MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why A Bride Carries A Bouquet

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why A Bride Carries A Bouquet

Bridal bouquets aren’t really required for wedding ceremonies, but imagine how odd it would seem for a bride to walk down the aisle empty-handed. Where did this tradition come from? It’s been suggested that wedding flowers were originally used to mask body odor, back before regular bathing became the norm, but that’s actually a misconception.…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why A Wedding Ring Is Worn On The Left Hand

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why A Wedding Ring Is Worn On The Left Hand

We’ve discovered why grooms stand on the right at a wedding, so now let’s show some love to the left: why do we wear wedding rings on our left hand? Writing with your left hand during the medieval period could get you accused of being possessed. The Spanish Inquisition tortured & killed more lefties than…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Grooms Stand On The Right At A Wedding

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Grooms Stand On The Right At A Wedding

A lot of our wedding traditions don’t really have the best of origins: brides originally wore veils to safeguard against the groom changing his mind in case he didn’t happen to like her face; and, the garter toss harkens back to the days when guests helped disrobe brides shortly after vows were exchanged. Yikes! And,…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Is One Side of Tin Foil Shiny?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Is One Side of Tin Foil Shiny?

In the wake of Thanksgiving, you more than likely utilized tinfoil to cover some, if not all, of your leftovers. Have you ever noticed, though, that tinfoil has 2 different-looking sides, one shiny & one dull? Why is that? The fact that tinfoil has 2 sides with different appearances is mostly the result of the…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Does Turkey Really Make You Sleepy?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Does Turkey Really Make You Sleepy?

You’ve probably wondered, as you struggled to keep your eyes open amidst all the Thanksgiving Day football & family chatter, “is it the turkey that’s making me sleepy”? Here’s the chemistry involved: turkey contains L-Tryptophan, an amino acid involved in sleep; your body uses that to produce a B vitamin called niacin, which generates the…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Put Paper Chef’s Hats On Turkey Legs?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Put Paper Chef’s Hats On Turkey Legs?

Sometimes, you feel like wearing a chef’s hat while you cook Thanksgiving dinner, and that’s okay. But placing a tiny chef’s hat on the end of each turkey leg could be considered taking the holiday cheer a bit too far. Why do we always see that, though, especially in movies & cartoons? Over the years,…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Is There A Difference Between Stuffing & Dressing?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Is There A Difference Between Stuffing & Dressing?

If you’re a carb lover like me, nothing completes a Thanksgiving meal quite like dressing…boatloads of bread, celery, and other ingredients & spices to complement that beautiful bird protein. Some people don’t call it dressing, though…they say stuffing. In these unprecedented times, knowing how to properly refer to that magnificent mound of moist bread seems…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: How Does Food Go “Down The Wrong Pipe”?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: How Does Food Go “Down The Wrong Pipe”?

Most folks aren’t very well-versed on human anatomy, which is why many of us call biceps “guns”, elbows “funny bones”, and heads “noggins”. So, when throat irritation & coughing spring up after you swallow something in a weird way, you might say that the food “went down the wrong pipe.” But what’s actually going on…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Do We Say “Bless You” After A Sneeze?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Do We Say “Bless You” After A Sneeze?

We absorb a lot of how we socially interact at an early age, from it not being polite to cough without covering your mouth, to saying thank you whenever people give you things like money or gifts. And, what do we do when someone rears back & lets loose a violent burst of snot &…

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Are Legal Pads Yellow?

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Are Legal Pads Yellow?

We have a guy named Thomas Holley to thank for the legal pad. A 24-year-old dude working at a paper mill in Holyoke, MA, in 1888, every day Holley & his co-workers would throw out the “sortings”, which were basically a lot of scrap pieces left over after cutting paper into the correct sized sheets.…