The cap in the photo is called a kepi. It's French in origin, first appearing as standard issue in the French army in the 1830s. It's not unique to the Civil War. It's been worn by troops and officers in countries as diverse as Japan, Chile, Peru, Denmark, Romania and Greece.

Uh...are you sure you didn’t hear this on an episode of The Cosby Show? Because Bill Cosby’s character used to say it Theo all the time. It’s a saying that’s also discussed at length in Henry Louis Gates’ book, America Behind the Color Lines. I’m not saying you didn’t hear it on Springer, but that show didn’t debut…