If you've ever been to a table quiz or puzzled over a magazine teaser, you have Richard Daly, Dublin theatre manager, to thank.
He was responsible for the introduction of the word "quiz" into the English language on this day 215 years ago.
On the night of August 21st, 1791, Daly, who was manager of the Smock Alley Theatre, made a bet that he could introduce a new word into English. He then hired a team of men, gave them chalk and sent them out into the city.
When Dubliners woke up on the morning of the 22nd they found the word "quiz" written everywhere. No one knew what it meant, not even Daly, but the word became part of the language.
This and many other funny and fascinating titbits from Dublin history have found their way into a newly published miscellany, Dublin Day by Day, by Ken Finlay.
The book offers morsels of Dublin life plucked by Finlay from about the middle of the 18th century to 1950. There is one entry for each day of the year, including February 29th, and few are obvious. The author preferred to pick out the experiences of ordinary Dubliners whenever possible, from his vast collection of journals, articles and old books on the city. The book also contains reproductions of postcards and paintings of the time, as well as some excellent images by photographer Andrew McGlynn.
Under August 27th, Finlay highlights the delights of the Donnybrook Fair through the pen of the Dublin Penny Journal in 1833.
"It may be sufficient to say that it has been calculated, that during the week of Donnybrook Fair there is more loss of female character, and greater spoliation of female virtue among the lower orders, than during all the other portions of the year besides."
Finlay notes with wry irony the phrase "it has been calculated".
Finlay also describes "the darkest stain on the city to date", the story of the Foundling Hospital, where abandoned children were given a sleeping draught and left to die.
Dublin Day by Day is published by Nonsuch Publishing Ltd.
