Can you give me the name of a book that dramatizes bedbugs? (1944)
We have not found any books that dramatize the lowly bedbug. Bedbugs, though traumatic to many who encounter them, are rather undramatic insects. They quietly drink blood, leaving itchy bites on their victims, but are not known to transmit or spread disease. They are certain to make one uneasy though. One would like to think that, in Melville’s Moby-Dick, Ishmael and Queequeg take turns harpooning bedbugs, but as we know, they turned their attention to a certain whale.
Do you know how I can get a job as a pearl diver or a sponge diver in Southern Florida? (1945)
As with any job, you need to have the right skills to apply (e.g., know how to swim, and how to coax oysters to cough up pearls) and a good résumé. Connections help as well! While we can’t offer swimming or shucking lessons, NYPL’s Career Center should be able to help find employers, write a résumé, and make industry connections.
What books were available, in 1944, to a man asking for books on “charm for men”? (1944)
Since the sixteenth century, men could consult The Book of the Courtier by Count Baldassare Castiglione to polish their manners and perfect their charms. For today’s aspiring gentleman, perhaps M. Marshall’s Charm School for Guys!: How to Lose the Fugly and Get Some Snugly (2007) could be of use.
Is it possible to keep an octopus in a private home? (1944)
Yes, but they require a lot of work and you better keep a tight lid on their tank. Octopuses are excellent escape artists. A good place to start your research is The Octopus News Magazine Online (https://www.tonmo.com). Want to learn more about these creatures in general? You can find books about octopuses at your local library under the Dewey number 594.56.
What horsepower is required to cover all the mechanical equipment in WWII? (1944)
We did not find a source that described in terms of horsepower all energy expended by machinery during the Second World War. One study that we found that may help you calculate a figure is “The Mineral Industry of the British Empire and Foreign Countries, Statistical Summary 1941–1947,” published by the Imperial Institute, in 1949. According to this, during the course of the war, the Allied powers produced about 4,581,400,000 metric tons of coal, and the Axis powers about 2,629,900,000, and the Allies about 1,043,000,000 metric tons of crude oil and the Axis about 66,000,000.
We can’t say that these resources were all used for the war effort, but one could look for a baseline number during the years before the war, subtract a reasonable number based on civilian rationing, and then use the remainder to determine how many mineral resources were used. One could then calculate an answer based on those figures, and an average horsepower produced by each resource using machines from that time. You research this at NYPL’s General Research Division. We leave the math to you.
What is the significance of the hip movement in the Hawaiian dance? (1944)
It’s complicated, depending greatly on the specific movement and the context in which it is placed given that the Hawaiian hula is a sacred ritual dance in which every movement of the performer is codified and deeply symbolic. As definitive a book as it gets is Mahealani Uchiyama’s 2016 The Haumana Hula Handbook for Students of Hawaiian Dance, which describes in depth the origins, language, etiquette, ceremonies, and the spiritual culture of hula. Ultimately though, the full significance could never be communicated in writing—to paraphrase the famed apothegm, writing about hip movements is like singing about architecture.
When one travels west in the U.S. and crosses the desert, does one cross on camels? (1946)
If the United States Army had their way perhaps. According to an entry in The New Encyclopedia of the American West in 1855 the U.S. Army held about seventy-five camels at Camp Verde, Texas. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis thought they would serve as good pack trains and he was right. The experiment however did not gain much popularity and by the time the Civil War began the project was abandoned. Want to read more on the topic? NYPL has the following in our collection: Three Caravans to Yuma: The Untold Story of Bactrian Camels in Western America, by Harlan D. Fowler.
Which is correct: “The Constitution of the United States” or “The United States Constitution”? (1944)
According to the huge and reliable OCLC WorldCat catalog of all printed materials, “The Constitution of the United States of America” has been the official title of editions dating back to 1790. The National Archives, which hosts the original, concurs that this is the official title. If you want it straight from the horse’s mouth so to speak, the preamble itself states: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Hmm. Tricky preposition … double-checking the document, we find that it calls on the president to swear into office by saying he will “defend the Constitution of the United States.” Phew.
