Weird Things Whose Purpose Was Unknown Until the Internet Came to the Rescue, Part 1

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From: 

https://www.drivepedia.com/trending/purpose-unknown-internet-tb/?utm_campaign=Mystery%20Things%20Safe%20Linore2209%20En%20-%20Desktop%20AUS&utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=dailymailau&utm_term=20%2B+Things+Whose+Purpose+Was+Unknown+Until+the+Internet+Came+Along&utm_content=http%3A%2F%2Fdjdy6whc2vqt5.cloudfront.net%2F7af729bd-c8ba-4cb0-b3b9-0c3e7cd382d8.jpg&psl=g_875239

People asked on the internet what the following items were for. The internet came to their aid . . . 

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A jar opener

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Stainless steel soap. Apparently if you rub your hands on it after chopping onions or garlic. It gets the smell off. 

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Lacewing eggs. Lacewings are insects easily recognised by their long, transparent, lace-like wings. Female lacewings lay their eggs on a thread of hardened mucus attached to a leaf, so they are suspended in the air. Or attached to the underside of kitchen counters. 

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Hammock holders. According to Reddit, these are hammock stands, used for swinging, sleeping, or resting. 

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A testing chip. It goes through the metal detectors to ensure they’re working. Ironically, this chip shows that the test has ultimately failed, because a foreign object has gotten through. 

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A shaving scuttle. It used to be used to keep soap lather warm and ready for shaving. 

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A yawning dance mask. This Balinese ‘yawning’ dance mask looks like a miniature version of the actual masks used in Balinese dance performances. Traditional Balinese masks are considered sacred, and represent divine messengers. 

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A ceremonial chonta. It is a traditional healer item used in traditional healing ceremonies. The carved wooden staff is made from the wood of the chonta palm, and sits at the head of a ceremonial altar. 

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A bird flight diverter. The spinning wind turbine clipped onto the power lines is a bird flight diverter which provides an economical means of reducing the hazard to both lines and birds.” 

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Underground gas vents 

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Ranger beads. They are used to count distance through a known pace. 

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Hopewell culture arrowhead. An arrowhead made for Hopewell Indian culture arrows from about 2,000 years ago. The Hopewell tradition is a Native American culture that existed in the northeastern and midwestern Eastern Woodlands during the Middle Woodland period. 

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A Roman oil jar. It is a Roman oil jar made of terracotta. Tthe ancient Romans made huge amounts of pottery, and terracotta pieces can be found all over the former Roman Empire. 

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A delimbing tool. According to online advice, this isn’t an axe. It’s a delimbing tool. You use it to reach high limbs and cut them with a swift pass. These things are razor sharp. 

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Sediment filter. This is a sediment filter, which sieves particles out of water. According to Reddit, this one has a “very old filter cartridge inside.” 

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Audio head demagnetizer. According to internet advice, to answer what it is you need to go back in time to the 1960s. The cassette was invented in the ‘60s, and this contraption was used to remove built up magnetism in the tape path. 

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A spacer wheel. us that this is construction equipment – “It is called a spacer wheel or chair. It’s meant to hold rebar in place prior to pouring the concrete.” 

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A double inkwell. These were commonly used in the 19th century. Apparently, the second well can be used to wash one’s pen after writing so that the ink doesn’t dry and clog up the tip. Or, you could use two colors of ink. 

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Electrostatic animal guard. According to a helpful internet contributor, this item is an electrostatic animal guard, explaining that when an animal touches the spokes, it receives an electric shock. Basically, this is like an electric fence that keeps livestock from wandering, but smaller. 

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The flower frog. This is a “flower frog” for arranging flowers. It uses a number of holes that stems could be fit through for arranging. It turns out that flower frogs come in a range of designs and styles. 

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A grid reflector. This “yellow thing” on a telephone pole is similar to road cats’ eyes and could be specific to this particular state. Apparently these yellow mesh objects are called grid reflectors, their purpose being to help motorists see and avoid utility poles. 

