Two Bits

"Shave and a haircut, two bits." Ah those were the days! We know that a quarter is also known as "two bits," and that when a shave and a haircut was a quarter, it was back in the 1930's and earlier. Actually, that shave and a haircut for two bits, was the common price for over a hundred years! See what inflating does for the money? Now, a shave and a haircut is $25 or a lot more in an expensive salon. But, where in the world did that phrase, "two bits" come from? Funny you should ask, but since you did, I'll tell you.

It all has Spanish origins, going back at least to the Spanish currency reform in 1497, which coincided with the Columbus expedition. Spain conquered Mexico, and Mexico had, and still does have, huge amounts of silver. The Spanish mixed with the Mexican Indians, (Aztecs), and the skin hue gradually became lighter. After the currency reform, the Spanish began making the "dolar" or "peso," meaning literally "weight." The peso had a value of eight "reales," and the peso was roughly the equivalent of the German 'thaler.' This became "dollar" in French and English. Got it?

The peso, or dollar, then had eight reales in it, and they became known as "pieces of eight." As in pirate movies, huh? These reales were often cut into quarters or "eight bits," to make change for small purchases or transactions. "Two bits" then, became a quarter U.S. Before the American Revolution, due to English fiscal policies, a chronic shortage of English currency was felt in the colonies, and the colonists began conducting trade in Spanish dollars. The Spanish dollars, "bits," reales, and pieces of eight, were silver coins.


"Doubloons"

While the pieces of eight, bits, and reales were silver, there were also gold coins used in trade, and they were known as doubloons. The 'doubloon' had its silver ratio or equivalent. One reale was then one eighth of a piece of eight, or 1/128 of a doubloon. Eight reales, was one Peso, or one thaler, or a sixteenth of a doubloon. The ratio of silver to gold, even in Spanish times, over 500 years ago, was 16 to 1. The gold coins, or "doubloons' were valued at sixteen ounces of silver, as in the reales, pieces of eight, or bits. A doubloon was one ounce of gold, and a piece of eight, peso, or thaler was one ounce of silver.

Ever wonder why the coins weren't round? The money was minted by hand. The gold and silver were melted down and then poured into thin strips. As the metal strips cooled, they were beaten into the desired thickness by hand. The coins, or what we today would call a "blank," were cut to an approximate size and then placed in a coin die. The minter would then strike the die with a hammer, and the faces of the coin were then imbedded in the soft metal. After "striking," (that's where the phrase came from), small excess amounts of metal would be scraped off, and the result was weighed. If the coin was too heavy, it was nipped until it weighed the proper amount. No coin therefore, was ever perfectly round.

In Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island," the pirates' parrots are commonly represented as being trained to cry out, "Pieces of Eight."


The Dollar Sign

There are several theories or legends about the so-called "dollar sign," or $, as we currently use it.

According to the U.S. Mint, the "$" came into use, as a sort of plural for peso. The "s" from "pesos" was written over the "p," and it sort of became a $, if you can imagine that. Anther theory, is that when King Ferdinand reformed his currency, Columbus discovered America, and Gibraltar was added to Spanish holdings, the "Pillars of Hercules" became a symbol of Spanish holdings, and represented the 'end of the known world.' The two pillars were struck through the Spanish "S" and the dollar sign with two bars through it was born. Salesmen, abbreviating dollars, always wrote an S with two bars through it for dollars.

We are not the only nation using $ or 'dollars' for our national currency. Other nations using the term "dollar" for their currencies are: Australia, Barbados, Bahamas, Belieze. Bermuda, Bruunei, Canada, Cayman Islands, Fiji, Guyana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Liberia, Namibia, New Zealand, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Taiwan, Trinidad, Tobago, and Zimbabwe.

In addition, there are some nations use the $ sign for their currencies, which are not called "dollars." They are Portugal, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Columbia. All but Portugal use the "peso," and Portugal uses the "escudo."


"Pin Money"

Before automatic pin-setters, bowlers used to throw coins down the bowling alley as a tip for the pin boy, who reset the pins after their being knocked down, and this became "pin money." Or do you youngsters think that bowling alleys have always had automatic pin-setters? They haven't, and many a time I threw a couple of quarters down the alley as a tip for the pin boy, who could set pins for two alleys at the same time, if he was good.

The term "pin money," didn't come from bowling alleys, however. It goes back many more years before bowling alleys. Actually, "pin money" originated during the American Revolution. The Continental Congress, when it ran out of silver and gold, made money out of cardboard, which was brittle. Being brittle, they easily broke, and Scotch Tape not having been invented, the colonists then pinned the broken pieces of money together, and the term "pin money" was born.

