Courtney Hale/iStock via Getty Images
While
lukewarm can generally be used to mean “somewhere between hot and cold,” there are certain instances that call for a more specific spot on the thermometer. Say, for example, you’re baking bread, bathing a baby, or breakfasting with Goldilocks. So how warm is lukewarm? The short answer is: It depends.
When Dutch physicist Daniel Fahrenheit and Swedish astronomer Andres Celsius came up with their respective temperature scales in the early 18th century, the word
lukewarm had already been on the scene for several hundred years. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it derives from the Middle English word
The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images
Halfway through a meeting that so far has been full of nothing but useless chit-chat and vague ideas, you’re wishing people would get to the point or, in other words, that they d
cut to the chase.
Much like
pushing the envelope,
cutting to the chaseused to be a literal action. When silent films became popular in the early 20th century, filmmakers couldn’t rely on dialogue jokes, arguments, emotional declarations, criminal confessions, etc. to keep viewers engaged. Instead, they got creative with physical comedy and action sequences, which often took the form of chase scenes.
Kalulu/iStock via Getty Images
The scene is a familiar one to most people: You lie in a bathtub full of water and bubbles. The water is hot and you re ready to relax. But no matter how you position yourself, you find yourself facing an agonizing dilemma either your legs end up sticking out of the water, or your head and shoulders do. Whichever way you re contorted, part of you is cold.
Here s the problem: Bathtubs are too small. But why?
Bathing, victorian-style
In order to fully understand the reason why bathtubs aren t comfortably human-sized, it s important to consider how the world was different when plumbing first made its way into our homes. Indoor plumbing came into the United States in the late 1880s, Jeremy Cressman, a veteran of the residential and commercial bath industry who currently serves as the vice president of sales and marketing at BLANCO America, tells Mental Floss. In the late 19th century it was difficult to make large bathtubs because of the expense invol
blowbackphoto/iStock via Getty Images
Gas prices are rarely a place to find good news, particularly with credit card surcharges and steadily rising prices. But regardless of whether the price is low or high, you’ve probably noticed that gas stations always tack on a peculiar charge to their listed cost. It’s 9/10 of a cent. What’s with this penny fraction?
Blame the government and the Great Depression. The Revenue Tax Act of 1932 allowed for a federal tax of $0.01 to be placed on gas prices to help offset the national debt. Because gas was priced in pennies in those days, a fraction of a cent was considered reasonable rounding up would have meant tacking on a massive surcharge. If filling up your tank cost 10 cents, and you had to pay another full cent instead of only a fraction, well, you’d be hopping mad about it.