A Gathering of Random Factoids for Your Quick Reading Pleasure

TFIW’s word count: 64,724

Movie: Emma (2020)

Book: Sincerely, Secretary of Doom (Jennifer Kropf)

Music: Crazy Times (Jars of Clay)

Greetings!

Here are a few random facts I’ve gleaned while doing research for my books. Hang onto your hats. This is gonna be interesting!

Are you seeing this?

The word “blindfold” (as a noun) originated as “blindfolder” (starting in the 1640s). The word we say now didn’t come into use as a noun until 1880.

Fits like a glove!

In Victorian London (my project is set in 1880, so that is the only part of the era I can vouch for), women did NOT wear their gloves while eating at a dinner party. Rather, they took their gloves off when they were about to be served and put them on their laps, beneath their napkins.

Zzzip!

The modern zipper made its appearance in 1913 (though its patent can be traced further back.) But the name entered vocabularies in 1925.

I see London, I see France….

Crinolines, those horrible hoop underskirts, were not as fashionable in 1880 London, so my protagonist has a bit of an easier time moving about. Whew! However, the bustle was in, which I should probably work into my next draft….

Ewwwww!

Night soil men would come at night to clean out human waste from houses in London and transport it further afield. Think of them as the precursors to modern sewage workers, poor chaps.

Foood, glorious fooooooood!

Eating eels was a thing (sometimes in a pie.) And it still is, perhaps to a lesser degree. London street vendors would sell hot eel, whelks, and pea soup for the masses. But time-travelers beware: never buy ice cream from a street vendor in the Victorian era! It could have anything in it. Always buy the dessert from a reputable shop, not someone selling it on a street corner.

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What are some random interesting facts that you’ve come across in your studies?

Happy reading,
Beth

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