The Strange But True Story of How These 12 Things Got Their Name

One of the basic premises of human communication is the assigning of a word or a "sound" to a certain person, place, or thing. I mean if you think about it, a name that we say out loud, is just a noise that we have designated to symbolize another person. Sometimes those names turn out good, sometimes they are not so good.

Still, the concept of giving a person or an object, or activity its own unique set of words or sounds is uniquely human. I guess other species do it too but they don't have the strange kinds of backstories that our monikers seem to bring.

Over time, these phrases, or nicknames, have come to identify the activities involved. Still, how we arrived at those nicknames or monikers just doesn't always make sense. Have you ever wondered why a score on a golf hole that's one below par is called a birdie?

Or how about his, why are certain boats called Jon boats? Who put the first hats into a hat trick and of all the names we could come up with for the passing of gas, why did we settle on the word "fart"?

These are just a few of the mysteries we will attempt to solve for you over the next few paragraphs. And if there is a word or phrase whose origin is not clear to you and you'd like us to investigate, well, please drop us a note. You can do that on our station App.

Now get ready to learn about Charley's Horse, why they call it a Cockpit, who put the Dude in Dude Ranch, and a few other familiar phrases that will look and sound a little different to you, now that you know the truth.