Dear Kid,

Do you know where the phrase “done and done” comes from? Neither did I until I turned to My Friend the Internet to fill me in.

And I quote:

A finalization between two gentlemen’s agreement. Usually to do with a wager or bet. era:~1800s~

first man: is it a deal?  second man: done!  first man: done!  third man: done and done between two gentlemen is enough

Do you know who invented solitaire? Neither do I. Amazingly, MFTI wasn’t all that clear on the subject either (then again, I only looked at one website, so perhaps I can’t condemn the entire webisphere).

Do you know who invented solitaire? DearKidLoveMom.comI did find out that solitaire (the original kind with actual cards) may have started as a form of fortune telling.

The first known written description of solitaire is from 1783 where it was described in a German book of games as a competitive card game where people took turns or played with separate decks of cards. This flies in the face of solitaire being a solitary game. MFTI thinks the idea of playing alone came because people enjoyed practicing (alone) for competitive games more than they enjoyed playing with other people.

Which is certainly food for thought.

In the second half of the twentieth century, most modern games of solitaire (also known as “Patience” but without the melodies) were created and there are now more than 100 “distinctly individual solitaire games, with that number reaching more than 1,000 when you consider minor variations.”

Done and done.

Love, Mom