I’m Just Curious: Love my new books

by Debbie Walker

Remember I bought some odd ball books last month? To refresh your memory the list of my new books reads like this: “A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant”, “The Left Hander”, “Can Holding in a Fart Kill You?”, “What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper”, “Why Do We Say It?”, and the newest addition is “Manners and Morals of Victorian America”. So….. I’m going to share a couple tidbits from each book or all I have room for here.

Manners & Morals: Never punish your child for a fault to which you are addicted yourself. Never exhibit too great familiarity with a new acquaintance. Never will a gentleman allude to conquests which he may have made with ladies. “The Curtsy vs the Bow.” Formerly it was the habit for the ladies to curtsey on being introduced, but this has been changed into the more easy and graceful custom of bowing” (1868). Yeah, I can see me worrying about doing a curtsey or bow, not a chance these days! I am reasonably sure I would be the one in the family to question these behaviors.

Yes and I know I have to answer the great questions of the book title “Can Holding in a Fart Kill You?” It was believed at one time that it could cause poisoning of the body. People still try to hold it in until the coast is clear, believing this behavior is more acceptable. The main side effect of” holding it in” is probably some stomach discomfort but they won’t die.

“What Did We Use Before Toilet Paper?” is the title of another of my books. The Chinese invented toilet paper in the 14th century and the Bureau of Imperial Supplies began to produce paper for use by the Chinese emperors. Toilet paper was factory produced in 1857 and named “Therapeutic Paper” and sold in packs of 500 sheets. Different areas of the world used different products. Such as: Rome – moist sponge on end of a stick, wealthy used wool and rosewater, Vikings in the Middle Ages used hay balls. Hawaii: coconut husks. Eskimos used snow and tundra moss. There are, of course, more but the ones who used grass, stones (?), moss were considered poor. Some countries use their hands. A friend of mine was in Afghanistan, he was introduced to an important woman and he offered the wrong hand for her to shake! BIG mistake: Woman was insulted! Sears catalogs were favorites until they started using glossy paper!! That’s where it went, I never knew!

Okay, I think I’m about at the end of my allotted words! We will, of course, be visiting my books from time to time, especially when I find some of the really interesting tidbits!!

I’m just curious what I’ll find yet?! Hope you enjoyed and I thank you for adding me to your day. Love comments! dwdaffy@yahoo.com is my e-mail, sub line: Odd Books. Thank you again!