For hundreds and thousands of years, gold and silver was used as money, and was and still is…real money. Whether they were called thalers, reales, escudos, pieces of eight, pesos, or whatever; the world's citizens, traders, customers, and manufacturers, used real gold and silver pieces for trade, wealth storage, and indicators of wealth. Pieces of paper, were never given much thought or value, other than for instruments of contract, deeds, or notes. It was an absurd idea, to ever consider anything but silver or gold as actual "money." How times have changed! Today, the world operates on pieces of paper, which are called "money," but which have absolutely no intrinsic value of any kind, and neither are these currencies redeemable in anything other than more of them. They can purchase things, but being able to buy something, and being redeemable in something that in itself is valuable, are two different things.

When one bought something, in history, one traded something of value, for something else of similar value. Money was valuable in itself, and the valuable money (silver and gold) was traded to someone for something of equal value they were selling.. Value for value. Today, worthless pieces of paper representing nothing, are used to buy tangible goods. Isn't it reasonable and logical, for "money" to be valuable in itself? If the "money" has no value, when one buys something, one is trading value for no value, other than because of government rules, called "legal tender laws." When real money ruled the world, laws such as these were unnecessary. The "money' was valuable in itself, and when one had wealth, it wasn't in worthless pieces of paper, but wealth was stored in real money, which was silver and gold. Silver and gold have value, because they require capital, effort, exploration, machinery, and industry to produce them. They are durable, beautiful, and desirable. Fiat money, only requires a supply of paper and a printing press, neither of which will ever come in short supply. Silver and gold have always been in short supply, or they wouldn't command value in currencies. They can't be printed by the trillions, but have to be dug, sorted, milled, smelted, and minted. Isn't it nice to realize that you can convert your declining value paper dollars into real money? Protect yourself.

Gay Joke

Three guys go to see a witch doctor about their problems.

One has a smoking problem, one is an alcholic and one is gay but wants to change.

The docter puts a curse on them that if any of them indulge their habits again they will die.

Two days later the alcholic dies because he gave in and had to drink.

The next day the gay guy and the smoker are walking down the street together. The smoker sees a cigarette lying and the ground and stops to stare at ir.

The gay guy looked at him and said "if you bend over and pick that up we are both fucked"

Some Very Basic Oceanography

What is a Trench?

At least 22 trenches have been identified although not all are classified as major.
Of this number, 18 are in the Pacific Ocean, three in the Atlantic Ocean, and one in the Indian Ocean.

Where, and What is the Mariana Trench?

The Mariana Trench is located in the Pacific Ocean, just east of the 14 Mariana Islands (11"21' North latitude and 142" 12' East longitude ) near Japan. As you probably already know, it is the deepest part of the earth's oceans, and the deepest location of the earth itself. It was created by ocean-to-ocean subduction, a phenomena in which a plate topped by oceanic crust is subducted beneath another plate topped by oceanic crust.

But just how deep is the Mariana Trench?

First off, here are the average depths of the earth's oceans; the Arctic Ocean is 1,038 meters (3,407 feet) deep, the Indian Ocean is 3,872 meters (12,740 feet) deep, the Atlantic Ocean is 3,872 meters (12,254 feet) deep and the Pacific Ocean is 4,188 meters (13,740 feet) deep.

The deepest point in each of the earth's oceans are as follows; the Arctic Ocean's Eurasian Basin at 5,450 meters (17,881 feet) deep, the Indian Ocean's Java Trench at 7,725 meters (25,344 feet) deep, the Atlantic Ocean's Puerto Rico Trench at 8,648 meters (28,374 feet) deep and the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench at 11,033 meters (36,201 feet) deep.

The deepest point of the Mariana Trench is called The Challenger Deep , so named after the British exploration vessel HMS Challenger II, and it is located 210 miles south-west of Guam. This depth was reached in 1960 by the Trieste, a manned submersible owned by the U.S. Navy.

In order to better illustrate the actual depth of the Mariana Trench, consider the following; if Mount Everest, which is the tallest point on earth at 8,850 meters (29,035 feet), were set in the Mariana Trench, there would still be 2,183 meters (7,166 feet) of water left above it.

The Mariana Trench is often used as a North-South passage by submarines as it is part of a long system of trenches that circle the Pacific Ocean, connected with the Japan and Kuril Trenches.

Rattlesnake rancher arrested for selling vodka with rattler in every bottle

A rattlesnake rancher found a new way to make money: Stick a rattler inside a bottle of vodka and market the concoction as an "ancient Asian elixir." But Bayou Bob Popplewell's bright idea appears to have landed him on the wrong side of the law, because he has no liquor license.

Popplewell, who has raised rattlesnakes and turtles at Bayou Bob's Brazos River Rattlesnake Ranch for more than two decades, surrendered to authorities Monday. He spent about 10 minutes in jail after the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission obtained arrest warrants on misdemeanor charges of selling alcohol without a license and possessing alcohol with intent to sell.

If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail and $1,000 in fines.

Special Thanks to MSNBC

Miniature Holy Books? Finally!!

