Posted on 12/24/2017 9:18:45 PM PST by Rebelbase
The mid-19th century vogue for flowing, diaphanous women's garments made from open-weave fabrics like "bobbinet, cotton muslin, gauze, and tarlatan," combined with gas lighting, candles, and open fires meant that it was extremely common for women to literally burst into flames: on stage, at parties, at home.
So flammable were these garments that when other women would rush to the aid of a blazing friend, they, too, would go up in flames.
All of these women burned to death in front of their families or friends. None of them were doing anything particularly risky at the time except for wearing clothes around a source of light or a cigarette something men could do without the same risk. There is a burden on women to think about their bodies in space in a way that men dont have to, Matthews David says. The only fire I found for men really was a guy who left a lit pipe in his suit because woolen suits were pretty flameproof.
The problem was exacerbated by the fact that the flame-retardant compounds of the day would cause these flowing, white garments to stiffen and yellow, meaning that many women rejected them.
Among the women who died this way was Archduchess Mathilde of Austria, who hid a cigarette behind her back when her father walked into the room and caught fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at boingboing.net ...
That would have been a really interesting Quincy episode.
They didn’t chop wood at 12 degrees below.
rwood
“leisure suits”
Gack!
My wife is also a ginger.
Q: What’s the difference between a red head and a vampire?
A: One is a pale, bloodsucking creature that avoids the sun.
The other is a vampire.
And tails. One production environment I worked in promoted the idea of wearing costumes on Halloween as a moral thing, had a competition, etc. One guy showed up as a cow and his tail got sucked in. I didnt see it, Im told his backside followed it in a ways before he got extracted. He should just be glad the accident didnt start with his costumes udders...
He said he was just glad not to be "back on the farm." Makes one wonder what things must have been like on that farm. Different sort of characters in those days.
You can visit Longfellow’s house in Cambridge, MA. They have concerts there and talks about Longfellow and his family. It is right down the street from where the village blacksmith was located. The house is beautifully restored and looks out over a large park and the Charles River.
BTW Washington used the house as his headquarters for a while. Here are some pictures and history.
http://dlstewart.com/longfellow/CraigieHouse.htm
That was my impression. Why, oh why, did the men of that dark and benighted time force the wimmens to wear charcloth?
If you do any genealogy or visit old cemeteries you’ll see many tombstones for young women who died in their 20’s and 30’s. It’s not uncommon to see a man who died in his 80’s who is buried with his multiple young wives. Childbirth is risky.
Same thing happens to men, wearing longjohns, two or three layers of shirts, woolie pants and a warm vest and jacket, a heavy belt laden with knife, ammo, gps and rangefinder, with a backpack on top of all that, two hours before dawn at 5 degrees fahrenheit at the trailhead leading into snow/ice covered mountains on the first day of elk hunting.
The second and third day too.
I bet they lit up faster than a month old Christmas tree.
Typically it is not the burn itself that kills you, it is the subsequent infection.
Ed
So that’s where the term “flaming homosexuals” came from. I guess cross-dressing was a “thing” back then too.
Whoa Nellie! If the wife saw this post it’s bang zoom to the moon! My wife’s maiden name is Rommel. I kid you not! Merry Christmas.
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