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John Adams Blog

The blog of The Antient and Honourable John Adams Society, Minnesota's Conservative Debating Society www.johnadamssociety.org

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Enough with Serious Discussion - What about Hankies

I was randomly reminded the other day about handkerchiefs and the fact that many people used to use them often and the fact that I have not seen one used for years. The whole concept seems kind of gross - blowing your nose into a hanky and then shoving it back into your pocket. I recall my dad used to use a hanky. He had a stack of them in one of his drawers and would grab a new one each day. Wife said her father also carried around a hanky. At some point my dad stopped using a hanky, but I do not recall when or why....

These days you never see hankies, except for show. I did an internet search for the demise of the handkerchief, but there wasn't much out there - just a few others making the same observation. So what happened to it... was it the advent of cheap and comfortable tissues? Maybe... however I wonder if my dad shoves a personal tissue pack each day in his pocket. Somehow I don't think so. Maybe people just don't sneeze as much as they used to. Maybe the demise of the hanky is due to better over the counter cold medicines?

Today I heard about a University in England measuring how fast people walk in various cities around the world. They found that people in Singapore walked the fastest - New York was No. 8 on the list. If a University can find funding for such a worthless study, they should be able to find out what happen to the hanky.

Blogger Scribbler de Stebbing said...

The handkerchief was just a way for men to pick up women without seeming crass. The guy would make the lady cry, then offer his handkerchief and she would need to take it home to launder and then return. So he gets to see her again.

Now that chivalry is dead, handkerchiefs are unnecessary.

12:27 PM, May 04, 2007  
Blogger Sloanasaurus said...

Excellent. I guess there is no longer any need for a woman to drop her hankie either... better to wear a mini skirt.

2:47 PM, May 04, 2007  
Blogger Scribbler de Stebbing said...

'Cause doing both at once is really obvious.

3:09 PM, May 04, 2007  

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