Pleasant Hill Times

Kirk & Kerry

I never knew that!
By F. KIRK POWELL Editor & Publisher

...Have you ever wondered why men's clothes have buttons on the right and women's clothes have buttons on the left?
...According to an e-mail I received the other day, buttons were very expensive years ago and were only worn by the rich. Since most people are right-handed, it was easier to push buttons on the right through holes on the left. Because wealthy women were dressed by maids, dressmakers put the buttons on the maid's right and they've remained there since.
...Have you every wondered why ships and aircraft use 'mayday' as their call for help?
...Mayday comes from the French word "m'aidez: meaning 'help me' and is pronounced very much like 'mayday.'
...Do you know why Xs at the end of a letter signify kisses?
...In the Middle Ages when many people were unable to read or write, documents were often signed using an X. Kissing the X represented an oath to fulfill obligations specified in the document and X and the kiss became synonymous.
...Have you ever wondered why shifting responsibility to someone else is called 'passing the buck?'
...In card games, it was once customary to pass an item, called a buck from player to player to indicate whose turn it was to deal. If a player did not wish to assume the responsibility of dealing, the would 'pass the buck' to the next player.
...Do you know why people clink their glasses before drinking a toast?
...It used to be common for someone to try to kill an enemy by offering him a poisoned drink. To prove to a guest that a drink was safe, it became customary for a guest to pour a small amount of his drink into the glass of the host. Both men would drink it simultaneously. When a guest trusted his host, he would only touch or clink the host's glass with his own.
...Why are people in the public eye said to be 'in the limelight'?
...Invented in 1825, limelight was used in lighthouses and theatres by burning a cylinder of lime which produced a brilliant light. In the theatre, a performer 'in the limelight' was
the center of attention.
...Why is someone who is feeling great said to be 'on cloud nine'?
...Types of clouds are numbered according to the altitudes they attain, with nine being the highest. If someone is said to be on cloud nine, that person is floating well above worldly cares.
...Do you know why many coin banks shaped like pigs?
...Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called 'pygg'. When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as 'pygg banks.' When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a container that resembled a pig. And it caught on.

The enemy of her
enemy is her friend
By Kerry Warman Sports Editor

...As I sit here pondering life, I realize that if more time was spent on the positive and less on the negative, life on this planet might not be so bad. Case in point:
...This Thursday night, a heated rivalry will be renewed
at Harrisonville when our Chicks and the Wildcats take
to the hardwood to duke it out for MRVC-West supremacy.
...Once that basketball is tossed for the tip-off, there will be no love lost between these squads.
...However, love really does conquer all and the proof is to take place on this night.
...The Chicks and Wildcats are teaming up to help raise money for Sara Clarke, a 2011 Harrisonville graduate and former basketball and soccer star.
...I remember Sara as a hardnosed, hard-playing athlete who gave it her all throughout every contest I saw.
...And I may spend my time covering our kids here, but through the years there have been those in other uniforms who have kind of stuck with me.
...Sara is one of those foes.
...Now she is battling the worst of all opponents—cancer. Exactly, Ewing's Sarcoma, a cancer that attacks the brain and body with no mercy.
...Please plan on making the short trip down 7 Highway to Harrisonville this Thursday night and pack the gymnasium (they way you did during the Harrisonville Tournament in December!).
...See the insert of the Chick basketball story on Page 8 for the information.
...When—not if—you head into the high school, be sure to drop a buck or two or however much you can to help Sara and her family.
...She may have been the enemy of the Chicks during her playing days, but we are all the enemy of this nasty disease, therefore making us the friends of Sara and everyone else who is fighting for their life.
• • • • • • • • • •
...After moving all the way to #2 in the national polls last week, Missouri lost a tough road game at Oklahoma State.
...Mizzou was ranked high, OK State was not ranked at all. But is there another arena that has such home-court magic?
...Sure, there are some, but not many, in my opinion.
...And guess what? The national media and coaches who vote on these polls agree that Missouri was just outplayed on this day—but is still one of the best teams in the country.
...As of Monday afternoon, the Tigers had only dropped two spots to #4 in both the AP and ESPN/Coaches polls. Considering the boys in black
and gold have lost just two games, that is only fair.
...Kansas fans should be just as happy that the Jayhawks only fell to #8 in the polls after the loss at Iowa State—yet another place where it is very tough to win.
...Let's hope Missouri beat Texas on Monday, then held on tight this week so the final Big XII MU-KU game at Mizzou Arena is all the more meaningful.
• • • • • • • • • •
...I really didn't pay much attention to the Pro Bowl on Sunday.
...Oh, I started out watching it with the sound down. But as the game progressed and the defenses really just stood around and let the quarterbacks and wide receivers play pitch and catch, the fun was gone.
...Please move the game back to the Sunday after the Super Bowl, please, and make it worth players playing, please.

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