I’M JUST CURIOUS: Little tidbits of information

by Debbie Walker

The other night I was flipping through my 2020 Farmer’s Almanac for the 100th (at least) time since I bought it last fall. I would have told you, if asked, that I had studied that volume front to back and there would be no surprises left for me in that issue. I discovered I was wrong. I had indeed missed something. I missed two of what I consider the funniest advertisements.

Let me first tell you I did not know the word “Biffy” is another term for toilet or outhouse. It may have come from the term Bivouac. This is a temporary military camp. The “Biffy Bag” was believed, in this description, to have been a carrier for the soldier’s toiletries. However, that is not the reason for the ad I saw.

The “Biffy Bag” advertisement I saw shows a cartoon picture of its use.

Next ad I saw was directly beside the Biffy Bag. This one is promoted by a company called “PStyle”. The ad reads “PStyle: A ‘Stand to pee’ device ideal for woman who work and play outside. The thing to me looks like a swim flipper, just a little smaller. I haven’t figured out just how easy or difficult this would be. I am still thinking a collapsible funnel with a tube attached would work!

I am sorry, I am sure some of you may be thinking how tacky this is. I admit that when I finished my last article about my Urinary Adventure, I had no plans to travel with anything else along that line. But this info was visible to me and I couldn’t resist.

Since I am still in that arena I may as well add that the surgery seems to have been a great success. Needless to say, I am thrilled. I will be going back to see the surgeon/urologist on May 26. Please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime.

There was an article in that same issue about salt being a miracle cure. It was written by Deborah Tukun. We always used salt to gargle when we had a sore throat. I am surprised my mom didn’t know about the cure for infected ears.

I always had trouble with ear aches and infections. Possibly that information was unavailable when we were kids. It is done with a warm ‘salt sock’. The warm salt sock is a do-it-yourself treatment. It creates a shift in the pressure within the ear, draws fluid out and eases the pain. There are boughten pillows or you can make one with a WHITE sock. It has to be white, no dyes.

You will need one white, cotton sock and 1-1/2 cups of coarse sea salt. Pour into a white sock and tie end in a knot. Heat in a clean, dry skillet over medium/low heat (NEVER a microwave) for about 4 – 6 minutes. Shake it around to make heat even. Heat till very warm, test on your arm to make sure it’s not too warm. Cover ear and jaw line and relax. I have never tried this so please do your own research.

I’m just curious what you thought was most useful in this column. Contact me at DebbieWalker@townline.org.

Thanks for reading and have a great week.