I Read the News Today, Oh Boy...

[Serpentine]

For those not in the know, I iron and repair newspapers for microfilming at the university library. I've found some interesting articles recently that I thought I'd like to share.

Tenterfield Star, Saturday Morning, 22 August 1896

A merchant, who died suddenly left in his bureau a letter to one of his correspondents, which he had not sealed. His clerk, seeing it necessary to send the letter, wrote at the bottom, "since writing the above I have died."

Tenterfield Star, Wednesday Morning, 26 August 1896

A Victorian farmer has raised a most unique argument. He attempted to have his wife arrested on a charge of perjury because she swore at the altar to love, honor, and obey him, and didn't.

Tenterfield Star, 26 August, 1896

Character in Walking
To a certain extent one's character
may be read from one's walk.
Quick steps are said to be indicative
of energy and agitation.
Tip-toe walking symbolises curiosity
and discretion.
Turned-in toes are often possessed
by preoccupied, absent-minded persons.
The miser's walk is noiseless, with
short, nervous steps.
Slow steps, whether long or short,
suggest a reflective state of mind.
The proud step is slow and measured,
the toes are conspicuously turned out;
the legs straightened.
Where a revengeful purpose is hid-
den under a feigned smile the step
will be slinking and noiseless.
Wavering steps betray uncertainty,
hesitation and indecision.
Obstinate people rest the feet flatly
and firmly on the ground, walk heavily
and slowly, and stand with the legs
firmly planted and a good way apart.
According to this, I am obstinate, proud, and reflective. Yay?
I didn't think to write them down, but I also saw another article that said that two boys had been shot while sneaking into a yard to steal peaches by a man who was lying in wait for them. They'd wanna be good peaches :smallconfused: Another boy saved himself from a snake bite by tying string around the bitten finger and chopping the end of it off with a tomohawk. I also saw an advertisement, part of which looked like this:

Tenterfield Star

PLUMS! PLUMS! PLUMS! PLUMS!
And ladies, all you have to do is ask.
You have no idea how difficult it is to stop myself from adding :smallwink: to the end of that...
This one I just include for its "things never change..." value:
Tenterfield Star, Saturday Morning, 12 September 1896

Young Man runs Amuck

Sydney, September 11

A young man named John M'Phail
ran amuck in south Melbourne yesterday
with a repeating rifle. He wounded
several persons and then shot himself dead.
Now that I think about it... If that had happened nowadays (and, well, it did), there'd be a helluvalot more in the news than this teensy little note.

I may post more if I find them next week. Otherwise, anyone else seen anything interesting in the news/old texts?

[User Name]

I get the reference! :smallwink:



Tenterfield Star, Saturday Morning, 22 August 1896

A merchant, who died suddenly left in his bureau a letter to one of his correspondents, which he had not sealed. His clerk, seeing it necessary to send the letter, wrote at the bottom, "since writing the above I have died."

I'm making this my sig.

[Catch]

Tenterfield Star, Wednesday Morning, 26 August 1896

A Victorian farmer has raised a most unique argument. He attempted to have his wife arrested on a charge of perjury because she swore at the altar to love, honor, and obey him, and didn't.

Delightful. I'd take news like this any day over lamentations about the economy.

[Cristo Meyers]

Tenterfield Star, 26 August, 1896

Character in Walking
To a certain extent one's character
may be read from one's walk.
Quick steps are said to be indicative
of energy and agitation.
Tip-toe walking symbolises curiosity
and discretion.
Turned-in toes are often possessed
by preoccupied, absent-minded persons.
The miser's walk is noiseless, with
short, nervous steps.
Slow steps, whether long or short,
suggest a reflective state of mind.
The proud step is slow and measured,
the toes are conspicuously turned out;
the legs straightened.
Where a revengeful purpose is hid-
den under a feigned smile the step
will be slinking and noiseless.
Wavering steps betray uncertainty,
hesitation and indecision.
Obstinate people rest the feet flatly
and firmly on the ground, walk heavily
and slowly, and stand with the legs
firmly planted and a good way apart.


I can't dance, I can't talk, only thing about me is the way that I walk...

I don't know why that came into my head...

I'm apparently a vengeful miser. Cool, I'm Ebenizer Scrooge!

[mercurymaline]

Plums? What? Huh? Australians are weird.

[charl]

And people think they didn't have fun in the past... :smallbiggrin:

Old news are fun. I saw a scanned article from some San Francisco newspaper when Emperor Norton self-proclaimed his rule over the United States. Fun stuff.

