Category Archives: History

Weird things I wonder about: WHY butt pockets?!!

13 Saturday Apr 2019

Posted by in Fun Facts, History, Humor

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Wonder is the seed of knowledge.
—Francis Bacon

Well…if this is true…I’m in trouble, because I wonder about some pretty weird stuff sometimes.

Like WHY are butt pockets standard issue on jeans? Seriously, WHY??! You’re just going to sit on whatever is in those pockets…eventually. Nowdays that’s likely to be your smart phone! It makes no sense.

I must admit that wondering about the absurdity of this design decision is what prompted my research into the history and origin of blue jean pockets. So, maybe the knowledge-thing applies here after all. Francis Bacon didn’t say how valuable the knowledge had to be.

The Method Behind Butt Pocket Madness

To understand the reasoning behind (no pun intended) the nonsensical placement of jean pockets, we have to go back to when blue jeans—as we know them today—were first created.

Levi Strauss followed the Gold Rush to California in 1853, where he established a dry goods store. One of the items he carried was blue industrial strength cloth known as denim. A Nevada tailor, by the name of Jacob Davis, bought some of Strauss’s denim and put rivets at pocket corners and other stress points to make them stronger. Davis couldn’t afford to patent the idea on his own, and contacted Strauss with a business plan. The patent was granted to Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss & Company on May 20, 1873, and blue jeans were born.

Prior to Levi Strauss’s blue jeans, people wore overalls for messy jobs and manual labor, such as construction, farm work, and painting. These jobs were generally performed while standing, so pocket placement was intended to make it easy to carry and retrieve tools. Blue jeans were originally intended to be worn for the same type of work, and initially were called waist overalls.

Form follows function. No sitting on jobs, where you carry tools in your pockets. Blue jeans were solely used for doing tough jobs for 80 years, until the mid 1950s.

From Work-Horse Wardrobe to Fashion Forward Fame

What happened to change the fate of the work-horse blue jeans?

James Dean happened.

The blue jeans fashion craze caught fire with James Dean’s signature t-shirt, leather jacket, and blue jeans look in the movie Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Young men across the country copied it immediately.

How did the blue jean fad catch on with young women in a time of poodle skirts and pearls?

Marilyn Monroe started the feminine blue jeans trend when she wore them in the movie The Misfits. Her character joined up with a group of cowboys, and she sported the quintessential female version of James Dean’s Rebel Without a Cause outfit.

In the following decades, Elvis Presley, Marlon Brando, and Henry Winkler (as The Fonz in Happy Days) fanned the flame of the blue jeans fashion frenzy. A trend that’s still burning bright.

THAT my friends is WHY we wear jeans with pockets on our backside.

I wonder what Levi Strauss would think of us carrying a computer—with more power than the one that put the first man in space (and took up an entire floor of a building)—in one of his back jean pockets? I think he’d probably design a more functional garment for that purpose. But that’s just me.

The whole truth about The Pentagon Papers: Most Dangerous + The Post

17 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by in Film, History, Nonfiction

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Film and fiction bring their own strengths to storytelling. The secrets behind The Pentagon Papers requires both to fully understand the people and events that shaped this turning point in American history and culture.

Most Dangerous, by Steve Sheinkin, reveals the how and why The Pentagon Papers were stolen and released to the press by Daniel Ellsberg. The Post (starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep), is the story of the Washington Post’s role in exposing the lies behind the Vietnam war to the American public.

Most Dangerous, by Steve Sheinkin

Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War

Most Dangerous, coverDaniel Ellsberg was the obscure government analyst who became “the most dangerous man in America” by risking everything to expose decades of government deception and lies.

