Posts Tagged ‘how-to’
“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on”*…
From Grog LLC, because it’s “better to know a knot and not need it, than need a knot and not know it”: Animated Knots.
[TotH to Kyle Lerfald]
* Franklin D. Roosevelt
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As wrap then pull, we might recall that it was on this date in 2006 that the MS al-Salam Boccaccio 98, an Egyptian Roll on/Roll off passenger ferry, sank in the Red Sea en route from Duba, Saudi Arabia, to Safaga in southern Egypt. 388 people were rescued; the balance of the estimated 1400 passengers and crew– the majority, Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia, but also including pilgrims returning from the Hajj in Mecca–were lost.
“The greatest escape I ever made was when I left Appleton, Wisconsin”*…
Hopefully you’ll never experience being held somewhere against your will, but if you find yourself in a tricky situation, you’ll be glad to know a few effective escape strategies. Standard-issue police handcuffs, and more recently, zip ties, can both be rendered useless in a matter of seconds if you know what you’re doing…
Learn to slip both cuffs and zip ties at “How to Escape from Handcuffs.”
* Harry Houdini
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As we amaze our friends, we might spare a thought for Otis Harlan, he died on this date in 1940. A vaudevillian (Hell in the first show at New York City’s Folies Bergère; Irving Berlin’s “ragtime” productions, et al.), Harlan moved to Hollywood and became a film staple. He played the role of Cap’n Andy in the first, part-talkie film version of Show Boat (1929), and was the Master of Ceremonies in the sound prologue that accompanied the film. In 1935, he played Starveling in Max Reinhardt’s 1935 magical film version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And in 1937, he voiced “Happy” the dwarf in the Disney animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and appeared in the Our Gang short Roamin’ Holiday. Five years later, he voiced Mr. Mole in Bambi.
“The problem with winter sports is that — follow me closely here — they generally take place in winter”*…
Be that as it may, winter sports have long had the devotees… and with them, helpful instructors. Consider Bror Myer, a Swedish figure skating champion, who produced an illustrated guide for hopefuls.
To facilitate an easy interpretation of the text, as well as to show more clearly the various movements, I decided, after great consideration, to illustrate the work by means of photographs taken with a Cinematograph.
Check them out at the Internet Archive. And for a look at why his choice of photos was inspired, contrast his work tothis French ice-skating manual from 1813, one of the very first devoted entirely to the sport.
[Via Public Domain Review]
* Dave Barry
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As we sharpen our blades, we might recall that it was on this date in 1994 that figure skater Tonya Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, surrendered to authorities in Portland, Ore., after being charged with masterminding an attack on Harding’s rival, Nancy Kerrigan.
On January 6, 1994 [on the eve of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships], a man named Shane Stant delivered the blow itself—a single strike on the right knee with a police baton—and then fled the scene in such a panic that he ran right through a plexiglass door. Cameras captured the aftermath of the attack, with Kerrigan bellowing on the ground: “Why? Why? Why?”
The surreal quickly became the sensational. Implicated in the attack were Kerrigan’s rival, Tonya Harding; her ex-husband, Gillooly, and Gillooly’s band of hired goons—Stant, bodyguard Shawn Eckardt, and getaway driver Derrick Smith. Harding initially denied everything, while Gillooly, charged with conspiracy to commit assault, later pleaded down to one count of racketeering. Awkwardly, both Harding and Kerrigan competed in the ’94 Lillehammer Olympics. Harding finished eighth, and Kerrigan won the silver. A few months later, Gillooly and his associates went to prison while Harding got probation for conspiring to hinder their prosecution. (She maintains to this day that she knew nothing of the attack in advance.)
[source]
Gillooly and Harding in happier days
“Let us cultivate our garden”*…
“Fill a large pail with water, and stand it a little above the level of the plants and group round or near as many plants as practical. Loosely plait two or three strands of wool together, immerse completely in water, and place one end in the pail, weighted, and touching the bottom. Rest the other end on the soil: a separate plait of wool is advisable for each pot.”
In the late 1880s, cigarette manufacturers began inserting stiffening cards into their paper packs of cigarettes to strengthen the containers. It wasn’t long before they got the idea to put artwork, trivia, famous people, and pretty girls onto those cards, grouped into collectible series. The cards, which continued into the 1940s, are highly valuable now, with the most expensive (bearing the face of stringent anti-smoking baseball player Honus Wagner) selling for $2.8 million in 2007.
HOW TO PRESERVE EGGS “Eggs for preserving must be newly laid, and by simply putting these into a box or tin of dry salt-burying the eggs right in the salt and keeping it in a cool dry place — it is possible to preserve them for a very long period. No air whatever should be allowed to get to the shell.”
In the 1910s, Gallaher Ltd of Belfast & London and Ogden’s Branch of the Imperial Tobacco Co printed “How-To” series, with clever hints for both everyday and emergency situations. From steaming out a splinter to stopping a mad dog, these cigarette cards told you the smart way to handle many of life’s problems.
“A scout’s staff, a walking-stick, or even a handkerchief or hat may be held before you as shown. The dog invariably endeavours to paw down your defense before biting, thus giving you the opportunity of disabling him by a kick.”
More enlightenment at “10 Lifehacks from 100 Years Ago.”
* Voltaire, Candide
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As we improve ourselves, we might compose birthday bon mot for Dorothy Parker, the writer, critic, satirist, poet, and Algonquin Round Table regular; she was born on this date in 1893. The estimable Ms. Parker once wondered, on hearing that President Calvin Coolidge had died, “How could they tell?”… Of a book she reviewed, she suggested, “this is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown aside with great force”… And perhaps most famously, she opined that “You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think.” (More of her acerbic wit here.)
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