Good Questions: Golf Terms, Seasonal Gas, Leggy Letterman
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Every Friday, we tackle a bunch of viewers' burning questions. This week, Heather Brown explores golf terms, summer gas and the David Letterman show.
Alan from Hanley Falls asks: Where do bogey, par, birdie, eagle come from?
According to Scottish Golf History, bogey used to mean "the ground score" in the first standardized scoring system in England in the late 1800s. Players would play against a fictitious golfer named Mister Bogey, who was named after the subject of a popular song at the time. Eventually, the ground score of bogey came to mean one over par.
Par is the Latin term for equal. Birdie is based on bird, a slang word for excellent in the late 1800s. Eagle is just a great bird.
Bill from Aitkin asks: What is the summer blend of gas?
According to AAA, the big is difference is how easily the fuel evaporates at a certain temperature. The winter blend evaporates more easily so it can evaporate in cold temperatures to help the engine work. The summer blend is made to evaporate less easily to prevent excessive evaporation when it gets warm. That helps to cut down on emissions and, ultimately, smog.
If you're a David Letterman fan, you've probably wondered the same thing as Jim from Oakdale. When Letterman starts his show, why does he always run across the stage?
According to a 2014 WGN Radio interview by Alan Kalter, the announcer for the Late Show, it is Letterman himself who runs across the stage.
"He says that way back when they started, he was supposed to come in from the other side," Kalter said. "He was always late getting to the other side and didn't realize the camera got him running across, so that he'd be able to make that entrance and he just kept that up."