The Pentagon Papers—the top-secret history of the Vietnam war—had been kept under lock and key for over a decade, with only the highest ranking government officials aware of their existence. On June 13, 1971, the New York Times blew open the government’s tightly kept secret, exposing The Pentagon Papers to the American public and the world. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara had documented the government’s actions in the Vietnam War, revealing lies that spanned four presidencies. Sheinkin’s page-turning narrative provides direct insight into the people and political events that brought Ellesberg—a self-proclaimed patriot—to commiting what many would call treason. Sheinkin interviewed Ellsberg and others who were involved in shining the light of truth on The Pentagon Papers. The result is a front row seat to what the New York Times deemed “the biggest story of the century”, as if you are experiencing it unfold in real-time. Thought provoking and emotionally stirring, Most Dangerous delves into the true meaning of patriotism, freedom, and integrity.

Sheinkin’s insightful investigation of The Pentagon Papers was the 2015 National Book Award finalist and winner of the 2016 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award.

The Post

The Post, in comparison, focuses on the unprecedented battle between the press and the The Post, movie postergovernment regarding the right print The Pentagon Papers. Katharine Graham, the country’s first female newspaper publisher and her hard-driving editor Ben Bradlee were the force behind bringing the truth behind the Vietnam war to the American people.

The Washington Post’s legal team advised Graham against publishing the stolen documents, as Nixon would surely slam them with criminal charges. If they lost the legal battle, Graham risked destroying the newspaper that was her family legacy. If they won, she’d the Post would become a national journalistic institution. She was a fighter. She ran the story.

The White House retaliated with full force, and the Post and Times went before the Supreme Court to plead their First Amendment stance. Newspapers across the country rallied the story in solidarity, and the court ruled in favor of the newspaper and the people’s right to know.

Meryl Streep’s performance provides a movingly nuanced reflection of the societal inequality professional women of the time faced. For this reason, The Post is as much a statement about the turning tides of equality as it is about freedom of the press and the American people’s right to know.

Hilarious history ~ Told by the funniest writer in fiction!

24 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by in History, Humor, Nonfiction

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Sid Fleischman was (and arguably still is) the funniest fiction writer…ever. I’m not alone in this opinion. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) created a Humor Sid Fleischman Humor AwardAward in his honor, and made him the first recipient. The Sid Fleischman Humor Award is an award for authors whose work exemplifies the excellence of writing in the genre of humor. 

As SCBWI President Stephen Mooser said, “Sid the Magician may not be as famous as Sid the Writer. It’s one thing to make someone laugh. But his ability to do that in so many stories with such poignancy is nothing short of magic.“ 

So it’s no surprise that the funniest writer in fiction worked his magic with hilarious history too.

The Trouble Begins at 8 ~
A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West

Who better to tell the rambunctious tale of a young river boat pilot who gallops off to take on the wild, wild West than Sid Fleischman? The tale is all true, and told with a wit as sharp as Mark Twain himself.

The title itself signals the fun that’s to come…taken from the poster Mark Twain used to advertise his public talks: The doors open at seven, The Trouble to begin at 8 o’clock.

Fleischman takes the reins from there with hopping hilarity: “Mark Twain was born fully grown, with a cheap cigar clamped between his teeth.”

You might think (as I did) that Mark Twain began writing as a young man, while piloting river boats on the Mississippi river. Afterall, that was the stage on which his two most famous novels were set: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But no. Those books wouldn’t come until much later. Twain’s writing career began with his adventures in the wild, wild west. Virginia City, Nevada to be exact, writing for a newspaper in a place where tumbleweeds were the biggest thing to blow through town.

The First in Fake News

It’s true. Mark Twain made his name writing Fake News. When there was no news, “Sam gave his bubbling imagination a stir and ladled out a wondrous hoax. He reported the discovery of a petrified man.”

Mark Twain at the helm of a river boatTwain created the tale to stir up trouble with the competing newspaper in town, and tickle the funny bones of the readers. In a time before television and social media this was great entertainment, and an instant success! So much so, the hoax was picked up by newspapers across the country.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County was the tall tale that brought Twain national acclaim. The short story awarded him notoriety as a writer, but travel and lecture series would consume his time for years. It wasn’t until Twain married and settled in Connecticut that he’d write two of the most celebrated novels in fiction.

