----- Original Message ----- From: "Margie Daniels" <margie@majorinternet.net> To: <GAMACON-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2000 8:46 AM Subject: [GAMACON] Rule Of Thumb > An old English law declared that a man could not beat his wife with a stick > any larger than the diameter of his thumb. > Comment from Lance: When brewing beer, the temperature at which the yeast is > added is important. Too cold and the yeast won't work, too hot and it'll > die. Before the days of thermometers, a brewer would determine temperature > by simply sticking his thumb into the mixture. > > Another possibility: As an artist, I always thought that this saying applied > to the act of using one's thumb as a judge of scale. You literally use your > thumb to act as a ruler to determine the scale of an object in your > painting. > > Peter wrote: the French word for an inch (puce) is the same as for a thumb. > I wonder if the thumb was used as a rough reckoner for inches? Just a > thought. > > Anthony wrote: this has nothing to do with painting, nor is it anything to > do with wife beating, which is just plain old down home American stupidity. > It was used by bakers in judging flour, the flour being rubbed between thumb > and fingers > > > > ==== GAMACON Mailing List ==== > ".... people will forget what you said ... .... people will forget what > you did ... .... but people will never forget how you made them feel > ..." > >