[Serpentine]

Plums? What? Huh? Australians are weird.You... don't... have plums? :smallconfused:

[mercurymaline]

You... don't... have plums? :smallconfused:

We have plums. We just don't plaster the fact across the newspaper all huge, and then state that they're...for the ladies.

[Serpentine]

Oooooh. Yeah. 'Twere a weird one...

[Occasional Sage]

For those not in the know, I iron and repair newspapers for microfilming at the university library. I've found some interesting articles recently that I thought I'd like to share.


Have you posted other gems you've unearthed? I love this!



Tenterfield Star, 26 August, 1896

Character in Walking
To a certain extent one's character
may be read from one's walk.
Quick steps are said to be indicative
of energy and agitation.
Tip-toe walking symbolises curiosity
and discretion.
Turned-in toes are often possessed
by preoccupied, absent-minded persons.
The miser's walk is noiseless, with
short, nervous steps.
Slow steps, whether long or short,
suggest a reflective state of mind.
The proud step is slow and measured,
the toes are conspicuously turned out;
the legs straightened.
Where a revengeful purpose is hid-
den under a feigned smile the step
will be slinking and noiseless.
Wavering steps betray uncertainty,
hesitation and indecision.
Obstinate people rest the feet flatly
and firmly on the ground, walk heavily
and slowly, and stand with the legs
firmly planted and a good way apart.


Phrenology was alive and well at the time too, yes? I used to laugh at the idea, and then I heard about the study of biometrics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometrics), which makes me sad; why do people want to be so reducible?

Edit to add:



This one I just include for its "things never change..." value:
Tenterfield Star, Saturday Morning, 12 September 1896

Young Man runs Amuck

Sydney, September 11

A young man named John M'Phail
ran amuck in south Melbourne yesterday
with a repeating rifle. He wounded
several persons and then shot himself dead.
Now that I think about it... If that had happened nowadays (and, well, it did), there'd be a helluvalot more in the news than this teensy little note.


Things never change, indeed!
Pliny the Younger (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Younger) lamented the youths' declining respect for their elders in the very early 100s CE:



...[F]ew of [the young] will yield to age or authority as being their superior. They are born with knowledge and understanding of everything; they show neither respect nor desire to imitate, and set their own standards.


If things have been getting worse this entire time, how grand life must've been in those days!
[/sarcasm]

[Ash08]

And people think they didn't have fun in the past... :smallbiggrin:

Old news are fun. I saw a scanned article from some San Francisco newspaper when Emperor Norton self-proclaimed his rule over the United States. Fun stuff.

Aaah yes, Good ole emperor Norton, You know, he didn't rule the United States, he ruled the Pacific Empire, I think he called it, and they ruled the United States. There are alot of great pictures of him in his uniform with a ssword walking around San Fransisco. They eventually named a ship after him because they felt sorry for him.

[DraPrime]

The Tenterfield Star is now my favorite newspaper. And does anyone else think that some of these would be great Onion articles?

[ocato]

Aaah yes, Good ole emperor Norton, You know, he didn't rule the United States, he ruled the Pacific Empire, I think he called it, and they ruled the United States. There are alot of great pictures of him in his uniform with a ssword walking around San Fransisco. They eventually named a ship after him because they felt sorry for him.

He also printed money (that was honored in some establishments in San Francisco) and had a correspondence with a Romanov, trying to arrange a marriage, I think.

As I recall, he was greatly beloved in San Francisco despite his insanity.

[Rogue 7]

We have plums. We just don't plaster the fact across the newspaper all huge, and then state that they're...for the ladies.

Clearly you have never clipped coupons.

[Raistlin1040]

*Cough*BeatlesRule*cough* Wait, I didn't need to cough that. It's accepted fact.

Those are amusing.

[Khanderas]

I don't get the "plums" thing either.

[charl]

Aaah yes, Good ole emperor Norton, You know, he didn't rule the United States, he ruled the Pacific Empire, I think he called it, and they ruled the United States. There are alot of great pictures of him in his uniform with a ssword walking around San Fransisco. They eventually named a ship after him because they felt sorry for him.

Hmm? His announcement said: "Emperor of these united states", and a day later he added "protector of Mexico" to that. He might have changed it to pacific empire later.

Anyway, great man. Truly an inspiration.

[Felixaar]

Plums Deify!

High five for the reference.

[Evil DM Mark3]

I am aware of an old headline that is amusing for other reasons. The Daily Mail did not join in with the others a few years ago in doing 60th anniversary re-print collections of their wartime and pre-war front pages. Why? The publisher and editors didn't know. Apparently the head of archives had taken the descision. The reason? Reprinting headlines like "Hooray for Mr Hitler" would not do a lot of good for the paper's sales...

