to resort to name callings and insulting other people's believes and religions. Why can't they understand that EC Chat Room is an international forum with people from all walks of life with different views, cultures, and religions? Why can't they put into their thick heads that they can't force their views, cultures and religions to other people? Why can't they go to their own local chat room then if they can't talk rationally with other people who has different views from them? But, I am sure even if they talk in their own local chat room, they will find faults with others for not agreeing with their views. Don't they realised that when they pointed one finger to others, the other four fingers were pointing back at them?

Recently, my faith was put into question when I said I did not put my real name in Chat Room and it is common that most people did not put their real names in the Chat Room for their own protection. I was shocked when my faith was being question for simply not putting my real name in here. I tried not to take slight on that matter, but there are a few things that I hold dear in my life, and one of them is my faith. And it really hurts when some stranger said that to your face without even know anything about you. 

I firmly believed that I learnt a lot from EC and the Chat Room especially from all the English Teachers and native English speakers. No matter how trivial or silly my questions were, they will try their hardest to help me. I believed I made fewer mistakes in English grammar with their help. But nowadays, I prefer to keep silent in the Chat Room and only talk to certain people. Am I being to overly sensitive? Maybe YES. Some of you may say, "Then why don't you leave the Chat Room? Is it worth reading and watching the arguments, insults and name callings? Is it worth to be questioned about your faith just because you choose not to put your name and photo in the Chat Room?" 

At the moment, I will bravely and firmly can say, EC Chat Room is worthy for me to face all that. My EC friends and EC esteem English Teachers make me want to come back again and again. Friendships that I make through chats, blogs and forums make the other distractions trivial. But how long this feelings will last? The keyboard/pen is really mightier than a sword. It can cut deep enough that it make me ponder really hard and take stock.