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retiredteacher

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Posts posted by retiredteacher

  1. twogrand...The crapper

    Meaning

     

    The lavatory.

     

    Origin

     

    Popular wisdom attributes the derivation of this slang term for lavatory to Thomas Crapper (1836 - 1904), the supposed inventor of the flush toilet. Unfortunately, Thomas Crapper didn't invent the flush toilet. He holds nine patents for plumbing-related inventions, including three for water closets, but flush lavatory, properly called the Silent Valveless Water Waste Preventer was patented in 1819 by Albert Giblin.

     

    Nevertheless, Crapper is the name that people remember. He was certainly well-known in his day as a sanitary engineer. He had a thriving plumbing business and was sanitary engineer for several members of the royal family.

     

    Like the widespread and misguided rejection of Nelson's deathbed quotation - 'kiss me Hardy', it has become commonplace to see the association of the name Crapper with toilets and defecation dismissed as an urban myth. As in Nelson's case, there doesn't seem to be any good reason for that. The word crap, either as a noun or as a verb, doesn't appear in English before Crapper's lifetime. The earliest citation is from the 1859 edition of John C. Hotten's A dictionary of modern slang, cant, and vulgar words:

     

    "Crapping case, a privy, or water-closet."

     

    There are older Dutch and German words (krappe/krape) and an English version crappe that could have been the source. None of these actually mean defecate or excrement.

     

    Given what we know at present we can't say for certain that crap and crapping come from Thomas Crapper's name. Likewise, we don't have any clear evidence to say that they don't. :ph34r:

     

     

     

  2. That store is where my best friend's stepfather lost his wife. He was the pharmacist and she worked in the store. The explosion happened while he was at lunch and she was killed leaving 3 small children. All three still live there and a couple of them own the present store.

  3. I have 2 fly-catching cats. One got a wasp and his foot swelled up twice its size but did that stop him? Shoot, no. I have to be sure to get them before he does now.

     

    Edited to say this is my thousandth post, folks!

  4. Madea, one of the first cars I drove was an AMC Hornet, white with black vinyl top. Don't remember the year. My Dad bought it used and it had been shipped to Europe and then back when the owner came back to the states. All jokes aside, it was the smoothest running car! I remember sitting at red lights wondering if it had choked down because it was so quiet. I've judged all my cars by that one since then.

     

    PaulasParty, I had that exact same Gremlin (orange) in the seventies. My husband was assigned to Fort Carson, Co, and we had a beautiful luxury Lemans. Then the first gas calamity hit and we had to trade for a small car. I cried all the way to the dealership when we picked up that Gremlin and left my beautiful Lemans.

     

    My first car was a green Chevy Nova, brand new 1969, with no air! NEVER made that mistake again. I financed for 3 years and my payments were $69 a month!

  5. We've camped all over Georgia, South Carolina and at Flagler Beach State Park in Florida. My family camped in tents, pop-ups and campers. We love them all.

     

    I took my sons to the beach when they were little and we camped in tents. As a single Mom, it was a fun and affordable way to travel. We always stayed at state parks for the consistency and safety that they afforded. We never saw a dirty bathhouse.

     

    I usually got a map of the sites before we went and picked an area to pitch the tent, close to the showers, but not too far from the water. Best of both worlds!

     

    I really miss camping but my boys are grown and none of my friends like to camp. :(

  6. Plus, the cats get a dollop of yogurt added to their food to aid their digestion. Some love it and eat it first; some try to cover it up! They are so funny to watch!

     

    The animals get very excited when people come in and they often turn their water bowls over. Imagine if they had food down all the time. BTW, the volunteers and workers are very quick to replace the newspaper and water when they turn it over.

     

    I go there a lot and I've seen nothing but great care given to the animals...

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