Dames-a-Pedia: Answering your most random questions - Volume I

My sister works in an office where they don’t allow internet for personal use. (The horror!) She often finishes her work by 11:00am, which leaves her approximately oh, too many hours per day to be bored out of her skull. So, she and her office mates must find other ways to pass the time, such as building cubicles out of cardboard boxes and decorating them with impressive fake diplomas and stick-figure family portraits.

They also have random, random conversations. And from these conversations come random, random questions - very important questions that require immediate answers. Of course, it’s impossible to get the answers to these important, random questions without internet access. That’s where I come in. I do have internet access at work, and I’m not afraid to use it! Hardly a day goes by in which I don’t get a text or phone call from my sister demanding the answer to an important, random question. Sometimes I know the answers without looking them up, but more often I just Google the question and see what pops up. I’m sure if my employer ever looked at my Google search history they would be a little bit concerned about my mental health…

Recently, my husband suggested that I post some of the questions and answers on this blog, so here it is… I shall call it Dames-a-pedia!

I’ll probably post one or two entries at a time. Have a question? Just ask! Random questions only, please. I guarantee that the results will be accurate passable not pulled from my ass. Occasionally my husband will contribute as well, with answers to burning questions such as “What is Chef Boyardee’s first name?” (answer: Hector, of course!)

Dames-a-pedia Volume I: Penny Farthing

Question: What are those old bicycles with the big-ass front wheel called?

Answer: Penny farthings! Penny farthings were popular in the Victorian era among wealthy folk who liked to ride them to the mercantile or to church socials and who apparently had little regard for any of the bones in their bodies. The name "penny farthing" is a reference to British penny and farthing coins of the time; the side view of the bicycle resembled the coins placed next to one another. The first penny farthings were produced in 1870, however no one could figure out how to actually get on one of the damn things until about 1879. Eventually ladies got into the penny farthing craze, wearing sporty outfits specifically designed for exercise:

Note how this woman’s wrists are almost showing… scandalous!

The penny farthing fad was rather short-lived, however, and died out quickly when people realized that it was far less painful to fall from a bicycle in which the front wheel was the same size as the back wheel.

On a more ridiculous note:

Yeah.