From: Richard Moreau <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2004 21:00:41 -0500
Don't forget 'bucks" as in, "That'll be ten bucks." Comes from buckskin used on the frontier as another form of currency. Ever wonder why "two bits" is quarter? It comes from the same place as "pieces of eight", which you may have come across if you read Robert Lewis Stevenson. Back in the days of the Caribbean pirates, a coin was only worth as much as the metal it was made of. Gold and silver jewelery was used as currency, and merchants used scales to determine the worth of a handful of gold. To make change, you'd break a large coin in half, quarters, or eighths, the way you'd slice a round pizza. Some coins even had marks along the circumference to help you break it evenly. So, the smallest piece of a coin was an eighth, also called a "piece of eight", or a "bit". So, two bits is a quarter. --- Chip ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