Books seem to lend themselves to experiments in miniaturization--and in marketing. LabNewsOnline reports that Canadian physicists have created a 0.07 x 0.10 mm book with thirty silicon chip pages and letters 40 nanometers high (cost per copy: £10,000). Unlike this case, miniature books frequently take the form of scriptures. WNG-GraphiLux markets several scriptures, each inscribed in its entirety on the surface of a single crystal. Available and marketed separately are the entire Greek Bible, the Qur'an in Arabic, and Bhagavad Gita in Sanskrit, which are sold in pendants and other jewelry. The popularity of scriptures as amulets has long fueled the production of tiny scriptures. Miniature Bibles and Qur'ans are now widely marketed on the internet.

Shrunken Heads

Origin of the Shrunken-head Trade

By the end of the nineteenth century, little was still known about the Jivaro Indian clans in South America, except for their macabre practices of taking the heads of their enemies. This practice intrigued travelers and collectors and compelled them to visit these tribes to satisfy their curiosity.


The visits of the white man helped revolutionize the Jivaro's methods of warfare, as they began trading firearms and ammunition for shrunken human heads. The Jivaros aware that a demand for their tsantsa was developing, were quick to comply with the traders to satisfy their own needs.

As more and more travelers engaged in this gruesome trade, it soon became necessary for the Peruvian and Ecuadorian governments to pass severe and expedient laws prohibiting the traffic of human heads. The laws were established to deter tourists and travelers who secured the tsantsa as curios and had no concept that their trade was actually perpetuating feuding and warfare between neighboring tribes. At one time the Jivaros had demanded a firearm for each tsantsa, which allowed him to continue their war against their enemies more successfully. This destructive cycle was continuously reinforced as new heads were acquired for further bartering.

In the 1930s heads were made to order and sold for approximately $25.00.

How to Prepare a Shrunken-Head

After an attack on the enemy, the victim or victims were killed and immediately decapitated. Sometimes the decapitation process occurred while the victim was still alive.

The head is cut off below the neck with a section of the skin from the chest and back is taken with it. The killer removes his woven head-band and passes it through the mouth and neck of the head and ties it over his shoulder to facilitate a rapid retreat from the victim's camp. Should the killer have no head band, the warrior will utilize a section of vine. The head shrinking process occurred in the following way:


With the immediate fighting over, the warriors assemble back at agreed upon camps alongside a river away from the enemy's territory. It is here that the head shrinking process begins.

Now safe, the killer begins to work on the head. A slit is made in the neck and up the back of the head, allowing the skin and hair to be carefully peeled from the skull. The skull is then discarded into the river and left as a gift to the pani, the anaconda.

Carefully, the eyes are sewn shut with fine native fiber. The lips are closed and skewered with little wooden pegs, which are later removed and replaced with dangling strings. From here the tsantsa goes to the sacred boiling pots or cooking jars. The head is simmered for approximately an hour and a half to two hours. If the heads were left for any longer, the hair would have fallen out. On removal from the pots, the skin is dark and rubbery, and the head is about 1/3 its original size. The skin is turned inside out and all the flesh adhering is scraped off with a knife. The scraped skin is then turned right side out and the slit in the rear is sewn together. What remains is similar to that of an empty rubber glove.

The final shrinking is done with hot stones and sand collected nearby in order to sear the interior and to shrink the head further. These stones are dropped one at a time through the neck opening and constantly rotated inside to prevent scorching. When the skin becomes too small for the stones to be rolled around within the head, sand is heated in a food bowl and substituted for the stones. The sand enters the crevices of the nose and ears, where the stones could not reach. This process is repeated frequently. Hot stones are later applied to the exterior of the face to seal and shape the features. Surplus hair is singed off and the finished product hung over a fire to harden and blacken. A heated machete is applied to the lips to dry them. Following this procedure, the three chonta are put through the lips and the lips are then lashed together with string.

This entire process would last for approximately one week, with the head being worked on daily while en route back to their own village. The last day of work on the trophy is spent in a forest a few hours away from their village where the first tsantsa celebration will take place. Here, the warriors will make a hole in the top of the head and a double kumai is inserted and tied to a shirt stick of chonta palm on the inside, so that the head can be worn around the warrior's neck.

The Jivaro Indians were preoccupied with realism, which is clearly shown in the careful preparation of the head. Due to the meticulousness of the tribesmen, the warrior tries to prepare the tsantsa with utmost care in order to maintain the original likeness of a the slain victim's face.

Burmese Neck Stretching

The Padaung tribe of Burma considered a long neck beautiful. About
age 5, girls were introduced to the first neck ring. As they grew, rings
were added. Their shoulders were pushed down, making the neck look
longer. Also, this showed off the family's valuable metal rings,
indicating wealth. A woman wore up to twenty pounds of rings on her neck and even more on her calves!

A fully stretched neck was between 10-15" long! A woman could not drink from
a cup, because tipping her head back would overbalance her and she would fall! She could only drink from a straw. And forget looking at the sky! If a woman offended her tribe, her rings were cut off and she would choke to death, unless someone held her head up!