Sir Charlie ~
Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World

Charlie Chaplin embraced the pain of his youth, played with it, then used it to become famous for being funny. He instinctively knew that what makes you laugh the most, also makes you cry the most. Sid Fleischman tells the Little Tramp’s poignant tale, matching Chaplin’s humor with heartwarming empathy.

See him? That little tramp twitching a postage stamp of a mustache, politely lifting his bowler hat, and leaning on a bamboo cane with the confidence of a gentleman? A slapstick comedian, he blazed forth as the brightest movie star in the Hollywood heavens.

Everyone knew Charlie—Charlie Chaplin.

When he was five years old he was pulled onstage for the first time, and he didn’t step off again for almost three-quarters of a century. Escaping the London slums of his tragic childhood, he took Hollywood like a conquistador with a Cockney accent. With his gift for pantomime in films that had not yet acquired vocal cords, he was soon rubbing elbows with royalty and dining on gold plates in his own Beverly Hills mansion. He was the most famous man on earth—and he was regarded as the funniest.

Still is. . . . He comes to life in these pages. It’s an astonishing rags-to-riches saga of an irrepressible kid whose childhood was dealt from the bottom of the deck. [Synopsis]

In case you’ve never seen Charlie Chaplin in action…the following is a clip from his silent movie, A Dog’s Life.

 

Historic Artists Colony with Fairytale Flair ~ Carmel by-the-Sea

29 Monday Feb 2016

Posted by in Architecture, History, Writing

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Carmel fairy tale architectureCarmel by-the-Sea is a small coastal town in Monterey County, California.

Today, Carmel is an upscale bedroom community and elegant vacation spot known for its fairytale architecture, gourmet restaurants, trendy boutiques, and numerous art galleries.

Carmel wasn’t always so glamorous or conventional, however. The seaside town’s culture is rooted in the whimsy of an eclectic artists community, including its signature fairytale architecture. [Image: The Tuck Box, Hugh Comstock’s only commercial building]

Bohemian Beginnings

Carmel was founded in 1902, and by 1905 the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club had been formed. Jack London, writingWhat started as a small enclave, grew significantly larger when the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 sent artists flocking to the small town–musicians, writers, painters and others. Little did they know that they would leave a lasting influence on Carmel’s culture.

Jack London described the Carmel artists colony in his novel The Valley of the Moon. [Image of Jack London writing: Wikipedia]

Creative talent from all disciplines comprised Carmel’s founding artists colony. Theater, music, and the visual arts continue to play an important role in the community today. However, for the purpose of this post I’m focusing solely on the writers.

Literary Legacy

Poet George Sterling paved the way for the town’s literary base when he moved to Carmel in 1905. After the 1906 earthquake, many of Sterling’s literary friends followed. The following are some of the other notable writers who joined the Carmel artists enclave, or frequented the community:

Henry Miller established another artists enclave in Big Sur, just a few miles south of Carmel along the rugged California coastline. For a comprehensive list of authors who have lived and worked in the Carmel area, go here.

Living the Fairytale

Hugh Comstock single-handedly instilled the architectural fairytale flavor in Carmel, establishing its signature characteristic. Comstock came to Carmel in 1924 to visit his brother, but ended up staying when he fell in love with a resident doll maker named Mayotta Browne.

Mayotta’s business boomed after she and Hugh Comstock married. Merchants across the country were vying for her unique collector dolls, and her stock soon took over their house. The practical business woman asked her husband to build something in which to show off her dolls when buyers came to town. Comstock was not a trained architect, but he had a wonderful imagination and a keen creative eye. He built his wife  a quirky cottage full of whimsical details, intentionally skewing things into charming imperfection. They named the cottage Hansel (shown below), and it was a perfect showcase for Mayotta’s dolls.

Hansel, Hugh Comstock cottage

Carmel being a town full of artists and writers, it’s no wonder that Comstock’s whimsical cottage was extremely popular. In response to the huge demand, Comstock built numerous cottages with the same whimsical flair over a period of five years. Since then, others have mimicked Comstock’s original style, carrying on the tradition of living the fairytale. You can read more about Comstock’s Carmel cottages here.

