SC - Rules of thumb

[kat]

Please pardon the off-topic veering, but...

kimib2 at aol.com posted the following

 >> 
 >> Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger
 >> into the mix to find the right temperature for adding yeast. Too cold,
 >> and
 >> the yeast wouldn't grow.  Too hot, and the yeast would die. This thumb
 >> in the 
 >> beer is where we get the phrase "rule of thumb".

Actually, the phrase is from an old Puritan law.  Apparently, it was perfectly legal for a husband to beat his wife in Puritan New England, so long as he used a stick no wider in diameter than his own thumb.  This originated the phrase "rule of thumb."  Learned this while working at a women's shelter...

Keep in mind that advertising is just advertising... no matter how good it sounds...  :-)

	- kat

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