Wilf

Badger posted recently and said that stubbie holders are "the best invention since sliced bread".

This reminded me of that old question: What was the best invention BEFORE sliced bread? People in 1600 used to say "That carriage is the best invention since....?"

Also, everyone knows that the unfortunates of this world (e.g., people who have been in Oz/NZ/forum too long) end up thinking they are Napoleon. However, they say that Napoleon himself went mad at the end, so who did HE think he was?

Any answers?

PS The Footy show over in Oz can be funny - I like Reg Reagn the most. Bring back the Biff. (Serious Oz point keeping site happy)

Florida_03

I thought Napoleon was a puppy who got the itch to explore beyond his suburban backyard home. He's none too happy with his name (Muffin), preferring to go by Napoleon. And he's willing to hop into a basket and get carried away by the balloons tied to it. He's carried from his home over downtown Sydney, Australia, and then into the harbour, where currents carry him to a wilderness on the other side.

From there, Napoleon sets out in search of wild dogs to live with, encountering just about every type of Australian wildlife along the way. Each has its own personality, each has a lesson to teach little Napoleon, and some are hilarious - especially the penguin family, who sound every bit like they run a deli in New York City. There's a menacing cat, some irritating little birds, a koala bear, a kangaroo and many more. The adventure is quite exciting, especially for kids. Younger ones will find the cat confrontations pretty scary.

Eventually, of course, Napoleon is more than ready to return home to his mother, so everything ends happily. Didn't know he went mad however.

Wilf

I am talking about after that. You know - moved to France, became Emperor, few parties, battles, not tonights, then downwards spiral. Sorry "tail"?

Is it a break from the kids to come on the forum? Not more sense here surely?

Florida_03

I think it is best to work in reverse chronological order and find the appropriate path back from there.

According to etymologist Christine Ammer, "the greatest thing since sliced bread" probably originated in the American armed forces in the middle of the 20th century.

Otto Frederick Rohwedder spent 16 years perfecting a machine that both sliced the bread and wrapped it in waxed paper.

The first ready-sliced loaf was produced in 1928 by a bakery in Battle Creek, Michigan. By 1933, only five years later, American bakeries were turning out more sliced than unsliced bread. This gave a boost to another new invention: Charles Strife's spring-loaded, automatic, pop-up toaster which had been languishing on the shelves since 1926. With Rohwedder's standardized slices on the market, Strife's invention suddenly made sense. Battle Creek seems to have been a hot-bed of innovative foods. Dr. John Kellogg, who ran a health spa there, began his line of "Battle Creek health foods" with Granola (c. 1895) and later (1907) introduced Corn Flakes.

Obviously, the best thing since sliced bread cannot be older than 1928 but no record of its use can be found before 1969. Surely it's older than that.

So what was better than before sliced bread?

Scratchy woolen underwear became popular in the 1880's for presumed health reasons. In the 1890's, authorities began to discourage its use, in part because of the popularity of the bicycle, which combined with the coarse underwear, created an erotic sensation for women riders.

So what was the best thing before "scratchy woolen underwear"?

Wilf

I knew I could rely on you mate for such a good answer and it shows what happens when you get trained research services for free. There is now free emigration agent advice, free mr mover advice, and now free researcher advice on the site. All it needs is for someone to provide free flights and we are really talking.

Now I know that nothing that came before 1928 can be said to be "the greatest thing since sliced bread" then? This will be useful and I shall pull someone up on claims like "This invention of the electric motor (say) is the best thing since sliced bread." Excellent.

Your suggestion of what played the part of sliced bread in "... best thing since sliced bread"-type claims in the 1880-1928 period must be the right answer too and was a great laugh, mate, so good on you for that one too.

So far, then, we have

1928 - date: Sliced bread as golden standard.
1880 - 1928: Scratchy woollen underwear as golden standard.

Now, what was the standard before 1880?