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Thought for the Day

 

POETRY SPOT: ON THE WALLABY

A few days ago I posted an item about an Australian folk song Stir the Wallaby Stew. In looking up some background on that song I came across a poem which is similar and worth an airing. It is called On the Wallaby. 

Some preliminary notes: 

It was published in 1887 by someone using the nickname The Scout, much like Andrew Paterson used the name The Banjo. 

The publication was in the NSW newspaper the Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser. 

See the original publication by clicking on: 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163281678

The expression “on the wallaby” is an abbreviation of the longer “on the wallaby track”. 

As already explained in the previous post, a wallaby is an animal similar to a kangaroo but smaller. The word itself is a borrowing into English from the Sydney Aboriginal language. It first appears in written form in 1793. 

“Wallaby track” was a term used to describe the path made by wallabies in the bush, as in J.L. Stokes’ 1846 book Discoveries in Australia: “In some parts of the tall scrub were wallaby tracks.” 

By the late 1840s the terms "on the wallaby track” and the shortened form “on the wallaby" had come to mean someone travelling through the country, especially a person in search of seasonal work. 

On the Wallaby (1887) 

BY THE SCOUT. 

Yes--I'm on the wallaby, Mister. You're right, 

I sleep in these blankets a'most every night. 

Don't I sometimes catch cold? Well, maybe I do, 

But, I don't think as often as folks who're like you. 

Don't I like steady work? Well, yes, for a while, 

\Until I can knock up some sort of a pile. 

If I gets too much bossing I aske for my whack, 

And I ups with my swag and takes to the track. 

Yes, I gets work a-shearing--a-harvestmg, too-- 

It don't matter much what a fellow does do ; 

I wants baccy and tucker--well, yes, and some-beer-- 

I aint got no missus, nor childer to rear. 

Oh, yes--it's fair country--'taint bad scen-er-y, 

But a good level road and a pub.'s what suits me. 

A man's allus welcome whose plenty o' tin, 

But without it--it's no go, most places I've bin. 

But tbe bushees ain't bad, there's plenty as will 

Soon as look give a swagsman a drop and a fill ; 

You see a'most all of 'em has been hard up, 

And they'll find you a shelter, a bit and a sup. 

In general, I camps, lights my fire where I be, 

And puts on the billy and boils me some tea ; 

Well--maybe if it's lonesome--that don't signify ; 

You gets used to most things, it's no odds to I. 

Oh, yes, I've bin digging, but hadn't much luck ; 

There's them as done better ; I might if I stuck. 

There's plenty besides, though, of them as did stop, 

As hardly earned rations--so that ain't much chop. 

Then sometimes I'm clearing or fencing a bit ; 

Or I works on the roads ; or perhaps takes a fit, 

And goes off to Sydney, and works on the Quay 

Along with a stevedore--they all knows me. 

I've got jobs on the new lines a'most everywhere 

I've bin on the waterworks till they struck there, 

Bin woolwashing, shepherding, dam-making, too ; 

And once on a coaster as one of the crew. 

I've bin ringbarking, droving--that's a pretty rough-- 

From Queensland to Adelaide, that was enough ; 

I've bin groom in a pub. ; I've driven a team, 

But bullocking's slow work--bit slower than steam. 

I've bin unemployed, and I got sent away 

Just where I'd a job-- yes, that was my lay, 

I've bin a-surveying, I've loaded a truck, 

But most what I've bin--has bin down on my luck. 

Oh, yes, there's lots like me--we're most anywheres 

There aint much as troubles us--cuz we don't care. 

You're right, the next pub.'s round the corner, I think, 

So we'll pull up a minute--come, let's have a drink.

THOUGHT FOR THJE DAY

 

HOAXES: THE BOTTLE-CONJUROR

-------oOo-------

The quotation that “It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled” is often attributed to Mark Twain. 

According to snopes.com there is no evidence that he actually said this, although he did write “How easy it is to make people believe a lie, and [how] hard it is to undo that work again!” 

