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Becky
Is your name also an apparatus?
by Becky - May 4, 2007 - 9:45 PM

asdlfkjI’ve always been fascinated by devices named after girls–the spinning jenny, the catherine wheel, the lazy susan. As a child, one of my favorite things to do was to spin the lazy susan–I mean really leaning some torque into it–when my parents weren’t looking, causing all of the condiments and ceremonial objects of decoration to fling across the room. Some theories claim Thomas Jefferson coined the term after his daughter, Susan, and her protestations at having to lift a finger at dinner. The wheel, of course, doesn’t have as plucky a background, having served as the intended instrument of death for St. Catherine of Alexandria (her touch apparently broke it, and she was instead beheaded). The spinning jenny likely made life easier for scores of 18th century textile laborers. Legend has it that a young girl named Jenny accidentally knocked over a spinning wheel, but the wheel, though vertical, remained working. I’m sure I’m forgetting some great ones…Would love to be reminded. If there’s a great device out there that shares your name, please do chime in.

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Comments (5)

  1. I found in interesting one for my name: a toby mug. I’d never heard of one before so now I’m going to have to go Wiki-lunking. I may even have to write a blog about them. Interesting post.

    posted by Toby on 5-5-2007 at 4:10 am

  2. This post brings to mind a Firesign Theatre sketch from the 1970s.

    It was about Fudd’s First Law: “If you push something far enough, it WILL fall over.” The discoverer of Fudd’s First Law ended up developing a mechanism based on his law, and named it after his girlfriend: the pushover.

    posted by Paul Ding on 5-5-2007 at 10:08 am

  3. A Lazy Kate, similiar to the Susan variety but, actually, MUCH more AWESOME.

    It’s used to wind spun fiber onto two of those bobbins (or three, or whatever) and then you take all two (or three) ends and spin them all together. And that, my friend…is how we get yarn.

    Everyone stop yawning! I’m not that boring!

    posted by Kate on 5-5-2007 at 12:24 pm

  4. there is a well – a water pump – named tara.

    not sure if it’s named after a gal or what… but it does bear my name.

    the fact that my last name is wells makes it even funnier… for me, anyway.

    posted by tara on 5-6-2007 at 11:52 am

  5. When Hurricane Andrew hit in ‘92, I was enthralled. There’s nothing quite like mass havoc being wreaked in your name. Cross Colors were in style (think early Fresh Prince) and I found the perfect t-shirt. It was a Cross-Colors knockoff that said “Andrew saw no color: Andrew touched everyone.” Was it fate?

    posted by Andrew on 5-7-2007 at 2:14 am

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