Trivial Trivia - taking trivia to new levels

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(11-27-2014 09:53 PM)Anita Wrote:  Dress hoops?

Congratulations to Anita for the winning answer! That blew my mind when I read the figures of 120-130 tons of steel each week to keep those fashionistas happy!

This information came from a great book that Betty mentioned awhile back. How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman. Ms. Goodman is British, so it is British Victoriana that she writes about, but the British-American comparisons are easy to make.

She writes of what a typical day was like from the moment one hopped out of bed in the morning to a cold room, the layers of clothing required, hygiene, evolution of the "necessary" (or privy in England), breakfast, modes of transportation to work, types of work, the environment.

Betty and I are always preaching that one must know about social and cultural history in order to understand the rest, and this is a great book for learning this, even if it is based on England. Just keep in mind that factories in the North here produced the same problems as English factories and farmers in America faced the same problems as the English, Irish, and Scottish farmers. Her description of the Potato Famine will leave you with tears in your eyes -- and an understanding of just how deep its effects were on society, politics, immigration, etc.