Eva wanted to know why barbershops always have that pole outside (we had passed a couple of barber shops on the way here). And I could use my blackberry to look it up! I knew it was from medieval times but that was all I knew. For those of you who want to know, the symbol dates back to when barbers also did tooth extractions and surgery. The brass basin on top is for the leeches, the one on the bottom is to catch the blood, the pole is the staff the patient gripped to encourage blood flow, and the stripes are bloody and clean bandages. Yuck. Bet you wish I hadn't told you!
I also got to look up "cornucopeia" in Eva's class this morning because I thought it meant horn of plenty and also an over abundance; someone else thought it was from mythology. We were both right!
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