[Player_Zero]

I read the news today, oh boy..
About a lucky man who made the grade...
And though the news was rather sad,
Well I just had to laugh...

I saw the photograph...
He blew his mind out in a car.
He didn't notice that the lights had changed...
A crowd of people stood and stared.
They'd seen his face before...
Nobody was really sure,
If he was from the House of Lords...

...Heh... Plums.

[Thufir]

Damn, Zero beat me to it. Oh well, another verse:

I read the news today, oh boy...
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire,
And though the holes were rather small,
They had to count them all.
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall,
I'd love to turn you on...

etc, etc, orchestral climax, etc.

So much for the idea that clerks are careful, sensible people.

[Flame of Anor]

What is this song? :smallconfused:

[Occasional Sage]

Aaah yes, Good ole emperor Norton, You know, he didn't rule the United States, he ruled the Pacific Empire, I think he called it, and they ruled the United States. There are alot of great pictures of him in his uniform with a ssword walking around San Fransisco. They eventually named a ship after him because they felt sorry for him.

They tried to name a bridge after him, not too long ago. Seems to me that failed, though.

[SurlySeraph]

What is this song? :smallconfused:

It's a Beatles song. It's quite well-known.

[Flame of Anor]

It's a Beatles song. It's quite well-known.

I'm not recognizing it...if it's actually called "I Read the News Today" then I must just not know that one...man, they did so many.

[FdL]

I'm not recognizing it...if it's actually called "I Read the News Today" then I must just not know that one...man, they did so many.

*sigh* If you really want to know which song it is, then google it. It's just a click away v.v

I won't mention the fact that it's a really well known song. And it's The Beatles.

[charl]

The song is named "A day in the life of" I believe. In any case it's quite famous. Has repeatedly been cited as one of the worlds top 10 rock songs.

[FdL]

Actually it's "A Day In the Life". Off a little album called "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Day_in_the_Life

[Serpentine]

There've been more posts about the thread title than the thread topic :smallconfused:

>failcake :smallfrown:< :smalltongue:

[Kneenibble]

Heh. I love stuff like this, Serpentine.

Some of the linoleum in my house I still have to fully rip up has a layer of newspapers from the '40s underneath. It's been good reading so far, I'll post any gems I find. Not as awesome as the 19th century, certainly. But still.

[Occasional Sage]

There've been more posts about the thread title than the thread topic :smallconfused:

>failcake :smallfrown:< :smalltongue:

While I love the term and will be adopting it, PLEASE don't think of this thread as a failure! Post more like this, please!

[Haven]

Tenterfield Star, Saturday Morning, 22 August 1896

A merchant, who died suddenly left in his bureau a letter to one of his correspondents, which he had not sealed. His clerk, seeing it necessary to send the letter, wrote at the bottom, "since writing the above I have died."

WIN.
I want to send a letter to someone with that. Truthfully.

I'll have to find a way to set it up.

but uh...not for a while, though.

[FdL]

Yeah, Serpie, the thread is way cool. It's just that we got too much into the unfortunate offtopic.

I think it's very interesting that you can have access to really old newspapers. I mean, books and other stuff survive and are ok to know how things were in the past, but newspapers are more accurate in reflecting what real life was like.

Please post more ^^

[thubby]

A young man named John M'Phail
ran amuck in south Melbourne yesterday
with a repeating rifle. He wounded
several persons and then shot himself dead.[/FONT]
Now that I think about it... If that had happened nowadays (and, well, it did), there'd be a helluvalot more in the news than this teensy little note.

i can't help but laugh at this.

[Recaiden]

I saw this:
VERO BEACH, Fla. -- A Vero Beach man has been charged with battery after Indian River County sheriff's authorities said he assaulted his girlfriend with a cheeseburger.

An Indian River County Sheriff's Office arrest report said 22-year-old Vincent Gonzalez and his girlfriend, Alison Rowley, got into an argument as they sat in a car in front of their home. The report said Gonzalez would not let her out of the vehicle, so Rowley threw his drink out of the car.

In response, Gonzalez allegedly grabbed her arm and smashed the cheeseburger into her face.

The pair got out of the car, and Gonzalez again took the McDonald's sandwich and rubbed it in her face, the report said.

According to the report, Gonzalez said he was angry Rowley threw away the drink for which he had paid and felt his money was being wasted. He was released on $1,000 bond Wednesday.

So strange.