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-mark-twain-say-its-easier-to-fool-people-than-to-convince-them-that-they-have-been-fooled/

I was put in mind of this (and upon the current election fraud allegations in the US) upon reading about an incident which took place in 1749 in England. 

John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu, entered into a wager with the 4th Earl of Chesterfield on the gullibility of the public. 

John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu 

4th Earl of Chesterfield 

The following is from a book Romance of London: Strange Stories, Scenes and Remarkable Persons of the Great Town by John Timbs (1801-1875), written in 1865: 

The Duke of Montague being in company with some other noblemen, proposed a wager, that let a man advertise to do the most impossible thing in the world, he would find fools enough in London to fill a playhouse, who would think him in earnest. “Surely,” said Lord Chesterfield, “if a man should say that he would jump into a quart bottle, nobody would believe that!” The Duke was somewhat staggered; but for the sake of the jest, determined to make experiment. Accordingly it was advertised that the next day, (Jan. 10, 1749,) a person would, at the Haymarket Theatre, “play on a common walking-cane the music of every instrument then used, to surprising perfection; that he would, on the stage, get into a tavern quart bottle, without equivocation, and while there, sing several songs, and suffer any spectator to handle the bottle; that if any spectator should come masked, he would, if requested, declare who he was; and that, in a private room, he would produce the representation of any person, dead, with which the person requesting it should converse some minutes, as if alive.” The prices of admission were—gallery, 2s; pit, 3s; boxes, 5s; stage, 7s. 6d. 

 

In front of a huge audience, which included the king's second son, the Duke of Cumberland, the theatre lights were brought up at about 7 pm. With no music to keep them entertained, the crowd grew restless and began to voice their discontent. A theatre employee appeared from behind the curtain and told the audience that, if the performer did not appear, their money would be refunded. 

William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, younger son of George II, who led the British government force which defeated the Jacobite army of Charles Edward Stuart at the Battle of Culloden in 1746

As the crowd grew more restless, someone threw a lighted candle onto the stage. Most of the audience—including the Duke—took this as their cue to leave, some "losing a cloak, others a hat, others a wig, and swords also". 

According to accounts at the time, the theatre was utterly destroyed. While most of the audience made a hasty exit . . .

One party, however, staid in the house, in order to demolish the inside, when the mob breaking in, they tore up the benches, broke to pieces the scenes, pulled down the boxes; in short, dismantled the Theatre entirely, carrying away the particulars above mentioned into the street, where they made a mighty bonfire; the curtain being housed on a pole by way of a flag. 

While the original advertisement said that ample guards would be on hand, this did not seem to be the case, as: 

A large party of guards were sent for, but come time enough only to warm themselves round the fire. We hear of no other disaster than a young nobleman’s chin being hurt, occasioned by his fall into the pit with part of one of the boxes, which he had forced out with his foot. 

Suspicion immediately fell upon the theatre's manager, Samuel Foote, for having originated the hoax. 

Samuel Foote 

Foote claimed he knew nothing about the performance, but that he had warned the theatre's owner, John Potter, that he suspected something was not quite correct. Potter himself fell under suspicion, but was apparently innocent, "a strange man" having dealt with all the arrangements that night. 

The "Man in the Bottle" instantly became the target of the newspapers and pamphlets, who published cutting satires about the conjurer's non-appearance, and its consequences. Many satirical prints were produced, among them two caricatures published within the month: The Bottle-Conjuror from Head to Foot, without equivocation, and English Credulity; or ye're all bottled. 

A depiction at the time

One newspaper explained the non-appearance of the conjurer by claiming that he had been ready to perform on the night, but was asked for a private audience beforehand; whereupon receiving a demonstration of the trick, the viewer had "corked up the bottle, whipped it in his pocket and made off." 

The "Bottle Conjuror" became a symbol for the gullibility and credulity of the London populace, which was seen as a powerful criticism in the Age of Enlightenment. Performers in London continued to be compared to The Bottle Conjuror for decades to come.

