Trivia Ahoy!

As a rule man is a fool,
when it is hot he wants it cold,
when it is cold he wants it hot,
always wanting what is not.


We learnt this in Kindergarten, and yet these four lines ring so true. People are always seeking what they don’t have and later realize that they had something better all along. It’s too bad that some people never learn. But I guess those people just need more time than the rest.

These four liners are not just sensible but have loads of trivia in them.

A ring, a ring o' roses,
A pocket full o’posies,
Atch chew! atch chew!
We all fall down.

This little rhyme that we sang as kids has been linked to the Plague. The first symptom of the plague being a rosy red rash, posies were believed to be the cure, the sneezing was the final stage of plague and all fall down – needs no interpretation.

Baa, baa black sheep
Have you any wool
Yes sir, yes sir
Three bags full.

One for my master
And one for my dame
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.


This rhyme has been linked to slave trade due to the usage of the phrase “Black Sheep” and also to the 15th century tax laws in Britain.

The popular “Twinkle twinkle little star” has its music courtesy – Wolfgang Mozart.


But for me as a law student in-transition-to-be-a-lawyer Humpty Dumpty is a great source for interpretation, but not in the rhyme. It is his appearance in “Through the Looking Glass”and his conversation with Alice:


"I don't know what you mean by 'glory,'" Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't – till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'"
"But 'glory' doesn't mean 'a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice objected.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master – that's all."
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again.
"They've a temper, some of them – particularly verbs, they're the proudest – adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs – however, I can manage the whole lot! Impenetrability! That's what I say!"


This has become a popular piece in citations for interpretation of statutes :)

Mother Goose book has come a long way.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Oceanic Velvet Cake with a Mother of Pearl Frosting©

Google Pixel XL - Review

Desitude