Great Fun with Nails, Noggins, and Newels

Put down those practical step-by-step books about "how to install a dishwasher" for just a few moments and learn the "Alternative History" of houses in Nails, Noggins, and Newels, by Bill Laws (Sutton Publishing, 2006):

• Curved Roman tiles were said to have been shaped around the thighs of tilemakers.
• "Bulls eye" glass is actually the cheap discard that glassmakers often threw back in the pot.
• While it's long been known that the taxman assessed houses by the number of windows...did you know that two windows placed side by side (less than 12 inches) would be considered one window?
• The word "sash," of "sash windows," comes from the French chassis, meaning frame.
• The English, long shy about discusssing bathroom matters, would instead ask to "see the geography of the house" or ask for the "cloak room."