Have you ever heard the saying, "Everything old is new again?" There are many examples of this being true in the worlds of music, fashion, and even artistic movements. New generations rediscover the past, and people enjoy it again and again. This happens so often that sometimes we don't even realize that things are much older than we thought, things we constantly encounter in our daily lives. Here are ten things you might not have realized have been around much longer than you think.
10. OMG's history dates back to 1917.
The acronym "OMG" is so ubiquitous these days that it's actually a brand of candy. This term, with the exception of "oh my God," has become a staple since other well-known abbreviations like "LOL" and "BRB" took over electronic discourse because typing entire words takes too long. So you'd be forgiven for thinking it only came about a couple of decades ago, coinciding with the advent of the internet and text messaging.
While he may not have invented it, the man who first used OMG wasn't texting when he did it. It was in a letter he wrote to Winston Churchill back in 1917. He was a World War I admiral who told Churchill, "I hear there's a new order of chivalry on tapis—OMG (Oh, my God!)—bring it down on the Admiralty!!"«
Lord Fisher had a distinguished naval career and is said to have achieved the highest grade in all his examinations. He was also known for his communication skills and penchant for acronyms, so it's no surprise that he coined this one.
9. The first published alien abduction occurred in the 1800s.
Remember alien abductions? They began gaining notoriety in the 1960s, and by the 1990s, entire organizations dedicated to abduction survivors and alien conspiracy theories had sprung up. These days, you hear less about them. Many people have noticed that UFOs and aliens have become much less common with the advent of cell phone cameras. And the initial impetus is often attributed to the advent of science fiction films, which gave us a visual representation of what an alien or UFO might look like. But that wasn't the real beginning.
People often cite the 1961 abduction of Betty and Barney Hill as the beginning of the phenomenon, but it was only one of the most well-known. One of the first alien abduction stories dates back to 1896 in California.
According to a local newspaper, the former editor of the paper and his companion were driving home in a horse-drawn carriage late one night when they were stopped by three slender, seven-foot-tall creatures. They were naked and covered in something that wasn't hair or feathers. They had tiny mouths but large eyes. Sound familiar? It's not a perfect description of the gray alien made famous in pop culture, but it's close enough.
According to the tale, they tried to lift the man, but were physically unable to do so, and then sailed away at high speed in their own vessel. Take from there what you will.
8. The Mile High Club concept is older than airplanes
These days, everything we hear about air travel usually revolves around poor customer service, bad experiences, and terrible prices. But air travel was once much simpler, and people focused on more silly things, like subpar food and, of course, the mile-high club.
In case you didn't know, it's an innocent-sounding nickname for having sex on a plane. People have done it before, and they'll do it again. But the most surprising thing is that the idea itself is actually older than airplanes.
The origin of this idea is even mentioned in a James Bond film.«Moonraker» . This dates back to a wager between Lord Cholmondeley and Lord Derby in 1785. Cholmondeley offered 500 guineas if Derby could perform a certain act with a woman "a thousand yards from the ground" in a hot air balloon. There's no word on whether Derby won the bet or not.
7. Mac and cheese dates back to the 14th century.
Macaroni and cheese is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, foods in the world. Nearly 9 million Americans eat at least five boxes of macaroni and cheese per year. Canadians eat even more. In March 2020, 15 million boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese were sold.
While Kraft Dinner dates back to 1937, macaroni and cheese has been around for much longer. And, surprisingly, it's not an Italian dish, like many pastas. This one comes straight from England, with a cookbook called Form of Cury printed in 1390. The recipe isn't all that different from what you might make homemade macaroni and cheese today, though it lacks a bit of flair. You make simple pasta noodles, boil them, then top them with grated cheese and butter. It's as simple a version of macaroni and cheese as you can get.
The original wording is a bit confusing for modern English speakers. The first line reads, "Take and make a folio of dow, break it into pieces, throw it into boiling water, and see how good it is." But it's been translated, so you can make one yourself if you like.
6. Rock-paper-scissors dates back to the 3rd century
What happens when you and a friend have to make a choice and can't come to an agreement? You decide like adults. You play "Rock, Paper, Scissors." It's a classic way to determine the winner in any situation, relying largely on chance, fate, or a good understanding of your opponent's tendencies to arrive at a decision.
While the game seems like something that became popular in the 1960s or 1970s, judging by the movies, this is completely untrue. The World Rock-Paper-Scissors Association, which actually exists, has full information about the game's ancient origins on its website.
