A (forgotten) Bee in his Bonnet. 1951.

Worker 3 Dec 1951 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71397944

I understand that Mr Bee-Mason might have had his hands a little full at the time of the initial sting, but you would think that once the deafness set in you would remember the bee in your ear earlier.

I don’t think much of the doctor either, did he even look in the ear or was he just guessing?

Mr. J.C. Bee-Mason has a great name for a bee-keeper, doesn’t he? A mason can be a name for a member of a widespread secret organization. Could a Bee-Mason be another name for a person who understands the secrets of bees?

That ear looks just like mine! 1933.

The Mercury 18 Apr 1933 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article24881432

I tripped and fell and my ear just dropped right off. I bet there aren’t many other people in the world that can say that!

If you were sinking a few at the local inn on a cold and snowy night, and a person came in telling you that their ear was outside on the ground, I suspect you would be wondering what kind of beverage the innkeeper had been serving!

How desperate was Josef Steinmetz for a drink to have travelled in the bitter cold long enough for his ear to have been so damaged by frostbite?