Thursday, September 8, 2011

Uffda, Can’t tell your left from your right?

After the Flag ceremony at Bunker Hill we enjoyed the display by some Civil War re-enactors.  They were awesome.

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This fellow explained that all boots were made the same until 1818.  But right shoes and left shoes were not the norm until after the 1850’s.  Most soldiers in the Civil War had two shoes/boots that were exactly alike and they were interchangeable. 

He is also the gentleman that shared the bricks of tea so I could photograph it..and these…Lucifer's..

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Early matches were called Lucifer's.  Friction matches..a chemists mistake.  A mixture of antimony sulfide, potassium chlorate, gum, and starch that could produce fire.  It also smelled really bad.  Later white phosphorous was added to the concoction and that made some people sick.  How about that..even the history of matches can be fascinating!

Uffda..Blog Reader Muddy Boot Dreams Jen asked what Uffda means. Uffda or oofda or ufda is used as a term for sensory overload. It can be used as an expression of surprise, astonishment, exhaustion, relief and sometimes dismay. A truly multipurpose Scandinavian Midwest word:)

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16 comments:

Jinglebob said...

Oh yeah, you betcha by golly! ;-)

troutbirder said...

Ya sure.

Country Gal said...

Informative post. I never knew any of this thanx. We always learn a new thing every day ! Have a great day !

DJan said...

I have only heard "uffda" from a few people, you being one. I think it's a great word! And I never knew that about matches, either.

Pauline Persing said...

Uffda...a wonderful word. Most of us could use it every day.

lisa said...

That was a great history lesson! I never knew about the shoes.

Linda said...

Yep.......you betcha we got some uffda going on here acrosst the river.

Connie Peterson said...

Oh! I'm so glad to finally see a picture of Lucifers! At least the box -- do you suppose you could con the guy into a picture of the actual Lucifer "sticks" ???? I have been looking for pictures forever so that I know what they look like when we talk about matches / Lucifers in our demos.

Rita said...

Ya, you betcha! We use uffda in these parts. It is a fantastic multipurpose word. :)

I knew about the shoes--in fact, I heard the first thing they used to do to make them more comfortable was to get their new shoes totally wet and wear them till they dried in the shape of their feet. (I assume that was if you got them in warmer weather.)

I did know the name lucifer for matches, but had never actually seen the box. Would have loved to actually see one of them, too. I didn't know about the ingredients and that they could make people sick! You are sure learning a lot of interesting things now that you're a big wig at the museum--LOL! ;)

LindaG said...

I love your historical posts, Far Side. :)

Dreaming said...

My feet ache just thinking about the shoes. I now understand why 'old' ladies wear sensible shoes!! Rita's comment reminded me of the time my Dad stood in a bathtub with his leather ski boots on. He slept in them and wore them to the office for at least a week while they dried and conformed to his feet. Those boots never hurt him in the least!

Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

Still thinking about your post of a while back about the little kid who read encyclopedias in his spare time. I did this when I was a kid. My parents had an old set with the most amazing color plates of insects and chickens and fish and all sorts of things. I loved looking at those beautiful pictures. I loved museums too -- we went often because it was cheap entertainment. Oh well. This post was fascinating too...

Just Stuff From a Boomer said...

I didn't know about the shoes until we visited the Museum of the Confederacy this spring. They must have been miserable. Plus the soles were very thin. And, they walked everywhere they went. ouchy, ouchy...

NCmountainwoman said...

I always love it when I learn a fact that I never considered before. Who knew about the shoes?

Anonymous said...

What a great word Uffda is!

Love those old matches, and as for those shoes - must have been uncomfortable until your feet moulded them into right and left shoes.

Emma Rose said...

Way cool post!
Kisses,
Emma Rose