Thursday, June 14, 2007

Back to the Important Things

I shall be away all of next week, contemplating the universe and my small place in it and I want to ensure that any visitors who call by while I'm gone find something deep and meaningful here, along with the chocolate cake I'll be leaving in the fridge.

Pegs. That's the hot topic of the week. Sales of clothes pegs are rising for the first time in years, according to the Consumer Affairs Correspondent of the Telegraph. So, here is a puzzle to keep you busy while I'm away: connect the captions to the pictures. For 10 extra points, write a short history of the clothes peg and its place in (a) the history of the world, (b) your personal development and (c) the future of the polar ice caps.



A B




C D

E


Captions:
  1. 1926 pegs that Grandma bought from the Gypsies
  2. 1958 pegs that Mum bought at the Co-op
  3. 1969 pegs that came as a free gift with Woman's Own magazine
  4. 1977 pegs bought in Woolworths
  5. 2005 pegs bought from online store

I'll be back soon to announce the winner.













15 comments:

  1. Great and timely topic!

    1-C; 2-A; 3-D; 4-E; 5-B

    We call them clothes "pins" and I'm partial to the wooden ones with the little spring. Lately, the quality has fallen off and they snap in your hands when you try to hang anything heavier than a dish towel, but that's a topic for another day.

    Having lived in Vermont for many years, I may be uniquely qualified among the commenters here to speak to air drying as it pertains to the future of the polar regions. Extremely cold temperatures make air drying a snap. The hard part is getting the frozen clothes on the line, but once up there, the ice quickly flakes off leaving the clothes dry and remarkably wrinkle free, so I feel that there is definitely a place for the Polar regions in the future of clothes pegs/pins industry.

    Outdoor air drying is great. Nothing beats it for the fresh smell and texture. Tumbled clothes usually need little or no ironing, while most clothes hung on a line, especially indoors, need at least a little touch up if not a full blown down-home ironing cum water spritzing. Add to that the pollution to the water table from fabric softener often added to the rinse water to reduce static cling and minimize wrinkling, and I believe, air drying, like recycling, is a feel good activity probably insignificant, if not detrimental, in the quest to save the planet.

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  2. The first two entries, from erp and Brit, each have 3 correct identifications. erp is in line for the extra 10 points for the history of the clothes peg.

    Back on Saturday 23rd.

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  3. 1C 2A 3B 4E 5D

    When I was young I learned how to make a pea-shooter using the wood and spring type clips.

    They were so handy for keeping open bags of potato chips closed that they spun off a whole specialty line of chip-clips. I guess that you Brits would call them crisp pegs.

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  4. Sorry, Duck, but you only managed to get 2 correct answers. I like the anecdotes though, so you can have some extra points for those. You may be right that we would call your chip-clips crisp pegs, if we had them; but we don't and I'm not sure that you are telling the truth anyway!

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  5. You have offended my honor! This can only be settled by a duel. Have the MM meet me at dawn with his best clothes peg pea shooter.

    Here is the product in question.

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  6. I think the MM has missed me so badly while I've been away that he might consider the challenge! Your dawn or ours?

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  7. The answers:

    1 = C My Grandma had pegs like this. The Gypsy (Romany) women came round selling them door-to-door in the summer.

    2 = B This is the kind of peg my mother used.

    3 = E I bought a magazine with a pack of these plastic pegs attached. I used them to peg out my laundry before leaving for work and arrived home to find all the pegs had broken and my clothes were adorning the trees and shrubs of all the neighbours.

    4 = A I invested in several packs of these to hang out the terry nappies (diapers) of my firstborn in 1977.

    5 = D My favourites. I love the shape and colour of these as well as the fact that they do not leave pressure marks on the clothes.

    Overall winner = erp. The description of drying laundry in Vermont is wonderful.

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  8. Thanks for the honor. I look forward to receiving the plaque which I will proudly display in my laundry room. Duck is telling the truth about big spring clothes pins which hold a bag of chips tightly closed for those folks who don't finish off the bag promptly on opening. I personally have never met any of these odd people, but they must exist, those gizmos as for sale everywhere.

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  9. I thought you might prefer being made a Dame - female equivalent of a knighthood - rather than a plaque, erp. It would be very newsworthy!

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  10. Well, as there's nothing like a Dame, it will be my great pleasure to accept with great humility.

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  11. I think I have to call you My Lady now, erp. Great clip!

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  12. We yanks don't go in for titles, so you need only call me Lady erp at ceremonial affairs on your side of the pond. BTW - my daughter survived her trip to the UK. She had fabulous time even though she said she was working.

    Little did she know that her mother was getting damed while she was in the old country.

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  13. Do I have to curtsey whenever I see your name on my screen?

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  14. Re: Curtsey

    Let your conscience be your guide.

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I love to read your comments and promise that I will reply as soon as I can leave my garden, sewing room or kitchen!