GBTI

It's hard to remember a time before the internet gave us nearly instant access to the most trivial bits of information (this blog, for example). The following represents 3 or 4 minutes of digressive online wandering:

Customer returned a DVD for "Savage Grace"; mentioned how dark it was. I like 'dark', but I don't know this movie, so I read the back of the box/check IMDB.
The story's vaguely familiar; some sex/murder scandal involving heirs to the Bakelite fortune back in the '70s. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379976/

Meh, not really my type of film, but I do find Bakelite interesting. It holds a certain nostalgia for me; my second typewriter was a glorious old Royal from the '30s. This isn't it, but it's the same model:

Bakelite keys, Bakelite knobs on the platen roll, Bakelite handle on the carry case. I still have her, and in more or less working order.

Bakelite dropped out of fashion in the '50s when less complicated/expensive plastics were developed. Bakelite uses a fair amount of arsenic in its manufacturing; besides which it's a relatively brittle plastic compared to the ones coming out then.

I decide to brush up on Bakelite at wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite
Among other interesting bits of trivia;

"The thermosetting plastic was at one point considered for the manufacture of coins, due to a shortage of traditional manufacturing material. In 1943, Bakelite and other non-metal materials were tested for usage as a penny in the United States before the Mint settled on zinc coated steel."

This makes me wonder if Bakelite pennies are traded by collectors. Check Ebay for 'Bakelite penny'.

No luck, but it did pull 1 item; "LUCKY PENNY ENCASED 1917 CENT - CHAMBER POT - BAKELITE"

As the item description says this is shaped like an old chamberpot (or 'gazunder' because it "goes under" the bed when not in use http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gazunder). My mum was born in 1948, and as a child in England they had gazunders for when it was too cold or late to use the outhouse.

Anyways, molded into the front of this tchochki is the phrase "GOOD WHEN CAUGHT SHORT". This is an old novelty item, the "...CAUGHT SHORT" is a reference to when you need to "spend a penny", or use a public toilet that charged a penny to open the stall door.

It strikes me yet again how stunning the progress of our technology has been; from chamberpots & outhouses to high-speed internet & online auction houses in a little over 50 years.

My mother takes it all in stride, (and she's the one with the titanium knee) but I still find it all fascinating. Can't wait to see what's next.