Trivia
HardThe Term “Slush Fund” Has Its Origins In?

Answer: Sailing
Today, the term “slush fund” has a meaning that ranges from negative to neutral, but it wasn’t always so. Now we use the term to refer to the reserves of money kept on hand by political groups, companies, and other entities to exert influence, buy people off, or secure silence from problematic people. Sometimes it’s used in a neutral fashion to refer to an amount of money with no set purpose held by an organization—e.g. “We’ll pay for the company picnic out of the slush fund.” Regardless, the term isn’t a particularly positive one and you can bet if somebody is accused of having or using a slush fund, then it’s not the kind of story they’d like the press to get their hands on.
Historically, however, slush funds were a positive thing that originated in the nautical world. “Slush” was the fat or grease skimmed from the top of the cauldrons used by cooks when they boiled salted meat aboard sailing vessels. The slush was carefully collected and then, at the next port of call, sold to tallow makers by one of the ship’s officers. The modest funds brought in by this routine were known as a “slush fund” and used to make small purchases for the ship’s crew.
Trivia
Very HardWhich U.S. State Has The Lowest Average Elevation?
Trivia
Very HardWho Is The Longest Recurring Actor In Any Video Game Franchise?
Trivia
HardIBM’s Natural Language Supercomputer Watson Was Named After?
Trivia
HardThe British Royal Navy Considered Rations Of What Foodstuff A Military Secret?
Trivia
EasyWhich Of These North American Mammals Has A Sophisticated Language System?
Trivia
HardWhat Common First Aid Technique Wasn’t Invented Until The 1960s?
Trivia
HardWhich Of These Popular Board Games Was Originally A Tool For Teaching Indian Children About Karma?
Trivia
HardWhich City Is Captured By The Highest Resolution Terrestrial Photograph In The World?
Trivia
Very HardWhat Popular 1980s Computer Game Blatantly Ripped Off Super Mario Bros?