Mr. Write's Page

The Questions…

1. How old was Louis Braille when he introduced his reading/writing system for the blind?

2. Slaughterville, Oklahoma, founded in 1889, is named for its founder, James Slaughter. In 2004, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) offered to give $20,000 worth of veggie burgers to the school system if the town would change its name to what?

3. The color puce is a sort of dark red or reddish brown with maybe a hint of purple. Think of a spot of dried blood on a white t-shirt. How did this rather yucky color get its name?

4. What is cerumen?

5. When the British Army put the first tanks on the battlefield during World War I, they officially called them “landships.” So, where does the name “tank” come from?

The Answers…

1. 15. Braille lost his sight at age three and started working on the dot system at age 12.

2. PETA suggested Veggieville. The citizens of Slaughterville declined.

3. The word puce is French for “flea.” It was first used in the 1770s to describe the color of a flea as well as the blood upon which it feeds.

4. Earwax.

5. When the prototypes were under development, British Intelligence referred to them as a “water tanks” to mislead the Germans, and the name stuck.