What Does That Mean? page two

 

ABBREVIATIONS
A&P: The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company
ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union
AFLAC: American Family Life Assurance Company
ALF: Alien Life-form
ASAP: As Soon As Possible
ATM: Automated Teller Machine
AWOL: Absent WithOut Leave *or* Absent Without Official Leave
BCC: Blind Carbon Copy
CAPTCHA: Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
COVID-19: Coronavirus Disease of 2019
CVS: Consumer Value Store
DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
DHL: Dalsey, Hillblom, and Lynn (last names of the company’s founders)
DHS: Department of Homeland Security
EPCOT: Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow
FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
GEICO:  Government Employees Insurance Company
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format
GMO: Genetically-Modified Organism
GOAT: Greatest Of All-Time
IKEA: Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (the founder’s name, the farm he grew up on, and town it was in)
IQ: Intelligence Quotient
IRA: Individual Retirement Account
IRS: Internal Revenue Service
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group
LASER: Light Amplification of Stimulated Emission by Radiation
M&M’s: Mars & Murrie’s (last names of its collaborators)
NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASCAR: National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
NSFW: Not Safe For Work
OPEC: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
PIN: Personal Identification Number (saying ‘PIN number’ is redundant)
POTUS: President of the United States
PS: Post-Script
RAM:  Random Access Memory
RIP: Rest In Peace
RN: Registered Nurse
ROM: Read-Only Memory
RSVP: the French phrase, ‘Répondez s'il vous plaît’, meaning ‘respond, if you please’
SIM card: Subscriber Identity Module
SPF: Sun Protection Factor
SWAT: Special Weapons And Tactics
TASER: Tom A. Swift’s Electric Rifle
TBD: To Be Determined
TMI: Too Much Information
UN: United Nations
UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific, & Cultural Organization
UNICEF: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
UPS: United Parcel Service
URL: Uniform Resource Locator
USA PATRIOT Act: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism
USB: Universal Serial Bus
WC: Water Closet (bathroom)
YAHOO!: Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle
YMCA: Young Men’s Christian Association
YOLO: You Only Live Once
ZIP code: Zone Improvement Plan

AIRPORTS
Dulles (Washington DC): Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, an important figure in connecting the U.S. with allies during the Cold War
Heathrow (London): a farming village called Heath Row, which was demolished in 1944 to make room for the airport
Hobby (Houston): Texas governor William Hobby, who had a large part in developing Houston’s business community
LaGuardia (New York City): Fiorello La Guardia, mayor of NYC during the airport’s construction who had an instrumental part in getting the city its first international landing field
Logan (Boston): Major General Edward Logan, a Boston native who served in the military during the Spanish-American War
McCarran (Las Vegas): Patrick McCarran, a controversial Senator who was integral in developing Las Vegas and getting federal funds for mostly-government-owned Nevada; in 2021, it was re-named for Harry Reid, Nevada’s longest-serving Senator, though it’s still often referred to as McCarran
O’Hare (Chicago): Edward O’Hare, a Navy pilot who single-handedly defended his aircraft carrier against attack by nine Japanese airplanes
Fun fact: His father was Al Capone’s lawyer, who eventually turned against his client and helped get him convicted for tax evasion.

