The news is regularly filled with reports of murders & missing persons cases involving unknown person. And that unknown person is usually referred to as “John Doe”. But why? Why do we call unidentified people John Doe until their real identity is established? This all comes from a weird, no-longer-in-use British legal procedure called an…
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Do You Have To Wear Special Shoes To Bowl?
Have you ever wondered why you have to wear special bowling shoes? You know how it is…you get to the bowling alley, wanting to roll a few frames, and then you’re required to swap out your own kicks for a pair of stiff, not quite comfortable (and usually less-than-pleasantly-fragrant) footwear that ultimately make you feel…
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Produce Is Usually At The Front Of Grocery Stores
If you’re anything like me, then you’ve run into a grocery store for just one item, but ultimately walked out with armfuls of stuff you hadn’t intended on picking up. Grocery stores are deviously clever at tricking consumers into dropping more money than planned. Is that why the produce section is almost always near the…
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Truckers Say “10-4”
Some truck driver slang just makes sense. Like “Bambi”, which means a deer is in the vicinity. “Go-go Juice” means diesel fuel. “Seat covers” are actually pants. But what about the phrase “10-4”. You may know that 10-4 basically means “okay” or “I got your message”, but why? Where did that come from? 10-4 came…
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Do We Answer The Phone By Saying “Hello”?
Most folks prefer to not talk on the telephone, they’d rather text. But pretty much everyone who does answer the phone to talk says the same thing: “Hello”! The fact that hello remains the favored way to start a phone conversation was definitely not the first choice of the telephone’s inventor, Alexander Graham Bell. He…
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: What Do The Stars Next To Elevator Numbers Mean?
If you’ve ever ridden in an elevator, you may have noticed that some of the floor numbers have a star next to them. What do those stars mean? Is it where the “stars” (celebrities) stay? Maybe it’s the hotel manager’s favorite floor? No, there’s actually a much more practical use for those particular stars. Whenever…
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: What Are Bacon Bits Really Made Of?
One of the most delicious-yet-mysterious parts of any salad or baked potato is the bacon bits. You can use them anywhere you might otherwise use real cooked & crumbled-up bacon. But, while they may look & taste a lot like bacon, what are bacon bits really? While ingredients in bacon bits vary from company to…
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why Are They Called “Piggy-Back Rides”?
Catching a ride on the back of a pig isn’t really a thing, right? And yet, people love horsing around & giving others what are called “piggyback rides”. But why are they called “piggyback rides”? I mean, people walk on two feet, right? Pigs, on the other hand, hoof it on four. What gives? Where…
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Where Do Truckers Sleep?
If you’re anything like me, one of the big questions you have about a truck driver anytime you see him or her driving their big rigs is: “where do you guys sleep?” Well, contrary to popular belief, being a trucker doesn’t always mean you’re destined to make long, cross-country trips with nights & nights away…
MUNDANE MYSTERIES: How To Pronounce “Caramel” Correctly
Thanks to the intricacies of our amazing English language, one thing is all but guaranteed: more often than not, we’re all going to mispronounce a word (or twelve). Because of the complexity of American English, how a word is spelled doesn’t always exactly indicate how it’s supposed to sound. And that can cause some embarrassment…