September 16, 2014
September 15, 2014
1752 - The Shortest Year
Year 1752 (MDCCLII) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar. In the British Empire, it was the only year with 355 days, as September 3 through September 13 were skipped.
September 14, 2014
Gotta Keep Up With The Jonesing
| Your Personality is 80% Addictive |
 You definitely have an addictive personality, and you're probably hooked on something. Even if it's just peanut M & Ms or online shopping. |
September 13, 2014
99 Red Balloons
Played on real red balloons.
I loved the song 99 Luftballons by Lena when it came out in the mid-80's. It was an anti-nuclear weapons protest tune, but I liked the song more than I did its message. I used to read a lot of action novels and the phrase "the balloon has gone up" is often used to mean that trouble is quickly coming.
The origin of the phrase isn't clear, but I believe it's from one of these examples at Grammar-Monster.com:
Once the balloon has gone up means when trouble is here or in a period of trouble.
The term once the balloon has gone up derives from the First World War. Whenever enemy activity was expected, observations balloons would be released to monitor the enemy troop movements. As a result, the raising of these balloons, which were visible to all, soon became a sign of pending enemy action.
A Competing Theory
The term when the balloon goes up refers to the large barrage balloons which were raised on steel cables above British cities during the Second World War. The idea was that enemy bombers would keep away from the cities, fearing that the steel cables would slice through their wings. Therefore, when the barrage balloons went up, it was a sign for a city's inhabitants of a pending air raid.
I loved the song 99 Luftballons by Lena when it came out in the mid-80's. It was an anti-nuclear weapons protest tune, but I liked the song more than I did its message. I used to read a lot of action novels and the phrase "the balloon has gone up" is often used to mean that trouble is quickly coming.
The origin of the phrase isn't clear, but I believe it's from one of these examples at Grammar-Monster.com:
Once the balloon has gone up means when trouble is here or in a period of trouble.
The term once the balloon has gone up derives from the First World War. Whenever enemy activity was expected, observations balloons would be released to monitor the enemy troop movements. As a result, the raising of these balloons, which were visible to all, soon became a sign of pending enemy action.
A Competing Theory
The term when the balloon goes up refers to the large barrage balloons which were raised on steel cables above British cities during the Second World War. The idea was that enemy bombers would keep away from the cities, fearing that the steel cables would slice through their wings. Therefore, when the barrage balloons went up, it was a sign for a city's inhabitants of a pending air raid.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