-------oOo-------

Thought for the Day

 

Australian Folk Songs: Stir the Wallaby Stew

Most Australian folk songs tell of hardship, injustice, difficult times and heartbreak. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of one Oz folk song that is happy or joyous. The following Stir the Wallaby Stew is no exception . . ,

Audio clip: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-urNQvcvAVA 

About:

First published in the Bulletin in 1897. 

Written by Cecil Poole, original title When Dad Comes Out of Gaol. 

Printed in Stewart and Keesing, Old Bush Songs and Rhymes of Colonial Times with the note “Sung sixty years ago by a Mr Hulbert. Mrs E. Joan Bowran, Tallangatta.” 

A.L. Lloyd sang Wallaby Stew in 1958 on his Wattle LP Across the Western Plains. He noted: 

Two young fellows who had been working on the Darling Downs were walking back home to Port Adelaide. Following the Lachlan River, they called in at a station for rations. The boss didn't like their looks and wanted them to move on, but the boy who did the butchering skinned a hamstrung lamb for them, and they rewarded him with a song about Wallaby Stew. Their song was tangled up with another called Country Gaol, and it didn't make much sense. When they'd gone, the boy missed his good skinning knife, but he did recover the Wallaby Stew song, nearly thirty years later and twelve thousand miles away, when Edgar Waters of Sydney, on a visit to England, showed him a coherent set of words, probably from the collection of Percy Jones. The tune is widely known among seaman to the words of According to the Act (the influence of sailor tunes on Australian folk songs is worth studying). Perhaps the tune gained a readier foothold because it is related to the older and more handsome melody used for The Cockies of Bungaree. 

Lyrics: 

Wallaby Stew 

Poor Dad he got five years or more as everybody knows 

And now he lives in Boggo Road with broad arrows on his clothes 

He branded all of Brown's clean skins and never left a tail 

So I'll relate the family's woes since Dad got put in jail 

Chorus 

So stir the wallaby stew 

Make soup of the kangaroo tail 

I tell you things is pretty tough 

Since Dad got put in jail 

Our sheep were dead a month ago not rot but blooming fluke 

Our cow was boozed last Christmas Day by my big brother Luke 

And Mother has a shearer cove for ever within hail 

The family will have grown a bit since Dad got put in jail 

Our Bess got shook upon a bloke he's gone we don't know where 

He used to act around the shed but he ain’t acted square 

I've sold the buggy on my own the place is up for sale 

That won’t be all that has been junked when Dad comes out of jail 

They let Dad out before his time to give us a surprise 

He came and slowly looked around and gently blessed our eyes 

He shook hands with the shearer cove and said he thought things stale 

So he left him here to shepherd us and battled back to jail 

Alternative lyrics: 

Poor Dad he got five years or more as everybody knows 

And now he's stuck in Maitland Jail broad arrows on his clothes 

He branded old Brown's clean skins and he never left a tail 

Now I'll relate the family's fate since Dad got put in jail 

So stir the wallaby stew, make soup of the kangaroo tail, 

I'll tell you things is pretty crook since Dad got put in jail. 

Our sheep all died last springtime, from footrot and the fluke 

Our cow got shot last Christmas by my drunken brother Luke 

The buggy's bust, the wheat has rust and the place is up for sale 

And that ain't all that's up the spout since Dad got put in jail 

Our Bess got stuck on some young bloke but he's gone we don't know where 

He worked around the shearing shed and he certainly worked on her 

And Mother has a shearer cove for ever within hail 

The family will have grown a bit since Dad got put in jail 

They let Dad out before his time to give us a surprise 

He came and took a look around and gently cursed our eyes 

He shook hands with the shearer cove and reckoned things looked stale 

Then he slowly spat on the old dirt floor and battled back into jail 

Glossary: 

Boggo Road:  

Boggo Road Gaol in Brisbane, Australia, was Queensland’s main jail from the 1880s to the 1980s, by which time it had become notorious for poor conditions and rioting.

Broad arrows: 

Broad arrow insignia, also referred to as crows feet, was used on prison dress from about 1830. 

Clean skins: 

Unbranded cattle, not to be confused with: 

- cleanskin wines where the winery is not shown on the label, only the variety of grapes used; 

- persons with no criminal record; 

- people without tattoos. 

