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#54225 01/29/02 08:09 PM
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#54226 01/29/02 08:45 PM
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#54227 01/29/02 08:58 PM
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a US General Sideburns

Just a polite correction, Helen, for the sake of history, and etymology...Gen. Ambrose Burnside, Union Major General who superseded Gen. McClellan in command of the Army of the Potomac in November of 1862. Gen. Burnside is widely regarded as one of the most inept leaders in military history. (YCLIU) See the Battle of Fredericksburg where he kept sending assaults of the famed Irish Brigade, among others, to certain slaughter at Marye's Heights for one example; or his sending his forces over a small stone bridge into enfilading fire at Antietam for another.
Here's a good photo of Burnside (sans his trademark hat) for noting the unique style of whiskers he sported that gave rise to the word "sideburns" as Helen pointed out:

http://www.civil-war.net/images/links/ambroseburnside.jpg


#54229 01/30/02 12:05 AM
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lots of baby's get born hairy-- i don't know why or what percentage.. but its not uncommon to see new borns covered with down hair. by the time they are a month old or so, it goes away..
ahhhhhhh....babies!
My daughter was born completely covered with a fine blonde down, except for the 2 inch long auburn hair on her head. In the womb, the fine down protects the unborn and usually falls off inside the womb before birth and you never see it. She was a repeat c-section and was delivered before my due date so that I would not go into labor. Therefore, the down did not have time to fall off and she was born with it. Might I also add, the only hair that ever fell off her after birth was the beautiful auburn, and it came back in blonde. And anyone who has seen the pictures of her and her newborn and sees the auburn...it comes out of a bottle! She is still blonde under it all

Her own child that was just born last week, was delivered 9 days after her due date and barely has any hair at all, head or otherwise.


#54230 01/30/02 12:32 AM
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Non Caesar sum, said Max.

Thanks for the smile, F.

This took me all evening to figure out. Love it!


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no Caesar am I

Oh, what a relief-- I have a morbid fear of caesars.


#54233 01/30/02 02:08 AM
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Someone needs to look this one up. I heard it as a twisting of the name of the hairy General Burnside (the linguistic transformation being similar to the renaming of 'flutter-by" into butterfly).

Which Twin has the Urban Legend? I know there's a Burnside Avenue in the Bronx...


#54234 01/30/02 02:19 AM
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Oh Whitman is right.. which makes it more interesting..

Burnside, a man with large side whiskers, gives us the word sideburns, which now simple mean the hair in front of the ears, not just large whiskers..

and yes.. burnside ave is named for the same general.. and Major Deegan, was a small offical in the NY State reserve.. who never served in active duty.. but got a street named after himself.

many ny streets are history lessons Jerome Ave is for Jennie Jerome Churchill's father..



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