Hugh Comstock cottages, Carmel, CA

 

 

The Making of Santa Claus

13 Sunday Dec 2015

Posted by in Fun Facts, History, Holiday

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Santa Claus, the cultural icon we know today, was made in America. I knew about the real Saint Nicholas, but was surprised to discover that the “jolly ol’ guy in the red suit” was an American literary creation and marketing manifestation.

Santa Claus dolls

Many faiths share the custom of gift giving around this time of year. Which is why it’s kind of amazing that the predominant icon for the season is a fictional character created in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [PC: Moi, taken at Filoli]

The Original St. Nick

St. Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek saint from an area that is now St. NicholasTurkey, who had a reputation for putting coins in the shoes that were left out for him. As the patron saint of children, he was most often associated with giving them gifts.

One of the many generous deeds attributed to Saint Nicholas was providing dowries for the daughters of three impoverished families, so the girls could wed. In those days, a woman without a dowry was unlikely to marry, and then her fate was often to be sold into slavery (read: prostitution).  [Public Domain: Saint Nicholas]

Santa Claus ~ Literary Creation

Early Dutch settlers brought Sinterklaas to America, and the name first appeared in print in 1773 as “St. A Claus.” However, it was not until the 19th century that the Americanized Santa Claus came into being.The Night Before Christmas, book cover

Washington Irving gave Americans the first detailed information about the man we would come to know as Santa Claus. In 1809, writing under the pen name Diedrich Knickerbocker, Irving described the St. Nick’s arrival on horseback each year on the Eve of Saint Nicholas (December 6th).

A few years later, Clement Clarke Moore created the Americanized Santa Claus in his 1823 poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas—today known as The Night Before Christmas. Moore gave Santa’s reindeer names, described Santa’s mannerisms, and even introduced his leaving your house by up the chimney.

Marketing Manifestation

The American image of Santa Claus came into focus with illustrator, Thomas Nast. Nast’s Santa Clause, Harper's Weeklydrawings for the Christmas issues of Harper’s magazine from the 1860s to the 1880s were of a rotund man with a white beard, wearing a red suit. Nast even added the details for Santa’s workshop at the North Pole and his list of good and bad children of the world. [Public Domain: Thomas Nast illustration of Santa Claus]

Norman Rockwell further popularized the American image of Santa Santa Claus, Norman RockwellClause with his many Santa themed covers for the Saturday Evening Post. Then in the 1930’s, Coca-Cola created illustrations for an advertising campaign that turned Santa’s red suit into the cultural icon it is today.

Rudolph (the ninth reindeer) with his red, shiny nose, was invented by an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward Company in 1939. [Public Domain: Two covers for the Saturday Evening Post by Norman Rockwell]

Written Into Reality

With Santa Claus a predominant image in national media, children across America began Miracle on 34th Streetto write him letters. The letters to Santa piled up at post offices, where some postal workers took it upon themselves to answer the letters and even fulfilling the requests.

Hollywood played on this theme in the 1947 classic, Miracle on 34th Street, cementing the image of the jolly ol’ guy in the red suit as a “very real” holiday icon.

To make Santa and his workshop even more real, the USPS provides a service where you can get a North Pole cancellation stamp on a card or letter. I’m not kidding.

To obtain a North Pole cancellation stamp:

  1. Write a letter to your child and sign it From Santa.
  2. Put the letter in an envelope and address it to your child.
  3. Add the return address SANTA, NORTH POLE.
  4. Affix a First Class stamp to the envelope.
  5. Place the complete envelope in a larger envelope with the appropriate postage (to cover the extra weight), and address to:
  6. North Pole Postmark
    Postmaster
    4141 Postmark Dr.
    Anchorage, AK 99530-9998

For more about how writing letters to Santa became a standard practice, read Alex Palmer’s A Brief History of Sending a Letter to Santa in Smithsonian Magazine.