Regardless of our educational or religious backgrounds, upbringing, age, or culture, we all, to varying degrees, perform dozens of actions on different occasions, including engagements, weddings, divorces, meals and hospitality, visits, sitting at the table, using its utensils, superstitions about the number 13 or black cats, optimism about specific numbers, and fears of certain dangers. All of this is done for reasons we do not often question, but rather inherited from those who came before us. It seems that most people cannot escape them unless they choose to live in isolation.
The publisher of the book “Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things”, by researcher Charles Panati, says that the book enriches knowledge, delights readers with discoveries and the interplay of weakness and strength within us, and introduces us to the remarkable origins of many things in our lives. The book offers a glimpse into the fascinating stories behind more than 500 inventions and the origins of holiday celebrations such as Mother’s Day, Labor Day, and Christmas.
It explains the meaning of the horseshoe as a symbol of good luck, the reason for knocking on wood, the story of Uncle Sam, the wedding dress, and why some people wear black at funerals while others wear white. Many cultures, both Western and Eastern, use phrases like “Cheers!” when consuming food or drink, without knowing the origin of the idea. The practice of drinking a toast originated with the Greeks in the early 6th century BC, who used it to reassure their guests that their drink was free from poison. It was also a preferred method associated with eliminating enemies.
The Romans used to throw a piece of toast into a glass because, for many years, they believed it would sweeten the drink. Modern scientific research has confirmed that charcoal can reduce a drink’s acidity, meaning that a piece of toasted bread can make a sour drink more palatable. This is where the English word “toast” comes from, derived from the Latin word “tastus”, meaning toasted bread, and from which the phrase “making a toast” originates. Over time, the term came to be used for celebratory drinking toasts. It became so common that refusing to drink a toast to a guest at a meal was considered a form of insult. Various cultures have traditionally prayed and given thanks to God before or after eating, either for a bountiful harvest or, for example, out of fear among nomadic peoples of potentially unsafe food. Meat might be rotten, and milk sour.
Some plants, such as mushrooms, berries, and tubers, were often poisonous. Spoiled food could cause convulsions, temporary paralysis, fever, nausea, or even death. Therefore, people have prayed, and continue to pray, before eating, either as a grateful gesture or to avoid potential harm. The surviving artifacts of the peoples of the Middle East and Africa confirm this belief, as they offered sacrifices and offerings to their gods before feasts, not only to express gratitude, but also to avoid potential poisoning. Later, as humans began cultivating their own crops and tending their own livestock, they gained confidence in the safety of what they consumed.
By Ahmad alsarraf
email: [email protected]
email: [email protected]
