Comments on: Funny Bones, 1918 (Special edition: World War I)

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:17:18 +0000

13: Michelle, you are of course right. These are all nationalistic (or at least western ally) jokes, not Mormon ones, and show no sensitivity toward the German saints. I’ll try to atone by putting up a few German-centered posts in the next few days, starting with Monday’s post about German sponsorship of some world-class health exhibitions.

By: Ray

Ray — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:29:57 +0000

#13 – Why would anyone care about giving enemas to their opponents?

By: Michelle Glauser

Michelle Glauser — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 11:19:07 +0000

Ouch for all German saints! This makes me wonder if in these times of suspected globalization, people are still ethnocentric during war in order to enemize the opponent.

By: Eric Boysen

Eric Boysen — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:55:29 +0000

#8 I guess the answer could come from finding out on which side the Red Cross brassard was supposed to be worn.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:23:05 +0000

Now that makes "30 cents" inflation!

By: Researcher

Researcher — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:06:09 +0000

Well, there’s the phrase “feel like a nickel” or “feel like a wooden nickel.” (Alternately: “not worth a nickel” or not worth a wooden nickel.”) I don’t know where they came from, but I recall saying “I feel like a wooden nickel” to my unmarried brother-in-law to describe the early stages of pregnancy (meaning the first–say–nine months of it).

I see in Google Books a quote from P.G. Wodehouse: “To himself he put it, broadly, that she made him feel like a nickel with a hole in it.”

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 01:12:50 +0000

Wow, you’re observant! I knit and realize that you’re right (if she is knitting and not crocheting), but I certainly never noticed.

And Bruce, I did some googling to try to find out if “30 cents” or some other amount was a common phrase, but among all the refrences to “my two cents” and that half-dollar rapper, there are too many hits to sort through. Unless somebody — hint, Justin — comes up with something, you and I both will have to be satisfied with laughing at the general principle without knowing the exact original history.

By: Tatiana

Tatiana — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:33:00 +0000

Oh, and I love the picture! It reminds me of some of the illustrations from my youth, sort of sumptuous and Maxfield Parish like. The lady is knitting left-handed, too. I wonder if that’s how it was made or if the picture was reversed at some point.

By: Hunter

Hunter — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:57:29 +0000

“He – I feel like 30 cents.
She – How things have gone up since the war.”

Ha! That one made me laugh.

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:46:44 +0000

Oops — just found one more in my file I had intended to include:

A Hot One

The teacher was giving a geography lesson and the class, having traveled from London to Labrador, and from Thessaly to Timbuctoo, was thoroughly worn out. “And now,” said the teacher, “we come to Germany, that important country governed by the kaiser. Tommy Jones, what is a kaiser?”

“Please’m,” yawned Tommy Jones, “a stream o’ hot water springin’ up an’ disturbin’ the earth.”