Dumb as a Door Knob

A recent hate e-mail stated I was "as dumb as a door knob" which made me wonder, how did door knobs end up with such a bad rap...

It's actually an English insult that originally was "dumb as a doornail" -- a doornail was the nail/plate behind a door knocker. When one knocked on the door, this doornail was abused. Since few people have these door knockers now days, the saying at some point became "door knob" instead of "door nail." So there we have a quick educational moment thanks to a yahoo who doesn't like my research abilities.

:-)