Whole ball of wax

The only thing we know for sure about this expression is that it is originally American, that it first appears in American newspapers in the 1880s, and means everything or the whole works. Apart from this, the origin and connection with wax are unknown. It joins a whole host of expressions that mean everything or the whole works. Why the English language has so many different ways of saying ‘everything’ or ‘the whole lot’ remains a puzzle.