Rock, Paper, Scissors can actually be traced back to the Han Dynasty in China, sometime between 206 BCE and 220 CE. Back then, it was known as shoushiling, which roughly meant "three who fear each other" or "hand team," depending on your source. It wasn't exactly rock, paper, and scissors that you summoned with your hands—that was a later innovation in Japan—but the spirit of the game was the same. In this original version, you played a frog, a slug, or a snake. The dragon beat the slug, the frog beat the snake. Why? Why not?
5. Christmas as a term for Christmas is about 1000 years old.
For years now, the idea of a "war on Christmas" has reared its ugly head every holiday season. The media has been telling the same story about one shadowy group trying to destroy Christmas, while others strive to preserve it. At the core of this narrative are stories about how something as innocuous as referring to Christmas as Christmas is trying to remove Christ from Christmas, both literally and figuratively.
However, calling Christmas "Christmas" is not a new phenomenon, and it also does nothing to eliminate Christ. People have been calling Christmas "Christmas" since at least 1100, when it was first used in print. It should be pronounced exactly as "Christmas," because the X literally stands for Christ.
The New Testament was written in Greek, and in this version, Christ is written with an X – ???????. It was Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor from 306, who popularized a shorthand version that used only the letter X. The early use of the Nativity in print was thought to be a shorthand trick used by scribes to save time and parchment.
4. Nut milk has a centuries-old history
Go to the grocery store and you'll see cow's milk overflowing on the shelves, almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, oat milk And much more. People are loving plant-based milks these days, and they're especially beneficial for vegans who drink coffee. You know they're big because there's even a backlash against them. But that's only because people are discovering them for the first time, and companies are producing and selling more than ever before, not because they're truly new. Nut and plant-based milks, in general, are over 1,000 years old.
Between the 8th and 12th centuries, recipes for almond milk were published with the intention of using it to treat breathing problems. In Europe, it became popular among Christians who abstained from cow's milk during Lent.
Soy milk recipes from China have been found dating back to the 1st to 3rd centuries. Coconut milk appears to have been produced 2,000 years ago, and perhaps as much as 5,000 years ago. And the idea of calling these drinks milk is also not new, as it has been around for centuries.
3. Even the ancient Romans called dogs Fido
No one names their dog Fido anymore, but it's one of those stereotypical dog names that will always be associated with the animal. There's even a cell phone company named Fido, so it's well-received. As for dog names, you can thank Abraham Lincoln for popularizing them among Americans.
Lincoln had a dog named Fido, who was said to have been with him almost all the time he was in Illinois. The name itself comes from the Latin word meaning "faithful" or "trustworthy," which is, of course, a standard description of a dog. So this seems like a reasonable origin for a dog's name, right? But it goes deeper than that, as the Romans also called dogs Fido for the same reason.
2. Cheesecake is 4,000 years old
The whole world seems to love a good cheesecake. Americans spend about $400 million a year on it. This is remarkable and proves that you can't beat the classics. That's because cheesecake is about 4,000 years old. Cheese itself is over 8,000 years old, so innovation took some time. But keep in mind that refrigerators are less than 200 years old, and both have done a remarkable job of surviving all this time, against all odds.
Cheesecake originates from ancient Greece, specifically the island of Samos. Archaeologists have found ancient cheesecake molds there. Ancient Greek recipes are simple and not much different from what you might expect. Ingredients like flour, honey, and cheese were mixed together and baked.
The Romans took the recipe and made some changes, and for them, it was more of a festive dish. As their empire expanded, so did their desserts and the variety of different ways to prepare them.
1. The first fart joke dates back 4,000 years.
In the world of humor, there's a blurred line between the low and the high. Some people like to think of certain kinds of jokes as beneath them, low class and lacking in sophistication. But history has shown that low humor is enduring. Even Shakespeare, Chaucer, Mark Twain, and Samuel Beckett made fart jokes. What makes us laugh today was already making people laugh back in 1900 BC. That's when the first fart joke was made.
The oldest fart joke is actually the oldest joke ever found in history, and it comes from ancient Sumer. A stone tablet was inscribed with the line: "Something that has never happened since time immemorial: a young woman has not farted on her husband's lap." Now you can pause to slap your knee and wipe away the tears of mirth.
The gist of the joke seems to be the standard "women don't fart" joke, which we now understand has been around for 4,000 years. Feel free to use it as your next icebreaker.