in case you were wondering

A few weeks ago I was reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.  As I was reading I came across the phrase "mad as a hatter."  Now I had always assumed that said phrase had come from the character of the Mad Hatter in Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.  I was wrong.  At this point I was questioning the meaning of the term.  Were hatters exceptionally mad?  I then mentioned this to a friend of mine, who is an encyclopedia of random facts, and she explained to me the true origin of "mad as a hatter."  she explained that way back when, hatters would use mercury in the brims of the hats the were making (I'm not sure why) then they would lick their thumb and use it to smooth out any creases thus ingesting the mercury, thus causing them to get mercury poisoning.  The mercury poisoning affected thier central nervous system and made them insane.  Thus the phrase "mad as a hatter."  Random fact that you didn't need to know, but now you do!

wow

15 random facts:

1. It is currently 7:42 pm on monday.

2. There is a tree outside my window.

3. I have brown eyes.

4. I do not like peanut butter.

5. I love dark chocolate.

6. My favorite color is green.

8. I just skipped number #7.

9. I am now giggling about the fact that i skipped #7!

10. I love Matthew Gray Gubler.

11. I have a cat named Oliver.

12. I love black and white photos.

13. My hands are always cold.

14. I am deathly afraid of clowns and spiders.

15. I am pretty much a total nerd. :]