In the early 1900s, it was legal....

Dear everyone at UNCG:

The phrase "rule of thumb" can be accurately dated back to 1692, and its usage then was not in reference to beating a woman with a stick no wider than her husband's thumb. That reference is most often attributed to Sir Francis Buller ("Judge Thumb"), who was born in 1746 (his thumb statements were made in 1782, and the evidence that he even said it is pretty thin).

"Rule of thumb" is actually a reference to using your thumb as a reference of measurement, much the same as other human body based measurements like league (the distance a person can walk in one hour) or hand (self-explanatory).

Also, the word "picnic" is not a contraction of "pick a nigger." It stems from the French word "pique-nique," with probable influence from the German "Picknick" and the Swedish "picknick."

Please stop misusing these phrases to support your agenda.

Sincerely,
People who speak English

P.S. There will be more letters soon.