It’s good to be the king…
The four suits in a standard deck of playing cards originated from France in the fifteenth century (around 1480). French playing card manufacturers assigned names to the faces of the four kings.
The King of Spades was King David, the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Bible. The King of Clubs was Alexander the Great, the ancient Greek King that conquered most of the world. The King of Hearts was King Charlemagne who was the leader of the Franks, whilst Diamonds was Julius Caesar.
This practice had largely disappeared by the 19th century however.
Drink beer to stop bones from going brittle
A new study by scientists in Spain has found that drinking beer regularly could stop bones from going brittle.
1,700 healthy women, with an average age of 48, were chosen for the study. They were asked about their drinking habits, then underwent ultrasound scans of their hands, which showed the bones belonging to beer drinkers to be denser.
“The women’s hands were chosen because the bones in the fingers are among the first to show signs of osteoporosis, a disease of bone that leads to an increased risk of fracture.”
Those who were in the light drinker bracket (less than 1 pint a day), fared just as well as those in the moderate drinker bracket, suggesting that even small amounts can boost bone health.
“It is thought that the high level of silicon in beer slows down the thinning that leads to fractures and boosts the formation of new bone, the journal Nature reports.”
“Beer is also rich in phytoestrogens, plant versions of oestrogen, which keep bones healthy.”