On 20/07/2013 12:09 AM, clipka wrote:
> Am 19.07.2013 23:55, schrieb Stephen:
>> On 19/07/2013 11:48 PM, Orchid Win7 v1 wrote:
>>>> According to Wikipedia, it also measures beer, cornmeal, Portland
>>>> cement, sugar, flour, lime and cranberries.
>>>
>>> I should perhaps clarify that it's "lime" as in calcium hydroxide, not
>>> as in the fruit. (How would THAT work?? Then again, cranberries...)
>>
>> Do you have any idea why Americans call us Limeys?
>
> Because (or so claims Wikipedia) your forefathers, when going to sea,
> added lemon or lime juice to their grog to prevent scurvy.
>
> Germans used Sauerkraut for the same purpose (or so I've heard tell),
> hence the Americans calling us Krauts.
>
> Not sure what the Americans used themselves; I must presume they were
> just too plain stupid to do anything about it :-P
>


They used lemons which are a better source of vitamin C.
There was some skulduggery going on at the time between us and the rest 
of the world. And no one would sell the Brits lemons. So we used limes 
from one of the islands in the Caribbean. Hence Limeys.

-- 
Regards
     Stephen

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