BAND NAMES
311: Omaha, Nebraska’s police code for indecent exposure, which the band found out when their original guitarist was arrested for streaking
ABBA: the first names of band members Agnetha, Benny, Björn, and Anni-Frid
Aerosmith: co-founder and drummer Joey Kramer is credit with the name, having been inspired by Harry Nilsson’s album Aerial Bellet
Alice In Chains: a combination of Alice In Wonderland and a friend’s suggestion to include a tough-sounding word
Amon Amarth: an alternate name for Mount Doom in The Lord Of The Rings
Anaal Nathrakh: a spell cast by Merlin in the Excalibur story
Arkona: a castle in the Baltic Sea that was destroyed in 1168
Between The Buried & Me: a lyric in the song Ghost Train by Counting Crows
Black Sabbath: the 1963 film of that name starring Boris Karloff
Bloodhound Gang: a mystery segment on the 1980s TV show 3-2-1 Contact
Bush: a nickname for the area of London where frontman Gavin Rossdale grew up
Cattle Decapitation: formed as a vegetarian band that heavily promoted anti-meat propaganda, the original members wanted the words ‘cattle’ or ‘decapitation’ in their name
Def Leppard: the title of frontman Joe Elliott’s school art project; the spelling was changed as a nod to Led Zeppelin
Deftones: the hip-hop slang word ‘def’ paired with the suffix ‘-tones’, as in Dick Dale & His Del-Tones; it’s also a version of the phrase ‘tone deaf’
Depeche Mode: a French magazine, with a name translating to English as ‘Fashion News’
Dimmu Borgir: a volcanic lava field in Iceland called Dimmuborgir, though the band is from Norway
Dr. Dre: a combination of his previous stage-name, Dr. J., and his birth name, Andre
Dream Theater: a closed movie theater that was in Monterey, California
Evanescence: a word that means ‘to disappear or vanish’
Fugees: shortened form of ‘refugees’, which Haitian members of the band have been called negatively
Foo Fighters: what World War Two pilots called unidentified flying objects, before the initialism UFO existed
Garbage: its members were experimenting with different sounds, and what was produced was referred to as “sounding like garbage”
Green Day: slang to describe doing nothing but smoking marijuana
Greta Van Fleet: altered spelling of an elderly artist’s name in their hometown of Frankenmuth, Michigan
Guns ‘N’ Roses: the merging of the two bands that formed it- L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose
Fun fact: while Axl is a stage name, Rose is his actual last name
Incubus: guitarist Mike Einziger picked the name out of a book because the band was set to perform a gig and needed one
Iron Maiden: a Medieval torture device that was probably never actually used
Jimmy Eat World: guitarist Tom Linton’s younger brother drew a picture of his old brother, Jim, and wrote Jimmy Eat World as an insult; the name was meant to be a one-off because the band needed one to play a show
Judas Priest: the Bob Dylan song, The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest
KMFDM: Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, a German phrase that was intentionally written incorrectly, meaning ‘no pity for the majority’
Korn: theories abound, but it seems like the band came up with a silly name and stuck with it after their manager’s protest, changing the spelling and reversing the R
Lacuna Coil: combined words from Italian/Latin and English meaning ‘empty spiral’
Led Zeppelin: it’s not known for sure if The Who’s Keith Moon or John Entwistle coined the term, but it was established when Moon joked to Jimmy Page that his project, The New Yardbirds, would fail spectacularly, like a lead balloon; Page wanted something even bigger than a balloon; the group’s manager suggested dropping the ‘a’ from their name, so it wouldn’t be mis-pronounced
Linkin Park: Lincoln Park in their hometown of Santa Monica, California; the spelling was changed so they could secure an internet domain name
Marilyn Manson: combining the names of famous women and serial killers, although Charles Manson never killed anyone himself; other original members included Madonna Wayne Gacy and Ginger Fish
Megadeth: wanting a more-aggressive name than his former band, Metallica, founder Dave Mustaine read the word ‘megadeath’ (a million kills) on a political flyer; the spelling was altered for effect
Meshuggah: a Yiddish word that means ‘crazy’
Metallica: a friend of drummer Lars Ulrich was torn between calling his new magazine Metal Mania and Metallica; Ulrich urged the former so he could use the latter as his new band’s name
Mudvayne: while the band has claimed the word has no official meaning, fans have tried connecting it to heroin use and/or the anal cavity
Nightwish: the name of the first song the band wrote together
Nine Inch Nails: fan theories abound, but founder Trent Reznor has said there is no meaning beyond his liking of the initials NIN; he tested the name for two weeks and it lasted
Nirvana: the highest form of enlightenment that a Buddhist can attain; founder Kurt Cobain wanted the band to represent something beautiful, opposing the angry punk bands’ names that were popular
Fun fact: The first band featuring members of Nirvana, The Sellouts, was a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band, with Cobain on drums and Krist Novoselic on guitar and vocals
Opeth: the name of a city in a Wilbur Smith novel; it was called Opet and the band added the ‘h’ just because
Pantera: Spanish for ‘panther’
Pearl Jam: Band members have told various stories, so the truth is not publicly known, but it seems to have come from bassist Jeff Ament’s affinity for pearls and the fact that the band was impressed when seeing Neil Young “jam” at a concert.
Pink Floyd: One of the band’s early names was The Tea Set, but they were scheduled to appear with other musicians going by that title, so co-founder Syd Barrett chose the first names of two blues musicians whose records he loved- Pink Anderson and Floyd Council.
Primus: Latin for “first’
Puscifer: the name of a fictional band on Mr. Show With Bob & David, which Tool’s guitarist Adam Jones was in
Queens Of The Stone Age: balancing feminine and masculine energy to create a sound that was “heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls”
Rammstein: German for ‘ramming stone’, something that was formerly used for protection in houses
Red Hot Chili Peppers: founders Anthony Kiedis and Flea wanted a name like that of the blues and jazz bands that influenced them
Sevendust: a pesticide can (labelled Sevin Dust) found in a band member’s grandmother’s garage, though some suspect it’s slang for cocaine
Seven Mary Three: the radio sign identifying a character in the TV show CHiPs
Skálmöld: an old Icelandic word meaning ‘Age of swords’
Skinny Puppy: it’s said that the music sounds like how a starving animal would see the world
Slayer: originally a power metal band called Wings Of Fire, the band wanted a darker name and sound; it’s rumored that the name is an acronym for Satan Laughs As You Eternally Rot
Slipknot: a type of knot that’s used in making a noose; fun fact: they originally had a song called ‘Slipnot’ that eventually became ‘(sic)’, hence the title
Smashing Pumpkins: ‘Smashing’ is used as an adjective instead of a verb; no fruit was harmed in the naming of this band
Snoop Dogg: as a youth, Calvin Broadus watched Peanuts and his mom said he resembled Snoopy; his cousin was called Tate Doggy Dogg and Calvin adopted that moniker as well
Sólstafir: Icelandic for ‘sunbeams’ that break through clouds
Soulfly: founder Max Cavalera used the word on the Deftones’ track Head Up; he wrote it as a tribute to his murdered step-son Dana
Soundgarden: A wind-channeling pipe sculpture in Seattle called A Sound Garden.
Stabbing Westward: a 1950s speech that claimed Communism was “stabbing westward”, meaning coming to the United States
Stone Temple Pilots: Forced to change their original name, Mighty Joe Young, the band members wanted to honor the STP Motor Oil stickers they were fans of. The name itself means nothing. It was first Stone Temple Pirates.
The Beatles: The person who coined the name is debated, but the most popular hypothesis is that original bassist Stu Sutcliffe came up with The Beetles as an homage to Buddy Holly & The Crickets. John Lennon then changed the second ‘e’ to an ‘a’ to take on a musical term when read. A former publicist claims the band’s name came from a gang in the movie The Wild One.
Týr: a god in Norse mythology who’s known for sacrificing his fighting hand
Wardruna: Old Norse meaning ‘guardian of secrets (or runes)’

