10 Things You Should Know Now That You're A Grown-Up

There are even more delightful things to know about nursery rhymes now that you're old enough. Knowledge is as delightful as GEICO customer service!

1. "London Bridge" is in Arizona now.

Boston Public Library / John Menard / Via Flickr: boston_public_library Flickr: jmenard48

After falling down one too many times, it was sent to Lake Havasu City.

2. The "Muffin Man" actually makes English muffins.

Isabelle Palatin / Via Flickr: ipalatin

Don't fret, the homemade version is actually quite delicious.

3. Mozart wrote 12 variations of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

Via Getty Images

A popular rumor says that he composed it when he was only five years old, but that's not true. However he did write several Mozart-a-fied variations on the classic children's theme, and you can hear them all!

4. "Humpty Dumpty" is actually a riddle, and "an egg" is the answer.

Jon Seidman / Via Flickr: jonseidman1988

Spoiler alert! All those years he's been portrayed as an egg and it's never once mentioned in the actual rhyme.

5. "Mary Had A Little Lamb" was the first thing ever recorded by Thomas Edison.

Shutterstock

The words were recorded on tin foil. Science is awesome.

6. Also unlike most nursery rhymes, "Mary Had A Little Lamb" is based on a true story.

William Wallace Denslow / Via en.wikipedia.org

Mary really did have a little lamb that she took to school one day. The authorship is still under dispute, though.

7. "Jack Be Nimble" is about an actual game where you place a candle in the middle of a room and jump over it.

Via roshniii.tumblr.com

If you jump over without extinguishing the flame, you have a year of good luck!

8. Baa Baa Black Sheep is actually a lesson about the importance of the wool industry to the economy.

Rex

Just read the lyrics again. It's totally easier to teach most kids about the importance of industry through animal noises.

9. It's often speculated that "Little Miss Muffet" might have been written by Dr. Thomas Muffet, who wrote the first scientific catalog of British insects.

Via cheezburger.com

Some argue the rhyme concerns his stepdaughter, Patience -- and the verse fits with this theory. However there is no clear evidence to prove it.

10. "Pop Goes The Weasel" was actually a popular dance in England in the 1850s.

Via phrases.org.uk

Unfortunately they didn't have animated GIFs back then, just newspapers.

Did you know that Old MacDonald was a terrible speller?