On Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 9:11:48 AM UTC-5, Bill wrote:
For the same reason you "dial" a phone number. Or apply "Ben Gay" on
sore muscles.

And maybe for the same reason a young friend tells me someone is
"sick", I say perhaps the person should go to the doctor?, then he
laughs at me because "sick" now means "cool"...

FYI - A short piece of galvanized pipe is called a "nipple". So go to
the hardware store and say you need some "dope" to apply to your
"nipple"!

I'm still trying to figure out why airplanes have "cockpits" and ships
have "poop decks"...

From http://etymonline.com/index.php

poop (n.1) Look up poop at Dictionary.com
"stern deck of a ship," c. 1400, from Middle French poupe "stern of a ship" (14c.), from Old Provençal or Italian poppa, from Latin puppis "poop, stern," of uncertain origin. Poop deck attested by 1779.

cockpit (n.) Look up cockpit at Dictionary.com
1580s, "a pit for fighting cocks," from cock (n.1) + pit (n.1). Used in nautical sense (1706) for midshipmen's compartment below decks; transferred to airplanes (1914) and to cars (1930s).

Paul