What is the psychological effect of a birthmark on a child? (1944)
What is a birthmark? According to Kidshealth.org, newborns often have temporary pimples or blotches that disappear soon after they are born. It’s also quite common to see birthmarks on their skin at birth or shortly after. Birthmarks range from hardly noticeable to disfiguring, but no matter how large or small they are, they can be upsetting. Birthmarks can be flat or raised, have regular or irregular borders, and have different shades of coloring from brown, tan, black, or pale blue to pink, red, or purple. They’re mostly harmless and many even go away on their own or shrink over time. Sometimes birthmarks are associated with other health problems, though, so we recommend that you talk with your doctor about whether this might be the case for your child.
How do we help children deal with birthmarks? It can be a shock at first to see a birthmark on your newborn. Nobody is perfect, yet many people have an image of a perfect baby in their heads. If the birthmark is clearly visible, people might ask questions or stare, which can feel rude. It helps to have a simple explanation ready to handle intrusions like this. Most people mean no harm, but it’s also okay to let them know if they’ve gone too far. Even at a young age, kids watch how their parents respond to situations like this. This is where they learn how to cope with others’ reactions. Talking simply and openly about a birthmark with kids makes them more likely to accept one as just another part of themselves, like hair color, and to practice simple answers they can use when asked about it: “It’s just a birthmark. I was born with it.” It’s also important emotionally for kids to be around supportive family and friends who treat them normally.
How much would it cost to feed an infant for about six months? (1945) What is the cost in 2018?
Naturally, the costs of feeding an infant can vary greatly depending on whether they are being nursed by their mother, or being given formula (and then on which formula you use, brand name, generic, etc.). It is difficult to calculate the costs for 1945 but one might be able to dig deep into research on the historical costs of baby formula and cleaning supplies (for the bottles) at NYPL’s Science, Industry and Business Library, which keeps materials and records on the cost of living. According to romper.com (June 16, 2018), the typical cost of baby formula is about $165 per month or about $990 for six months.
What colleges give a course for training church ushers? (1945)
Becoming a church usher is often considered a sacred duty, but it is not one that requires formal training. In the classic book A Guide to Church Ushering by Homer Elford, Mr. Elford goes over what skills a church usher must possess and the most important is that “the church usher share with the minister an absolute devotion to Christ.” So devotion, not college credits, will get you in the door! If you desire instruction on tasks, this is usually handed down from the head usher who would be guided by the minister of the respective church. If you want some modern information on usher practices, you can reach out to an association like the National United Church Ushers Association of America, Inc. They have chapters throughout the country and they provide a “School of Ushering Manual” that provides standards on usher tasks, behaviors, and expectations.
What time does a bluebird sing? (1944)
Well, the eastern bluebird sings whenever it is motivated to. Most often, males are motivated by seeing nice female bluebirds they want to court, or seeing them laying eggs (at which time they sing softly, which is sweet). Females are motivated to sing more rarely, but may do so when they see predators.
You can hear their recorded song at the website of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and learn more through Vassar College’s page as well.
Is it proper to go alone to Reno to get a divorce? (1945)
In 1931, Reno reduced its six-month residency requirement for divorces to six weeks. Ranches catered to the trade in what were often referred to as “Reno-vations.” By 1946, there were nineteen thousand Reno divorces, a big business that brought in the equivalent of $50 million annually from divorcées as the “ranches” catered to (mostly) women who stayed about six weeks. There was no stigma associated with a woman going alone to one of these ranches, although she’d have plenty of company (cowboys included) milling about. Today, one no longer need to travel to Reno for a divorce. They are widely available across all fifty states.
What is the social significance of a person playing blind man’s bluff? (1945)
In the book Game Play: Therapeutic Use of Childhood Games, a good overview is given on the origin of game playing. Games of all kinds, especially those of a historic nature, usually evolved from spiritual beliefs and rituals. Blind man’s bluff, which originated in ancient Greece around 1000 BC, is no different. The game was based on prehistoric rites of human sacrifice. At that time it was called munida or brazen fly. Primarily played by boys, in the game one boy would be blindfolded while the others beat him with papyrus husks.
The game regained popularity during the Elizabethan era in England retaining its roots in ritual behavior but replacing the husks with knotted rope. As times had changed so did the players of the game. Played by both genders, blind man’s bluff became notorious when hitting turned into fondling among the adults who played and it became a favorite game for foreplay among people in the English court. This was ceremoniously ended with the dawning of the stricter Victorian era.
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