The Origin of Banks

This one is dedicated to my father!

Banking originated in Ancient Mesopotamia where the royal palaces and temples provided secure places for the safe-keeping of grain and other commodities. Receipts came to be used for transfers not only to the original depositors but also to third parties. Eventually private houses in Mesopotamia also got involved in these banking operations and laws regulating them were included in the code of Hammurabi.

Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning ‘between two rivers’) is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq and western part of Iran.

In Egypt too the centralization of harvests in state warehouses also led to the development of a system of banking. Written orders for the withdrawal of separate lots of grain by owners whose crops had been deposited there for safety and convenience, or which had been compulsorily deposited to the credit of the king, soon became used as a more general method of payment of debts to other persons including tax gatherers, priests and traders. Even after the introduction of coinage these Egyptian grain banks served to reduce the need for precious metals which tended to be reserved for foreign purchases, particularly in connection with military activities.

By the way, money did not have a single origin but developed independently in many different parts of the world.

A Bit of Fry and Laurie

The second sketch is very good, the first one is absolutely hilarious!

 

Psychic Spoon Bender

YouTube Preview Image

 

My name is..

YouTube Preview Image

Synonyms for Beautiful

Quite a few people found their way to Ego Dialogues looking for “other words for beautiful“, and since there isn’t such a post here yet, I thought it should be (it’s not cool to come to a site looking for something specific and then not find it).

So.. if in need of other words for beautiful, try these…

alluring (very attractive or tempting; enticing; seductive)
angelic (like an angel, esp. in virtue, beauty, etc. Example: angelic sweetness.)
appealing (a rather dry substitute for “beautiful”..)
beauteous (beautiful, especially to the sight)
bewitching (as in enchanting, charming, fascinating, so beautiful with spice)
charming (as in pleasing, delightful – again a not quite up-to-the-task word for beautiful)
classy (stylish, admirably smart, elegant)
comely (pleasing in appearance, attractive, fair)
cute (pleasingly pretty, hardly an adequate replacement)
dazzling (deeply impressive)
delicate (dainty, exquisite or refined in perception or feeling; sensitive)
delightful (highly pleasing)
divine (perfect, of superhuman or surpassing excellence)
enticing (highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire)
exquisite (of special beauty or charm, or rare and appealing excellence)
fair (pleasing in appearance, attractive)
fine (meaning a multitude of things, amongst other good-looking and handsome)
good-looking (a pretty descriptive and self-explanatory variaton on “beautiful”)
gorgeous (splendid or sumptuous in appearance, magnificent)
graceful (characterized by elegance or beauty of form, manner, movement, or speech)
grand (first-rate, very good, splendid, noble, majestic, dignified)
handsome (having an attractive, well-proportioned, and imposing appearance suggestive of health and strength)
ideal (conceived as constituting a standard of perfection or excellence)
lovely (charmingly or exquisitely beautiful, having a beauty that appeals to the heart or mind as well as to the eye, as a person or a face.)
magnificent (of exceptional beauty, extraordinarily fine, superb)
marvelous (superb, excellent, incredible)
nice (really? No…)
pleasing (much better than “nice”, huh?)
pretty (pleasing or attractive to the eye, as by delicacy or gracefulness)
pulchritudinous (this has got to be the best alternate word for “beautiful” of them all – AND – it’s so easy on the tongue! Anyway, it refers to physical beauty)
radiant (bright with joy, hope, etc.)
ravishing (extremely beautiful or attractive, enchanting, entrancing)
refined (oil? No, they mean “having or showing well-bred feeling, taste, etc.”)
resplendent (shining brilliantly, gleaming, splendid)
shapely (having a pleasing shape, esp. with reference to a woman’s figure)
sightly (pleasing to the sight, attractive)
splendid (gorgeous, magnificent, sumptuous)
statuesque (as in “beautiful as a statue”? How about ficusesque as an additional option?)
stunning (of striking beauty or excellence)
sublime (complete, absolute, supreme, outstanding)
superb (ace, of a proudly imposing appearance or kind)
symmetrical (this is actually listed as a synonym for “beautiful”, which I find rather odd. Who is to say that symmetry is beautiful and assymetry isn’t?)
taking (captivating, winning or pleasing)
well-formed (I’ll say no more)
wonderful (of a sort that causes or arouses wonder, amazing, astonishing)

