Why do we...

In the world of Rome's Revolution, Rei is always saying something that Rome has no clue what he means. One time he said no sense in mixing apples and oranges and she thought he was literally talking about fruit. So many of our colloquial expressions require a cultural context to make any sense at all.

I was at a dinner party the other night and the host opened up a particularly nice bottle of wine. After the wine was poured, everyone clinked glasses and made a toast. I asked if anybody knew why we clinked glasses. Nobody knew. So I figured I'd start a short series here on why we do some things in everyday life that when you stop and think about it, don't make any sense.

While there are many, many expressions and customs that fall apart if you examine them too closely, here are a few that I thought I'd cover over the next few days:

Why do we clink glasses?
Why do we knock on wood?
Why do we shake hands?
Why do we say gesundheit when someone sneezes?
Why do we say rule of thumb?
Why do we call someone a dead ringer?
Why do we call a pre-funeral a wake?
Why do we mind our Ps and Qs?
Why do we call someone a scapegoat?

Many of these expressions come from the middle ages or the Renaissance. None of the originate from modern times yet we use these expressions every day. The point is that language and culture is ever evolving and the past merges into the present which leads into the future. It is never a clean break so some of the more archaic traditions continue to this day.

More tomorrow.