How many are in a baker's dozen?
Not twelve, of course :)
A "baker's dozen", or "long dozen", is the sum of twelve and one.
Here's why from Idiosite.com:
" A regular dozen is twelve, but a baker's dozen is 13. In the Middle
Ages in England there were severe penalties for anyone who gave short
weight. Bakers were often uneducated and couldn't count very well. To
guard against miscounting twelve as eleven they habitually gave
thirteen loaves when selling a dozen."
So, "A Baker's Dozen of Questions to ask a Prospective ISP", is a list
of 13 questions you should ask before signing up for Internet access
(one of them being: "How big is your pipe?": nothing to do with
tobacco; it's about the size of the ISP's connection to the Internet:
:)
Here's another long dozen from a literary review...
The title of the book? "The Baker's Dozen".
"The baker Van Amsterdam becomes known far and wide in Colonial
America for his St. Nicholas cookies and, in his prosperity, becomes
stingy about his ingredients. When an old woman buys a dozen cookies
from him and expects to receive 13, he withholds the last one. His
business falls off until the day she returns for 12 more cookies, and
he gives her an extra measure. After that, the custom of offering a
"baker's dozen" or 13 items is secure.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0152056874/ref=ase_bridgebooks/103-5512502-3796639
--
Enrico C
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