The practice of having a wake started sometime in the 1500s. There was a rash of people who were thought to be dead that were actually being buried alive. With medicine was still in its early stages, doctors assumed that those who had a slow heart or pulse rate or were not noticeably breathing were deceased. A funeral would be held and, eventually, the deceased person would awaken in his grave. It's believed that some of these people were able to break out of their coffins and return to their homes. To help prevent this mistake from happening, families would place the "dead" person on a table (or sometimes in a coffin) and would sit and watch over the body for a few days, in case he/she awoke.
Example: Typically, first time car buyers are wet behind the ears when it comes to negotiating with car salesmen.
Origin: Many newly born animals, wet from liquids in the womb, are slow to become dry. Some places, especially the indentations behind the ears, take the longest because they aren't exposed to the air. The fur on these animals usually stays wet until they are active.
For this reason, a person who knows absolutely nothing about some kind of action is referred to as "wet behind the ears."
St. Augustine tells the story of how his mother, St. Monica once asked St. Ambrose: "At Rome they fast on Saturday, but not at Milan; which practice ought to be observed?"
St. Ambrose replied: "When I am at Milan, I do as they do at Milan; but when I go to Rome, I do as Rome does."
One of the easiest skills learned by an inexperienced cowboy is that of snapping a black snake whip. Those who couldn't bulldog a steer or rope a maverick prided themselves on being able to strut into a town while calling attention to themselves by snapping their whips. Only youngsters who didn't even carry guns followed this practice. But it was common enough to lead people who never worked a trail herd to adopt whippersnapper as the perfect label for any brash, but unskilled, beginner.
Pro wrestler Ric Flair (whose trademark line is "WOOOO") had this to say in an interview on the origins of his "WOOO!" chant. He said that it came from him hearing Jerry Lewis' Great Balls of Fire. That's the only reference to its origins that I could find.
