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Re: Image comments for Guess The Misterious Object: who is the runner on the left?
Posted by: Anonymous
Date: 14/06/2005 02:00PM
Actually the word came from a 17th century Jewish-Italian pawnbroker who operated a loan-shark business in Bethnal Green, London. His name was known to few (and was, in any case, unpronounceable), so his clients (victims?) called him Mister IOUs, after the promissory notes he made them sign. Over time, this became "misterious", as 17thC. Londoners weren't too fussy about grammar, and it has lasted to this day.
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