Jeanne Newby
Time to share a bit of trivia sent by readers. It’s fun to share!
Being married to a golf enthusiast, I was interested in the information on golf. Many years ago, when the new game of golf was invented in Scotland, it was ruled that the game would be for men only, thus the name GOLF – Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden.*
Did you know that every day there is more Monopoly money printed than by the U.S. Treasury?
When thinking of Africa, many automatically picture the jungle. It was interesting to note that only 28 percent of Africa is wilderness. In North America, 38 percent is wilderness!
National monuments are normally stationary, but we do have one national monument that moves… The SanFrancisco cable cars.
Another reader sent this memory.
We played ‘king on the hill’ on piles of gravel in the chats and when we got hurt, Mom pulled out the 48-cent bottle of mercurochrome (Kids liked it better because it didn’t sting like iodine did.), and then we got our butt spanked for being where we weren’t supposed to be!
I recall a kid from next door coming over and doing his tricks on the front stoop, just before he fell off. Little did his mom know that she could have owned our house (no lawsuits back then). Instead, she picked him up and swatted him for being such a goof. Parents did that. If you misbehaved at a neighbor’s, mom or dad would yank you up and swat your bottom. That is if they got to you before the neighbor did. It took a village to raise a child, and discipline was not left out.
Do you remember “snow” on the television, adjusting the rabbit ears and adding aluminum foil (or was it tin foil) to the rabbit ears to get a better reception? At the end of the day, the television stations went off the air and the Indian pattern stayed on the screen all night.
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Sent by a friend, the following are comments made in 1955 (71 years ago).
I’ll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it’s going to be impossible to buy a week’s groceries for $20.
Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won’t be long before $2,000 will only buy a used one.
If cigarettes keep going up in price, I’m going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous.
Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?
If they raise the minimum wage to $1, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.
When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 29 cents a gallon. Guess we’d be better off leaving the car in the garage.”
I read the other day where some scientist thinks it’s possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas.
Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn’t surprise me if someday they’ll be making more than the president.
I never thought I’d see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now.
Thank goodness I won’t live to see the day when the government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to congress.
The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.
There is no sense going to the big city anymore for a weekend. It costs nearly $15 a night to stay in a hotel.
No one can afford to be sick anymore; $35 a day in the hospital is too rich for my blood.
If they think I’ll pay 50 cents for a haircut, forget it.
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It’s fun to take a moment to visit the past and see how much things have changed. Are they the good ole days or just a nice place to visit?
If someone asked you to name a few of Webb City’s historical monuments or relics of the past… what ones would you name? Hmmmm?
*Editor’s note: The internet site Snopes says the GOLF acronym may sound sensible – but it’s false.
