what is the origin of pushing the envelope?
93058
My family developed that one...\nSeriously, it doesn't matter what the origin is...\nIt's whether you push the envelope or not...\nDo you take risks to succeed or do you play it safe and stay mediocre...
750188
This is really strange. We are enveloped by gravity - another way to say that the space around a mass is curved. Or warped.\n\nPulled by gravity, as Mass is attractive. Pushed down? It's Attractive and Repulsive? Possibly not. HOW would it be both attractive and repulsive? If it were both, then it would be a neutral force. Else if the pull is greater then it's attractive or repulsive if the push is greater.  Strange, pushed down by gravity, I am pushed down, isn't pushed down just another way of saying pulled? Or pushed from above? Not pulled from below. \n\nSo if I were to go deeper into the Earth, I would still be pushed down from above and not pulled. This would mostly be due to the envelope. If it was so, else, what could be possibly pushing?\n\nIf the mass warps space, the pushing would be due to the space warp which pushes down on us. And the warp is due to the pull of gravity. So which is it, the envelope of the letter?
911281
General consensus is that the term originates from a Monty Python skit.\n\nA couple are attempting to order breakfast at a restaurant where all the menu items feature spam. The woman doesn't like spam, and asks the waitress if they offer any spam free dishes. Alas - there is no escape from spam.\n\nMeanwhile a chorus of vikings at another table express their appreciation for spam by chanting "spam, spam, spam, lovely spam!"\n\nEventually any hope of meaningful communication is lost in the drone of "spam."\n\nSound Familiar?
472901
There is some debate about the source of the term, but the generally accepted version is that it comes from the Monty Python song, "Spam spam spam spam, spam spam spam spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam…" Like the song, spam is an endless repetition of worthless text. Another school of thought maintains that it comes from the computer group lab at the University of Southern California who gave it the name because it has many of the same characteristics as the lunchmeat Spam: \n\nNobody wants it or ever asks for it. \nNo one ever eats it; it is the first item to be pushed to the side when eating the entree. \nSometimes it is actually tasty, like 1% of junk mail that is really useful to some people.
1072287
One possible origin for the phrase is an incident said to have taken place during the siege of the Alamo in 1836, when William Barret Travis drew a line in the sand with his sword and urged those willing to stay and defend the fort to step across it. Unfortunately, this heroic story seems to have been invented by a 19th century promoter long after the fall of the Alamo. But the myth itself probably greatly popularized the phrase, so it does count as an origin of sorts even if the incident itself was apocryphal. \n\nAnother possible origin dates back to the time of the Roman Empire. It seems that one of the Macedonian kings, a bit short of cash, decided to invade Egypt, then a Roman protectorate. His army was met at the border by a lone Roman senator named Popillius Laenas, who ordered the king to withdraw. The king began to stall for time, so Popillius Laenas drew a circle in the sand around the king and demanded that the king agree to withdraw his army before he stepped out of the circle. The king, apparently impressed by the senator's nerve (or, more likely, by the Roman Empire in general), withdrew. Incidentally, not only is this account verified by contemporary historians, but it also may be the only known instance of a line drawn in the sand actually stopping someone.
375396
As I recall, when Chuck Yeager and his friends were testing experimental aircraft out of Edwards AFB, they were told that all aircraft must perform within a specified envelope of performance.  When they replied that advancements were enabling them to break out of the envelope, they were warned against dangerous activity.\nSecretly, the pilots began to chuckle quietly about merely 'pushing up against the envelope'.
1032926
What's the context?  Is this referring to "self-addressed stamped envelope"?
361336
The phrase is derived from the practice of quickly jotting down calculations on the piece of paper nearest to hand, which in pre-email days often meant the back of an envelope. Another possible origin for the phrase is a widespread myth that Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg address on the back of an envelope while on the train to Gettysburg.\n\nThe physicist refered to by your professor is Feynman.
827133
Never heard it before, but I take it to mean "shove it up your bum".
45644
The history (if not the spelling!) of the term OK is largely debated. Some claim its derivation from the Chocktaw affirmative okeh, the Greek ola kalla, the Latin hoc ille -- all historically verifiable usages -- amongst others. It is argued that the cause of the success of the term in the US (regardless of its origin) is due to a fad of using initialisms during the 1830s and '40s. This fad of initialisms (eg: "TGIF", "FYI", "DIY") even went so far as generating letter combinations of intentional misspellings; popular ones were: "K.G.," for "know go," "K.Y.," for "know yuse," and "O.W.," for "oll write". "O.K." naturally followed, standing for "oll korrect". "O.K." is the only one that survived through the years, thanks perhaps to the precedence of the aforementioned affirmatives, but more certainly to the sloganeering during the presidential election campaign of Martin Van Buren. Born in Kinderhook, New York, Van Buren was nicknamed "Old Kinderhook" -- echoing the "oll korrect" initialism -- early in his political career. "O.K." became the rallying cry of the Old Kinderhook Club, a political organization supporting Van Buren during the 1840 campaign. H. L. Mencken would later describe term as "the most shining and sucessful Americanism ever invented."
513962
I don't know when secret balloting became adopted in England\nfor political purposes,but the Unions had secret balloting\n(balloting by post) forced upon them by Maggie Thatchers'\ngovernment.This was a way to mess the unions about,and to make them spend more of the union funds on envelopes,paper\nand postal charges etc.
853149
In British usage, it derives from Far East, specifically Chinese, pidgin; it came to UK by way of the Merchant Service, reinforced by the R(oyal) N(avy). . . . It is in fact a literal translation of a very common Chinese greeting, 'hao jiu mei jian.'\n: The American. use of the phrase probably comes from the same source but has been strongly influenced by two or three very widely distributed popular anecdotes. . . . The oldest printed record  of it is afforded by Harry C. Witwer's 'Love and Learn,' 1924 (p. 73). The US currency goes back to the late 19th century as  judged  by the fact that the 'OED New Supp.' can cite a Red Indian as saying 'Long time no see you'. . . . There have been Chinese living and working up and down the West Coast of North America since the Gold Rush days of mid 19th century, and before."
1004137
We would say "pinch, poke..you owe me a coke"\nI imagine it originated in some play ground somewhere....obviously after coke originated
809015
It sounds like "Push Comes to Shove" -- a cartoon animated by Bill Plympton in 1991.  They used to run this as a part of MTV's "Liquid Television" program in the mid 90's.  Click on the link below to see it.
889983
it was a publicity stunt back in the early days..it was for some magazine/newspaper article or something like that..it kind of just stuck around since then..we love it :)
290372
First of all, it seems implausible that Britain would write the Note in a German code that they were just figuring out how to dechiper. And in 1917, Arthur Zimmerman himself confirmed that the Note was genuine, and in October 2005 an original typescript was uncovered.\n\nSo I'm betting heavily on its authenticity.
694415
Precursors to public relations are found in publicists who specialized in promoting circuses, theatrical performances, and other public spectacles. In the United States, where public relations has its origins, many early PR practices were developed in support of the expansive power of the railroads. In fact, many scholars believe that the first appearance of the term "public relations" appeared in the 1897 Year Book of Railway Literature.\n\nLater, PR practitioners were—and are still often—recruited from the ranks of journalism. Some journalists, concerned with ethics, criticize former colleagues for using their inside understanding of news media to help clients receive favorable media coverage.\n\nDespite many journalists' discomfort with the field of public relations, well-paid PR positions remain a popular choice for reporters and editors forced into a career change by the instability of the print and electronic media industry. PR historians say the first PR firm, the Publicity Bureau, was established in 1900 by former newspapermen, with Harvard University as its first client.