The use of the term for wine actually comes from the term for unbranded cattle. 

Never left a tail: 

My take on this is that Dad killed and either ate or sold the carcasses. 

Wallaby: 

Although species on its own, essentially a smaller form of kangaroo. 

Blooming: 

A euphemism for bloody. The Oxford English Dictionary explains that the use of :bloody” as an intensifier and thereafter becoming unacceptable arose from aristocratic rowdies known as "bloods", hence "bloody drunk" means "drunk as a blood". It may also be a direct loan of Dutch bloote, (modern spelling blote) meaning entire, complete or pure which, it has been suggested, was transformed into bloody where it implies completely, entirely, purely, very, truly. The word "blood" in Dutch and German is used as part of minced oaths, in abbreviation of expressions referring to "God's blood". 

Fluke: 

Liver fluke is a parasitic worm which can infect cattle, sheep and goats, as well humans. 

Our cow was boozed: 

The cow was sold and the proceeds used to buy booze. 

Cove: 

In Australian slang, a manager, especially of a sheep station. 

The family will have grown a bit . . . 

Mum is pregnant, Or sis, Or both.

Shook upon: 

Intensely moved, as in Elvis Presley’s “All shook up” 

Junked: 

Discarded

Thought for the Day

 

The Ernie Awards, 2020

The Ernie Awards, or the 'Ernies', are Australian awards for comments deemed misogynistic. They are held annually. 

It is named after former Australian Workers' Union secretary Ernie Ecob, who was known for his misogynistic remarks. One of his best-known remarks was "Women aren't welcome in the shearing sheds. They're only after the sex," which is why there is a sheep on top of the Gold Ernie. The inaugural awards night was in celebration of him resigning from the Labor Council of New South Wales. 

A dinner is held for 300 women each year at NSW Parliament House, the winner being determined by the person who receives the most booing when their sexist statement or action is read out.

A variety of categories have featured, such as: 

the Gold Ernie 

the Warney (for sport, named after Shane Warne) 

the Media Ernie 

the Political Ernie 

the Judicial Ernie 

the Good Ernie (for boys behaving better, formerly called the Gareth after Gareth Evans 

the Elaine (for females making comments unhelpful to the sisterhood, named after Elaine Nile; and 

the Trump (for repeat offenders). 

The categories of offenders have changed over the years. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant restrictions, the 28th annual Ernies were unable to be determined by booing votes at the dinner. Instead, the winners of the awards were determined on October 1 2020 by an ‘Ernies Council of Elders’. 

Here are the result, you may not agree with all . . .  

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Gold Ernie and Industrial Silver Ernie 

Jayson Westbury CEO of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents objecting to journalist and TV presenter Tracey Grimshaw’s reporting of a travel industry refund scandal.  Said Westbury: “She needs to be given a firm uppercut or a good slap across the face”. 

Westbury resigned after the furore over his comments with AFTA saying that his views and words were not condoned. 

Tracey Grimshaw and Jayson Westbury

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Political Silver Ernie 

Senator Malcolm Roberts, for comments on the family law system: “But when you’re a father, and you can’t get access to your kids, and you can’t get access to the legal system properly, what else is there to do other than check out or hurt the other person?” 

Greens Senator Janet Rice started pulling faces behind One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts in July 2019 while he was speaking in the Senate. 

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Celebrity/Clerical Silver Ernie (dead heat) 

1.

Council of the Order of Australia, for awarding Bettina Arndt an AM for “significant service to the community as a social commentator, and to gender equity through advocacy for men”. 

Bettina Mary Arndt AM (born 1949) is an Australian writer and commentator who specialises in sex and gender issues. Starting as a sex therapist and feminist, she came to public prominence in the 1970s, establishing a career in publishing and broadcasting as well as writing several books. In the last two decades she has abandoned feminism and attracted controversy with her social commentary and her views on sexual abuse, domestic violence and men's rights advocacy. 

Bettina Ardnt

2.

