The reading list
“Like the 1960s, the 1920s are remembered as 'teenage' years in which an older generation said: 'Thou shalt not' and youth replied: 'I will!' Youth itself was one essential element in the iconography of the decade. When not dancing or kissing, the carefree flapper and her boyfriend were commonly depicted seated in an automobile, for the motor car was another key symbol of the 'Jazz Age'.
“Some contemporaries saw 'fast cars' and 'fast' conduct as inextricably mixed. But did the automobile really deserve to be called 'the Devil's wagon' or 'a brothel on wheels'? One chronicler of courtship was the popular press. The August 1924 edition of Harper's magazine carried an article entitled: 'Is the Young Person Coming back?' which recounted the experience of a young man who asked a city girl if he might call on her. The nub of this humorous piece was that when the young man came to 'call', he found to his astonishment that 'she had her hat on'. To older Americans, this could signify only one thing: She expected to go out. This was not what the unsophisticated youth had anticipated at all. To him, coming to call meant being received in the family parlor, making light conversation with the girl and her mother. On subsequent occasions, it might involve taking tea with them and listening politely while the young woman displayed her skills as a pianist. But this was not what the woman had in mind. She was expecting 'a date'; to be taken out and 'treated,' and the young man ended up spending four weeks' savings in an effort to meet her expectations.”
From “Sex and the automobile in the Jazz Age” at historytoday.com
A quiz
What mineral is so pliable that it can be made into sewing thread?
Wisdom of the agers
“The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.” – Thomas Merton
Current wisdom
“It's almost like the government wants to come and rewrite the Bible and, to me, that's a position that I don't think the government should take.” – Missionary John Tolo, in a statement saying while he supports the idea of some kind of legal recognition for same-sex couples, marriage is a sacred template for raising and caring for children as God intended.
Quiz answer
Gold
Snob words
phatic (FAT-ik), adj. – denoting speech used to create an atmosphere of good will, as in: “The editorial writer soon realized that the mayor's phatic exhortations were doing little to ease the tensions in the room.”
Today in history
On this date in 1805, Napoleon was crowned king of France; well, that worked out just fine.
Now you know
Cats have 32 muscles that control the outer ear, according to RandomHistory.com (humans have only 6). A cat can independently rotate its ears 180 degrees.