In 1869, Charles Singer patented the air-cooled rocking chair in the US which would take us back 11 more years, but I am a real English gent, Florida, and so I have to go for the self-tipping hat (containing some kind of sprung mechanism, apparently) invented by James Boyle in the same year, which must have been a real relief when it came out and saved all that elbow bending.

So, how about:

1928 - date: Sliced bread as golden standard.
1880 - 1928: Scratchy woollen underwear as golden standard.
1869 - 1880: Self-tipping hat as golden standard.


(PS Australia Zoo - a great visit for all the family and consistent with the forum's aims).

Florida_03

Crikey, there was so much going on in them days, it's hard to fathom the depths of invention that permeated the 19th Century.

1840 was a big year and there are several candidates.

1) The invention of Morse Code
2) The invention of the Lace-Making machine.
3) The invention of Baseball

My personal favorite is however the invention of Afternoon Tea.

Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, is credited with the 1840 invention of what we now know as afternoon tea. It is said that she experienced a sinking feeling around four o'clock in the afternoon and decided to remedy the problem by ordering a tray of tea, bread and butter, and cake to be served in her room. This afternoon snack became a habit and eventually spread among her friends. By the 1880's afternoon tea had developed into an elaborate ceremony. Elegant ladies changed into tea gowns after their afternoon carriage drives. Tea services evolved as well, requiring different plates for different dishes. The wares of Josiah Spode, the inventor of bone china, were especially popular, in that this attractive but relatively inexpensive form of porcelain was found to keep tea hot while maintaining a delicate appearance.

Crikey, hard one. So which is it?

Wilf

I favour afternoon tea. Especially because it would lead to claims like

"This bubble bath is the best thing since afternoon tea"

which would also give rise to "amusing" confusion.

I think we have it mate. Anyone who needs to know the "excelsior" of inventions when looking for the correct word in the useful phrase "This [insert something with which you are impressed here] is the best thing since ... " can use the following with confidence:

1928 - date: Sliced bread.
1880 - 1928: Scratchy woollen underwear.
1869 - 1880: Self-tipping hat.
1840 - 1869: Afternoon tea.

Good on you Florida.

Florida_03

Talk about confusion. I think a few may have confused afternoon tea with the similar but slightly different afternoon pissup. Just to clear matters up:

Shazza, 3 rd on the right on Parramatta Road, is credited with the 1980 invention of what we now know as afternoon sheila’s pissup. It is said that she experienced a sinking feeling around four o'clock in the afternoon and decided to remedy the problem by ordering a crate of Passion Pop, cheese and onion dip with Jatz, and lamingtons to be served out the back. This afternoon treat became a habit and eventually spread among her friends. By the 1990’s afternoon sheila’s pissup had developed into an elaborate ceremony. Elegant sheilas changed into ugg boots after their afternoon Commodore drives. Pissup services evolved as well, requiring different glasses for different alcoholic pops. The wares of Crazy Clark, the inventor of cheap imported crap, were especially popular, in that this attractive but relatively inexpensive form of glassware was found to keep Passion Pop cold while maintaining a not too bloody snotty appearance.

Hope that clears up any confusion.

(Tricky Aussie Lingo #1. A galah can be a bird and a person.)

Wilf

Excellent stuff. I am inventing now the elastic band on my dentures for fear of laughing them onto the keyboard and accidentally producing a rude word in my post.

Now, we had some early discussion on Napoleon's imaginary self and established which period of his life I am interested in with my enquiry, so how do we settle this one?

I have been thinking that it is hard for an ex-Emperor to find someone more impressive to imagine himself to be, and so perhaps it needs to be a different sort of unlikely claim? A woman? I suggest Boadicea but maybe this is going too far back for Napoleon?

Florida_03

It was the utterly sane (sic) Prince Charles who said:

"I want to be reincarnated as your tampon".

Napoleon was much of himself but did so much. The Rosetta Stone comes to mind. I also understand that London had much to do with the cannons of Waterloo and lent milliions while he was at Elba.

Maybe Nathan Rothschild's finger?

Badge

Who invented MORNING tea?!

Thats the spirit!! You too are hilarious. Keep it up.