Shore school boys for their ‘Triwizard Shorenament’ challenging students to have sex with a woman over 80kgs; aged over 40; or who is deemed to be a ‘3/10 or lower’. 

Shore is one of the most elite private schools in Sydney. 

Traditionally Year 12 high school students engage in “muck up” activities before their end of year final exams, a tradition which has increasingly come under fire for disrespectful, responsible, damaging and anti-social behaviour and activities. The activities planned by the Year 12 students at Shore were set out in a rule book which was called the Triwizard Shorenament, a reference to Harry Potter. It includes a scavenger hunt with points awarded for various acts and items, including those above. It also encouraged the participants to spit on a homeless man, get arrested and take two laxatives while eating spicy curry, with over 150 challenges listed. And these are the supposed intelligent and privileged future leaders. 

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Sport Silver Ernie (The Warney) 

Israel Folau who claimed ‘Bushfires crippling Australia are God’s punishment for legalising abortion and same sex marriage’ 

Folau grew up as a Mormon, but moved to being an active member of the Assemblies of God Christian denomination in 2011. His father, Eni Folau, is a pastor. Folau has credited his relationship with God as a reason for his athletic success in the NRL, AFL and rugby union. In a 2017 article for Players Voice, Folau wrote that he reads the Bible every day and that faith in Jesus Christ is the "cornerstone of every single thing in my life." 

Folau's statements about what he understands the Bible to say about same-sex marriage and homosexuality brought him into conflict with the administrators of Rugby Australia, and in 2019, they terminated his contract. Alleging that Rugby Australia terminated his employment on the basis of religion, Folau commenced proceedings in the Fair Work Commission but was unable to reach a settlement with Rugby Australia; he subsequently commenced proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and a confidential settlement between the two parties was released on 4 December 2019. 

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Judicial Silver Ernie 

Qld Det Insp Mark Thompson says police are “keeping an open mind” about the murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children after they were burnt to death in their car by her estranged husband. Who then killed himself. “Is it an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues he’s suffered by certain circumstances into committing acts of this form?” 

Detective Thompson’s remarks drew intense criticism and he was stood aside from the investigation. The Police Commissioner stated that Detective Thompson was a man of integrity and dedication but had chosen his words poorly, that that the detective was gutted about the words he had used. 

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Industrial Silver Ernie 

Jayson Westbury CEO of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents objecting to Tracey Grimshaw’s reporting of a travel industry refund scandal. “She needs to be given a firm uppercut or a slap across the face”. 

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Media Silver Ernie 

Michael Leunig for his cartoon and poem entitled Mummy Was Busy:

“Mummy was busy on Instagram. 

 When beautiful bubby fell out of the pram. 

 And lay on the path unseen and alone. 

 Wishing that he was loved like a phone” 

Leuning’s poem and cartoon: 

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The Elaine for remarks least helpful to the Sisterhood (dead heat) 

1.

Bettina Arndt on the murder of Hannah Clarke and her children, having said: ”Congratulations to the Queensland police for keeping an open mind and awaiting proper evidence, including the possibility that Rowan Baxter might have been ‘driven too far’.” 

2.

Pauline Hanson, Deputy chair of the Family Court Enquiry, on women fabricating stories of domestic violence: ”A lot of the women out there abuse the system by instigating false DVOs against their former partners or their husbands. They use that to further their needs… Domestic violence orders have got completely out of hand”. 

Pauline Hanson accused women of lying about domestic violence: 

"There are people out there who are nothing but liars and who will use that in the court system," she told ABC radio. Senator Hanson refused to provide evidence to substantiate her claims, suggesting that journalists contact men's rights groups to back up the allegations. 

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The Good Ernie for boys behaving better 

Actor Sam Neill. “I actually think it would be better if men just shut up for a while…Resist the urge to shout over the top of women. Stop being boofheads. And bullies… And when someone says 'You’re not the boss of me' you better believe it. You’re just a guy that messes up the house or the office.” 

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Some Leunig cartoons to finish . . . 

Quote for the Day