BRAND NAMES USED FOR GENERIC PRODUCTS
Astro-turf (artificial grass)
Band-Aid (adhesive bandage)
Bubble Wrap (cushioned packing)
Chap-stick (lip balm)
Clorox (bleach)
Crock-pot (slow cooker)
Dumpster (waste container)
Epi-pen (epinephrine injector)
Freon (refrigerant)
Frisbee (flying disc)
Glock (semi-automatic pistol)
Google (internet search)
Hacky Sack (footbag)
Hoover (vacuum cleaner)
Hula Hoop (fitness ring)
Jacuzzi (hot tub)
Jet Ski (personal watercraft)
Jumbo-tron (large screen)
Kleenex (tissue)
Koozie (can cooler or bottle jacket)
Muzak (background music)
Novocain (procaine hydrochloride)
Onesie (infant bodysuit)
Plexiglas (acrylic sheet)
Popsicle (ice pop)
Post-it Notes (sticky notes)
Q-Tip (cotton swab)
Rollerblade (in-line skate)
Scotch Tape (clear adhesive tape)
Seeing Eye Dog (guide dog)
Sharpie (permanent marker)
Speedo (swimming briefs)
Styrofoam (polystyrene foam)
Tarmac (asphalt bonded with tar)
Tupperware (food storage container)
Vaseline (petroleum jelly)
Velcro (hook-and-loop fastener)
Wite-out (correction fluid)
X-acto Knife (precision knife)
Xerox (photocopy)
Zamboni (ice resurfacer)

