The phrase 'rule of thumb' is derived from and old English law which stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
48
'Vodka' is Russian for 'little water'.
69
There was no punctuation until the 15th century.
94
The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan.
101
The distress code 'Mayday' comes from the French for help me, M'Aide!
40
In Denmark, "Fart-kontrol" means "Speed check".
9
The Danish word for condom is 'svangerskabsforebyggendemiddel'.
89
The word 'Indiana' is Native American for 'Land of the Indians', yet less than 16,000 Native Americans live there.
25