Girly helplessness, 1890’s style.

Boy did I laugh when I read this article. With a few modernizations it could easily have been written for current times.

The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser 31 May 1890 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18989427

In this 1890 article Robert J. Burdette lays out his plan to ensure a life of ease if he was a woman. It sounds a bit like he is plotting to use similar tactics if he ever gets the chance.

I love all of these little tricks he mentions though; ensuring the fire goes out every time you touch it and ruining the laundry, both with the reasoning your hopelessness means you will never be expected to do it again.

His strategy on bread cracked me up, making the first loaf so hard that when it is dropped on the dog it kills him, serving the purpose of not being relied upon to bake bread again, and getting a new dog. Mean, but funny…

The nasty tactic to get the shady back seat in the cart was very inventive, although the driver you poke with the umbrella might not think so, and the plans to get all the attention in the theatre, church, the cricket and the tennis is probably similar to those practiced in crowds every day by those who love to be noticed.

I bet you all know someone who uses these kinds of tactics.

Just thinking about how a man would be able to point out so clearly what must be done in order to get out of having to perform unpleasant duties made me realize that many men do this every day!

Don’t deny it… we’re onto you. Do you do the laundry or does she? At the slightest hint of you turning on the washing machine does she bustle in to save her whites? Do you try to stop her? Hmmm…?

Do you use as many dishes as possible to make something simple like a sandwich, ensuring that you will rarely be relied on to make dinner, as the thought of the cleaning up after you have finished is too much for her?

I know this is a gross generalization, and I apologize if it doesn’t apply to you. I do live with three males though, two of whom are in training for self-sufficiency and one I have given up hope on, yes Man, you know who you are… 😉

Hardcore Juliet.

I expect that you have probably already seen this clip that did the rounds some time ago. Nevertheless, I am going to force it on you again anyway because it is so damn cute. 🙂

My first hardcore song by Juliet, an eight-year-old Aussie girl, is possibly the only song that will get both the most rabid metal fan and the most anti-metal person going ‘awwww….’ simultaneously.

Also, the clip has a trampoline mosh pit populated with stuffed toys. There isn’t a kid (or possibly adult) in the world who wouldn’t want to be part of that.

A fishy filling in 1948, and horse dentistry in 1901.

I have the day off today, yay! It is because I am going to the dentist though, boo 😦

When the Man of the House goes to the dentist for a bit of torture I try to find an article about some dental disaster to share with you. As it is my turn this time I thought I had better find something dentisty as well, sigh…

The Mercury 15 Apr 1948 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26456180

Fortunately the first thing that caught my eye was not a story of dental horror it was a boys amusing interpretation of why his snapper dinner in 1948 had a small yellow ball in it.

His father jokingly told him it was a lump of gold. This was later proved to be correct by a jeweller and naturally the boy expected that meant the gold had come from one of the fishes fillings.

I like the way that kid thinks 🙂

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I also had to include this amusing article about a bit of horse dentistry in 1901 as well. I love the way they explain that the horse was treated ‘just like a human’, with the use of cocaine to deaden the nerves in the tooth before they were filled with either gold or silver. Crikey!

Warwick Examiner and Times 25 Dec 1901 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article82269262

I wonder how popular this drug dealing dentist was with his patients?

Yes, I know that drugs we consider to be problems these days were used in the past as legitimate medicines, it just makes me glad we do things differently today.

It also makes me wonder what medications currently used will be considered inappropriate at some time in the future!

Yowie shouts….?

This sounds pretty exciting, an Animal Planet TV crew think that they have recorded yowie noises.

Animal Planet TV crew capture audio they believe proves existence of yowies | Space, Military and Medicine | Herald Sun.

I really want them to have found evidence of this mythical creature but…. well…I doubt it.

They suggest that if they were in North America they could attribute the noise to a large bear. Since we don’t have large bears here they say it must be a yowie. Exciting! maybe…

I wonder if they have ever heard the calls of the small bear-like creature we have here?

Hearing a koala call echoing through the silent bush at night out in the middle of nowhere is scary. Even when you know what it is they still sound like they want to kill you….

Cold times and angry wolves. 1933.

I did a post the other day about wolves devouring an entire wedding party in 1911 (worst wedding ever). During my searches for more more gruesome facts about that particular attack (more weddings and wolves)  I found this article that I though you might like.

The Canberra Times 15 Dec 1933 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2321769

In 1933 Europe it was cold. So cold in fact, that a wedding cake in Vienna had to be cut with an axe. I expect that the bride was not wearing a flimsy off-the-shoulder number that day! Luckily for her it seems no wolves caught up with her on her trip home. 🙂

Later in the report I see that cold and hungry wolves attacked the crew of a train while they were involved in a bit of snow clearing in Bessarabia (Moldova).

The crew had the presence of mind to throw meat into one of the train cars, slamming the doors behind the hungry wolves before continuing on their journey.

On arrival at their destination most of the wolves were still alive, unfortunately for them they were then caught in nets and shot.

It sounds a little cruel, but I can’t imagine the railway staff having too much sympathy for the wolves.

I now imagine the train pulling into the station, an unsuspecting attendant opening the door to begin unloading the cargo they expected to be contained within. Growl, leap, EEEEK! crunch…..

A new house with a terrible surprise. 1894.

The last thing most people want on their honeymoon is uninvited guests in the middle of the night.

The newly married Mr. and Mrs. Schrader of Shoal Creek got the worst kinds of guests imaginable on their honeymoon in 1894, a room full of annoyed snakes. Perhaps the only thing less welcome would be a knife-wielding maniac.

I wonder who decided that cosy little spot by the bluff would be a good place for their marital home? Clearly it was a nice place to live, the only problem was that others had already earmarked it as home.

I have heard of large amounts of snakes hibernating together, I even heard of a person who bought a country property only to find the walls of the house were packed with sleepy reptiles… eeek! Not sure if different species of snakes usually choose to hibernate together as suggested in this story though.

Either way, the reptiles tolerance of other species obviously didn’t spread to creatures with legs, with the dog and the newly-wed humans in this story all succumbing to the venom of their unwanted visitors.

The rest of the humans showed just as little tolerance. The day after the funeral they blew the side off the bluff to reveal the den, then killed all the snakes inside.

The Mercury 10 Feb 1894 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13269199