DAYS OF THE WEEK
*The ancient Greeks named the days after the five known planets (according to how they viewed the speeds), plus the Sun and Moon
*The Romans adopted that system, but changed the days’ names to reflect their gods
*In Germanic languages, like English, some of the days have been named for Norse deities
*In Romance languages, like Spanish, the days retained their monikers
Monday: Named for the Moon
Tuesday: Named for Týr, the Norse god of justice and war; he was alternately called Tiw, so it was known as Tiw’s Day, giving English-speakers that spelling
Wednesday: Named for Odin (also called Woden), the chief god (all-father) in Norse mythology
Thursday: Named for Thor, the Norse god of thunder and strength
Fun fact: The German word for Thursday is Donnerstag, which translates to ‘thunder day’
Friday: Named for Odin’s wife, Frigg, the Norse goddess of marriage
Saturday: Named for Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture
Sunday: Named for the Sun

FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH INITIALS IN THEIR NAMES (AND WHAT THEY STAND FOR)
*note that some of these are stage names or aliases*
J.J. Abrams: Jeffrey Jacob (creator of Lost and director of many re-boot films)
Susan B. Anthony: Brownell (activist and suffragette)
Chester A. Arthur: Alan (21^st U.S. president)
P.T. Barnum: Phineas Taylor (showman and circus promoter)
J.M. Barrie: James Matthew (creator of Peter Pan)
L. Frank Baum: Lyman (creator of The Wizard Of Oz)
L.L. Bean: Leon Leonwood (founder of the retail company)
H. Jon Benjamin: Harry (voice actor in Wet Hot American Summer and Bob’s Burgers)
Mary J. Blige: Jane (musician, “Queen of hip-hip soul”)
Pearl S. Buck: Sydenstricker (author of The Good Earth)
Louis C.K.: pronunciation of his last name, Székely (comedian)
P.F. Chang: combination of Paul Fleming and Philip Chiang, the restaurant’s founders
Arthur C. Clarke: Charles (science-fiction writer)
E.E. Cummings: Edward Estlin (poet, essayist, playwright)
Cecil B. DeMille: Blount (producer/narrator/director of The Ten Commandments)
Philip K. Dick: Kindred (science-fiction writer)
W.E.B. DuBois: William Edward Burghardt (civil rights activist)
T.S. Eliot: Thomas Stearns (“This is the way the world ends; not with a bang but a whimper.")
R. Lee Ermey: Ronald (actor in Full Metal Jacket and Saving Silverman)
M.C. Escher: Maurits Cornelis (artist of impossible architecture)
E.M. Forster: Edward Morgan (author of Howard’s Wake)
W.C. Fields: born William Claude Dukenfield (comedic actor)
Michael J. Fox: nothing; middle name is Andrew (star of Back To The Future)
Vivica A. Fox: Anjanetta (actor in Independence Day and Kill Bill)
James A. Garfield: Abram (20^th U.S. president)
D.W. Griffith: David Wark (co-writer/producer/director of Birth Of A Nation)
Michael C. Hall: Carlyle (actor in Six Feet Under and Dexter)
Warren G. Harding: Gamaliel (29^th U.S. president)
P.J. Harvey: Polly Jean (multi-instrumentalist)
O. Henry: nothing; born William Sydney Porter (originator of the phrase “banana republic”)
H.H. Holmes: Henry Howard; born Herman Webster Mudgett (“America’s first serial killer”)
J. Edgar Hoover: John (first director of the FBI)
L. Ron Hubbard: Lafayette (founder of Scientology)
D.L. Hughley: Darryl Lynn (comedian)
John F. Kennedy: Fitzgerald (35^th U.S. president)
Samuel L. Jackson: Leroy (star of Snakes On A Plane)
B.B. King: Blues Boy; born Riley King (blues guitarist)
K.D. Lang: Kathryn Dawn (musician)
D.H. Lawrence: David Herbert (author of Lady Chatterley’s Lover)
Robert E. Lee: Edward (commander of the Confederate States of America’s army)
C.S. Lewis: Clive Staples (author of The Chronicles Of Narnia)
H.P. Lovecraft: Howard Phillips (fantasy writer who created Cthulhu)
William H. Macy: Hall (actor in Fargo (the film) and Showtime’s series Shameless)
George R.R. Martin: Raymond Richard (author of A Song Of Fire And Ice, which became Game Of Thrones
H.L. Mencken: Henry Louis (social satirist)
S. Epatha Merkerson: Sharon (actor in Law & Order and Terminator 2)
A.A. Milne: Alan Alexander (creator of Winnie The Pooh)
J.P. Morgan: John Pierpont (Wall Street banker/investor)
Alfred E. Neuman: nothing, he’s fictional (Mad Magazine’s mascot)
B.J. Novak: born Benjamin Joseph Manaly (actor in Inglourious Basterds)
J. Robert Oppenheimer: Julius (theoretical physicist who oversaw the first atomic bomb test)
I.M. Pei: Ieoh Ming (architect)
James K. Polk: Knox (11^th U.S. president)
Franklin D. Roosevelt: Delano (32^nd U.S. president)
John C. Reilly: Christopher (actor in The Good Girl and Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!)
George A. Romero: Andrew (director of Night Of The Living Dead)
J.K. Rowling: Joanne, the K stands for nothing (creator of Harry Potter)
J.D. Salinger: Jerome David (author of The Catcher In The Rye)
George C. Scott: Campbell (actor in Dr. Strangelove and Patton)
M. Night Shyamalan: born Manoj Nelliyatu (director of The Sixth Sense)
J.K. Simmons: Jonathan Kimble (actor in Oz and Sam Raimi’s Spiderman trilogy)
O.J. Simpson: Orenthal James (football player, actor, acquitted murderer)
J.B. Smoove: born Jerry Angelo Brooks (comedian, actor in Curb Your Enthusiasm)
R.L. Stine: Robert Lawrence (creator of Goosebumps)
Hunter S. Thompson: Stockton (writer of Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas)
Y.A. Tittle: Yelberton Abraham (football player)
J.R.R. Tolkien: John Ronald Reuel (author of The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings)
Andrew W.K.: Wilkes-Krier (musician, motivational speaker, party animal)
Booker T. Washington: Taliaferro (author of Up From Slavery)
H.G. Wells: Herbert George (author of The Time Machine and War Of The Worlds)
E.B. White: Elwyn Brooks (author of Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web)
B.D. Wong: Bradley Darryl (actor in Jurassic Park and Law & Order: SVU)

