Apropos of nothing ...

Have you ever wondered why a cerebra-vascular accident is called a "stroke"?

Today when we find a victim who has suddenly lost muscle control over one side of their body; who suddenly can't speak clearly, or understand words spoken to them, medical science tells us that they've probably lost blood supply to a part -- or parts -- of their brain.

Centuries ago, however, when someone collapsed, half-paralyzed and unable to speak, it was understood that they had run afoul of one of the Faerie who had proceeded to strike them down -- in other words, the victim had been the recipient of an "elf-stroke".

Over the centuries, we have dropped the "elf" part, while hanging on to the last part of the phrase.

And that is tonight's Useless Trivia.

LawDog