“Mortgage” means “death contract.”

Though it might not initially seem so, it wasn’t coined that way for a comedic reason. It basically just means that the contract ends, or “dies,” when either the obligation is fulfilled (meaning the house is paid off) or the property is taken through foreclosure.

The word was taken from Law French, a language that was based first on Old Norman and Anglo Norman languages, and later influenced by Parisian French and English. Its name derived from its use in the law courts of England, hence “Law French.” The phrase is elaborated on in “Commentaries on the Laws in England,” an 18th century four volume analysis of common law. 

As it says in the treatise, "[I]f he doth not pay, then the Land which is put in pledge upon condition for the payment of the money, is taken from him for ever, and so dead to him upon condition, and if he doth pay the money, then the pledge is dead as to the Tenant" So always remember, one of the most integral parts of the American Dream is, in fact, a death contract. 

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There’s a movie that takes place entirely in a coffin and stars only one single character!

Ryan Reynolds stars as Paul Conroy in the 2010 film “Buried.” Conroy is a truck driver based in Iraq. He wakes up in a coffin buried alive bound and gagged with only a Zippo and a BlackBerry. He tries to call his wife and employers, but only gets their machines. 

After leaving a message for them, he tries calling the FBI. They hang up on him before he can finish telling them his problem. He begins remembering what happened to him. He and other truck drivers had been ambushed by insurgents. Conroy finally gets ahold of the State Department and his kidnapper begins calling him asking for ransom and videos of Conroy. 

Conroy’s day goes from bad to worse when his coworker is killed by his kidnapper and he is fired from his job for having an affair with that coworker. The film was given positive reviews and acclaim for what they did with one person in a coffin.

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Walking In A Labyrinth Has Amazing Health Benefits.

Labyrinths have always been ancient symbols for healing and a path to renewal; and for good reason. Research conducted by Harvard Medical School’s Mind/Body Institute has found that focused walking meditation in a labyrinth effectively reduces anxiety.

If it's done on a regular basis, can reduce insomnia, chronic pain, blood pressure, and lead to greater powers of concentration. While a maze offers a choice of paths, dead-ends, and false starts, a labyrinth is based on a circle and offers a way to the center. 

A maze challenges the cognitive "left brain" while a labyrinth appeals to the intuitive "right brain," and thus can be calming and relaxing. A maze is about the journey out, a labyrinth is about the spiritual journey. 

Due to their amazing healing properties, labyrinths have been installed into many hospitals, schools, and individual residences.

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One of the reasons Walgreens is such a large company is because of Prohibition!

How could a brand name store and pharmacy chain’s success be due to Prohibition? The answer is quite interesting. When alcohol was outlawed from 1920 to 1933, it was still extremely prevalent in society. 

People still drank routinely, although illegally, yet many wished not to break the law. Back then alcohol was thought to have some medicinal benefits and because of this, the US government passed a law that allowed whisky to remain legal for those that had a written card of consent from their doctor, or a prescription. 

Walgreens was able to secure the right to prescribe whisky for various ailments, which resulted in their business exploding. The chain had only 20 retail stores at the beginning of Prohibition.

While many businesses suffered during the stock market crash in 1929, Walgreens continued to grow to over 400 stores by the end of Prohibition! Who knows, had alcohol stayed legal we may never have known of the Walgreen Company at all! 

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The zero gravity fight scene in Inception was not CGI, but rather an entire rotating set!

One of the most memorable scenes in the movie Inception was the fight sequence between actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the thugs he is trying to defeat. In that scene, gravity seizes to exist while the combatants continue to attempt to defeat the other.

At first glance one would assume the scene was simply done with CGI, yet Nolan refused to let it be done this way! Director Christopher Nolan’s right hand man Wally Pfister described the scene as the most difficult to film in the movie. 

To create the environment, Nolan decided to build massive, rotating sets that twisted and turned 360 degrees! 500 crewmembers helped with the schematics and it took over three weeks to shoot just the one scene. 

Built inside of a World War I airship hanger outside of London, the hallway setting rotated both horizontally and vertically while the actors were strapped to steel trolleys. 

Levitt had to intensely train for several weeks before to ensure he landed in just the right place, because even the slightest error could have caused him to land in a spot that wouldn’t be there only moments later! 

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