webster taught america to spell, so he's got a lot to answer for!
more importantly, he was an evangelical christian who didn't like rude words.
like 'testicles', for example (look it up in the dictionary, if you're not sure).
he got so carried away with the success of his dictionary that he tried purging the bible of phrases which might be offensive to females (what about the rest of us?) - like testicles, for example.
his suggestion was that the word should henceforth be known as 'peculiar members'....
here in england we have members of parliament, which is MP...
you see the way i'm thinking here, don't you?