 

Restaurant Jokes

 

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him. As he sits, the waitress comes over and asks for their orders. The man says, “I’ll have a hamburger, fries and a Coke.” The waitress then turns to the ostrich, “What’s yours?” “I’ll have the same,” says the ostrich. A short time later the waitress returns with the order. “That’ll be $6.40, please,” she says. The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.
 
The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, “I’ll have a hamburger, fries and a Coke.” The ostrich says, “I’ll have the same.” Once again, the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.
This becomes a routine until late one evening, the two enter again.
“The usual?” asks the waitress. “No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and salad,” says the man. “Same for me,” says the ostrich. A short time later, the waitress comes with the order and says, “That’ll be $12.62.” Once again, the man pulls exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table. The waitress can’t hold back her curiosity any longer.
 
“Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change out of your pocket every time?”
“Well,” says the man, “several years ago I was cleaning the attic and I found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there.”
“That’s brilliant!” says the waitress. “Most people would wish for a million dollars or something, but you’ll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!”
“That’s right. Whether it’s a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there,” says the man.
The waitress asks, “One other thing, sir, what’s with the ostrich?”
The man sighs, pauses, and answers, “My second wish was for a tall chick with long legs who agrees with everything I say.”

 
 

Two friends went to a diner for some lunch. One of them ordered a hamburger.
The cook grabbed a handful of meat, slapped it against his bare belly, and flattened it into a burger, which he then cooked on the grill.
“Did you see that?” he asked his friend.
His friend nodded and said:
“You should see how he makes doughnuts.”

 
 

A man walks into a restaurant and is taken by the notice above the kitchen door.
 
“500 Euros If We Fail To Fulfill Your Order”
 
Hmmm, the man thinks for a while and when the waiter comes up to take his order he says;
 
“Thank you, yes, I’ll have thin strips of braised alligator leg – the front ones you understand, coated in birds nest stock, accompanied by Asparagus from the Champagne-Ardenne, New Zealand rind of lemons, all sprinkled with ground Pinon nuts – and rye bread please.”
 
Well, the waiter sweats. He takes the order into the kitchen and pandemonium ensues. Pans clatter to the floor, there is the sound of cupboards being ransacked, wails from staff who get bashed by the screaming head chef, waitresses fleeing the kitchen in floods of tears, glasses falling and smashing, more deperate rummaging in cupboards, amid sobs from goodness knows who. Finally the noise abates and a very angry and dishevelled manager comes out, and slaps ten fifties onto the man’s table.
 
“Your’re lucky night!” he growls, “been in this business twenty years and it’s the first time we ever ran out of rye bread!”

Woody Allen

I got such a good laugh out of these quotes… humor, wisdom and sarcasm combined – brilliant!

Woody Allen
 
To you I’m an atheist; to God, I’m the Loyal Opposition.
 

When I was kidnapped, my parents snapped into action. They rented out my room.

 
Why are our days numbered and not, say, lettered?
 
You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred.
 
Woody AllenHis lack of education is more than compensated for by his keenly developed moral bankruptcy.
 
I am at two with nature.
 

I was thrown out of college for cheating on the metaphysics exam;
I looked into the soul of the boy sitting next to me.

 

Money is better than poverty,
if only for financial reasons.

 
I have bad reflexes. I was once run over by a car being pushed by two guys.
 

I’d never join a club that would allow a person like me to become a member.

 
I’ve never been an intellectual but I have this look.
 

If you’re not failing every now and again, it’s a sign you’re not doing anything very innovative.

 
In my house I’m the boss, my wife is just the decision maker.
 
Some guy hit my fender, and I told him, ‘Be fruitful and multiply,’ but not in those words.
 

For some reason I’m more appreciated in France than I am back home.
The subtitles must be incredibly good.