What is the origin of the engagement ring?
The diamond engagement ring was introduced by the Venetians, who discovered the diamond’s value in the sixteenth century, but betrothal gifts hadn’t included rings until 860 A.D., when Pope Nicholas I decreed that a ring of value must be given as a statement of nuptial intent and that if the man called off the wedding, the jilted bride kept the ring. If the woman ended the engagement, she was to return the ring and be sent to a nunnery.

Why does being “turned down” mean rejection?
To be “turned down” comes from an antiquated courting custom followed by our very proper ancestors. When all meetings between young men and women required chaperones, and because aggressive romantic suggestions were forbidden, a man carried a courting mirror, which, at a discreet moment, he would place face up on a table between them. If the woman favoured his advances, the mirror went untouched, but if she had no interest she would turn down the mirror — and the suitor.

What are the origins of the wedding ring?
A school of thought persists that the first wedding rings were used by barbarians to tether the bride to her captor’s home. This may or may not be true, but we do know that around 2800 B.C., because the Egyptians considered a circle to signify eternity, rings were used in marriage ceremonies. The Romans often added a miniature key welded to one side of the bride’s ring to signify that she now owned half of her husband’s wealth.

Why do we say that a married couple has “tied the knot”?
In Western culture, “tying the knot” suggests the pledge of inseparable unity made by a married couple. The expression comes from ancient India, when during the wedding ceremony the Hindu groom would put a brightly coloured ribbon around the bride’s neck. During the time it took to tie the ribbon into a knot, the bride’s father could demand a better price for his daughter, but once the knot was completed the bride became the groom’s forever.

If most people use a fork in their right hands, why is it set on the left at the table?
When the fork surfaced in the eleventh century, the only eating utensil was a knife, which was used by the right hand to cut and deliver food to the mouth. The left hand was assigned the new fork, which is why it’s set on the left. In the mid-nineteeth century, forks finally reached the backwoods of America but without any European rules of etiquette, so settlers used the right hand for both utensils.

Why do we cover our mouths and apologize when we yawn?
The yawn is now known to be the body’s way of infusing oxygen into a tired body, but suggestion is the only explanation for its contagiousness. To ancient man, who had witnessed many lives leave bodies in a final breath, a yawn signalled that the soul was about to escape through the mouth and death might be prevented by covering it. Because a yawn is contagious, the apology was for passing on the mortal danger to others.

Why are Christian men required to remove their hats in church?
Removing clothing as an act of subjugation began when the Assyrians routinely humiliated their captives by making them strip naked. The Greeks amended this by requiring their new servants to strip only from the waist up. By the Middle Ages, a serf had to remove only his hat in the presence of his superiors. Following these gestures of respect for the master is the reason Christian men remove their hats in church and why Muslims leave their shoes by the mosque door.