GREAT LAKES
This group of five lakes on the Canada-US border holds roughly 21% of the world’s freshwater and has a total area larger than Texas. They primarily empty into the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake (by surface area) in the world and the total volume of the other four would equal its content.
Erie: A shortened form of the Iroquois word ‘erielhonon’, which means ‘long tail’
Huron: The group of natives to the region called Hurons
Michigan: A derivation of the Ojibwe word ‘mishigami’, which means ‘large lake’
Ontario: A Huron word meaning ‘lake of shining water’
Superior: The French word ‘supérieur’, which means ‘upper’
Question: How much does it bother you that these are in alphabetical order instead of HOMES?

MONTHS OF THE YEAR
January: Janus, the Roman god of time and transition, who was often depicted as having two faces
February: Februa, the Roman festival of purification, which is also associated with the god Februus; February has only 28 days (except for Leap Years) because a king named Numa chose it to be the unlucky month of honoring the dead
March: Mars, the Roman god of war; the previous widely-used Roman calendar had this month beginning the year.
April: battling ideas: the Latin word ‘aperire’, which means ‘to open OR the Etruscan word Apru, which was their name for the Greek goddess Aphrodite
May: Maia, the Greek goddess of fertility and growth
June: Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage and childbirth, who was married to Jupiter (her brother)
July: Julius Caesar; this was his birth month, so it was named to honor him because he gave the Romans a new calendar
August: Augustus, the first Roman emperor
September: When the year began in March, this was the seventh month; the Latin word ‘septem’ means ‘seven’
October: When the year began in March, this was the eighth month; the Latin word ‘octo’ means ‘eight’
November: When the year began in March, this was the ninth month; the Latin word ‘novem’ means ‘nine’
December: When the year began in March, this was the tenth month; the Latin word ‘decem’ means ‘ten’

PLANETS (to read about our solar system, go to spoolygoo.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-solar-system.html)
Mercury: the Roman god of messages and communication
Venus: the Roman goddess of love and beauty
Earth: a combination of Germanic and Old English words meaning ‘ground’
Mars: the Roman god of war
Jupiter: the Roman king of the gods
Saturn: the Roman god of agriculture
Uranus: the Greek personification of Heaven
Neptune: the Roman god of the sea

SECTIONS OF A SHIP/BOAT
Bow (front): This curved area resembles a shoulder and comes from a Norse word meaning just that.
Port (left): This side was originally called ‘larboard’, but to avoid confusion was re-named because it faces the port a boat stops at.
Starboard (right): In the early days of boating, this side was used to steer a vessel. Its name comes from an Old English word meaning ‘steer’ and ‘side of a boat’.
Stern (rear): When rudders were placed on the backs of boats to help with navigation, this term from an Old Norse word meaning ‘steering’ was adapted.
Note: ‘Aft’ means toward the direction of the stern, not the back itself.

SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC
Aquarius (January 20 – February 18): Latin for ‘water-bearer’; brightest star is Sadalsuud, also known as Beta Aquarii
Pisces (February 19 – March 20): Latin for the plural of ‘fish’; brightest star (actually two stars circling each other in a binary system) is Alpherg, aka Eta Piscium
Aries (March 21 – April 19): Latin for ‘ram’; brightest star is Hamal, aka Alpha Arietis
Taurus (April 20 – May 20): Latin for ‘bull’; brightest star is Aldebaran, which represents the bull’s eye
Gemini (May 21 – June 20): Latin for ‘twins’; brightest stars are Castor and Pollux, which represent the twins’ heads
Cancer (June 21 – July 22): Latin for ‘crab’; brightest star is Altarf
Leo (July 23 – August 22): Latin for ‘lion’; brightest star is Regulus, which represents the lion’s heart
Virgo (August 23 – September 22): Latin for ‘virgin’; brightest star is Spica (another binary system), which marks the end of the bowl in The Big Dipper
Libra (September 23 – October 22): Latin for ‘scales’; brightest star is Zubeneschamali
Scorpio (October 23 – November 21): Latin for ‘scorpion’; brightest star is Antares, a binary system that appears red to un-aided eyes
Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21): Latin for ‘archer’; brightest star is a binary called Kaus Australis
Capricorn (December 22 – January 19): Latin for ‘goat’s horn’; brightest star is Deneb, which represents the end of the goat’s tail

SUPERSTITIONS
A black cat
Origin: Ancient cultures, such as the Egyptians and Greeks, regarded cats highly, sometimes even as divine. They were associated with witchcraft, but not seen as evil creatures. Then, in 1233, Pope Gregory IX officially declared cats to be incarnations of Satan. It is not known when nor why black cats specifically were targeted. The idea of a witch embodying or instructing a cat to curse people persisted.
Note: During the Bubonic Plague, cats were blamed and often killed because of it. This actually caused the disease to spread more rapidly, as rodents were abler to carry it around. Irony!
Breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck
Origin: Ancient Romans thought that human bodies renewed themselves every seven years. As mirrors were reflections of people, breaking one was not a good thing to do.
Friday the 13^th
Origin: The root of this superstition is biblical in nature, the number 13 being associated with Judas, since he was the thirteenth guest at the Last Supper. He betrayed Jesus, who was crucified on a Friday.
Knocking on wood
Origin: The root of this is not known for sure, but the two most-popular hypothesis are: 1) Celtic Pagans believed gods and spirits lived in trees, so they would touch them for protection. 2) Christians likened a piece of wood to what Jesus was crucified on, invoking safety from his spirit. There is also the less-popular (but equally possible) thought that it originated in Asian cultures, where it was common to wear wooden objects for security. Regardless, it’s done to defend against a negative fate.
Opening an umbrella inside
Origin: The ancient Egyptians, who used umbrellas to shield themselves from the Sun, saw it as disrespectful to Ra, the Sun god. However, the superstition likely began out of practicality, when modern umbrellas were invented, to avoid causing damage and/or injury.
Throwing salt over your shoulder after spilling it
Origin: This superstition likely started with Christianity, when God turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt for watching Sodom and Gomorrah get destroyed. Salt also used to be rare and expensive, so spilling it was considered the work of the devil. Tossing it over your (preferably left) shoulder supposedly blinds the demons that make bad things happen.
Walking under a ladder
Origin: There are many reasons from various places as to why this is considered unlucky. For example, some Christians believed a ladder represented a triangle- like the Holy Trinity- therefore walking into that area was disrespectful. Another belief had Ancient Egyptians leaving ladders in tombs to help the deceased ascend to the afterlife, which walking under one would have prevented.

UNUSUAL ABBREVIATIONS
Missus (Mrs.): shortening of ‘Mistress’ (the counter-part of ‘master’, which was abbreviated Mr.) when it meant a woman of high social status
Number (no.): the Latin word ‘numero’
Ounces (oz.): the Italian word ‘onzo’, which means ‘one-twelfth’; at the time, one pound equaled 12 ounces
Pounds (lbs.): the Latin word ‘libra’, meaning ‘scales’