Curiosity Corner

Curiosity Corner

By

Dr. Jerry D. Wilson,

Emeritus Professor of Physics

Lander University

Question: Dr. Wilson. Please explain the origin of the phrase “a crack shot.” Thanks. (Asked by a curious hunter.)

Reply: When you shoot a pistol or rifle, you get a “crack,” but the phrase implies an accurate shooter. It seems that a “crack” was an old Scottish term for loud boasts or brags. Later in England, it started to mean the subject of a person’s boast, or something that was first-class or excellent. Hence, a person who was superbly accurate with a pistol or a rifle was a “crack shot.”

Along those lines, I recall a very admirable or favorable person being referred to as a “cracker jack.”

That was a short one. How about a geography lesson? I had a previous column on the continents. We say there are seven, but in Europe, they count six. North and South America are just America. Here are a couple questions for you to ponder. See if you know the answers before looking at the data, which I found interesting.

Continents in land area:

Continents in population:

In addition, there are more than 15 million people who don’t live on a continent. Almost all of these people live in the island countries of Oceania, a world region, but not considered a continent.

C.P.S. (Curious Postscript): “Wisdom—knowledge tempered and strengthened by experience.” -A. Goodman

Curious about something? Send your questions to Dr. Jerry D. Wilson, College of Science and Mathematics, Lander University, Greenwood, SC 29649, or email jerry@curiosity-corner.net. Selected questions will appear in the Curiosity Corner. For Curiosity Corner background, go to www.curiosity-corner.net.