In a message dated 5/15/99 10:33:26 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Its interesting and very true what you said about passing these "cute"
quips
 off as "true".  Their plausibility its what makes them funny, however, the
 reader needs to know ahead of time that they are not to be taken literally.

 I showed them to my son, a senior in highschool - a bright boy I might add -
 as a little comic relief.  To my dismay, he said he had heard some of these
 in the past as TRUE statements - ones he learned of in school - but doesn't
 remember if given in the classroom. >>

He might have also heard them at a historic house museum, where
well-intentioned docents often repeat such cute-isms to thousands of
visitors. *bleagh*

My absolute favorite was the story I was told about an antique cooking
implement. The toaster, one of the forged iron types that sit on the floor
with a swivel bread holder, was so named because "after the bread is done on
one side, you can swing the bread 'round with your toe."

If you believe that one, I have a black market kidney to sell you...

-Heidi