Happy New Baby Sister Day!

Today I get to meet my new sister. How often do you get to say something like that? I mean, I do have 6 sisters now, so I guess I get to say it more often than most, but still...pretty cool.

The National Honor of the Trousers

In 14th century Mali, a man named Mansa Musa was king. He was a very generous king, giving gold, land and horses to his citizens in exchange for their loyalty. The greatest gift, however, was given to military heroes. This gift was known as "The National Honor of the Trousers." According to one Arab, named Al-Dukhari:

"Whenever a hero adds to the lists of his exploits,

the king gives him a pair of wide trousers...The

greater the number of the knight's exploits, the

bigger the size of his trousers."

The reason for this was that only the king and his family could wear sewn clothes; everyone else wore clothes that were wrapped around the body. Hence, to be given big pants was an honor, indeed. The better you were at being a warrior, the bigger your pants.

Sometimes I watch kids walking around school between classes, having to pull up their pants with every other step, and I think to myself, "They must have done some great things. Look at the size of their pants!"