bookofjoe

Blast from the past: The origin of "going forward"

On November 5, 2007, I featured the results of a great effort to unearth the origin of this ubiquitous idiotstick phrase by my (then) Crack Research Team®™©.

Alas, all those individuals have long been scattered to the four winds, only to be replaced by a succession of soon-to-be-burnt-out cases willing to work for little money and no benefits beyond an open-all-doors entry in their resumès.

But I digress.

Here, then, is the origin of "going forward," as published in 2007. Not one word has been omitted.

It took less than five minutes drilling down in Google to bring back the news that no less a wordsmith than William Wordsworth (1770-1850) used it in an autobiographical 1805 poem, which follows.

The Prelude

O pleasant exercise of hope and joy!
For mighty were the auxiliars which then stood
Upon our side, we who were strong in love;
Bliss was it that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very Heaven: O times,
In which the meagre, stale, forbidding ways
Of custom, law, and statute took at once
The attraction of a Country in Romance;
When Reason seem'd the most to assert her rights
When most intent on making of herself
A prime enchantress—to assist the work,
Which then was going forward in her name.
Not favor'd spots alone, but the whole Earth!

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Background on the poem may be found here.

So there you have it.

Sugar Glass

A 2010 design by Emily Rothschild who wrote,

"To sweeten your drink, break the sugar in half, shatter, or immerse the whole packet and stir."

"This is glass which is better when broken."

Wait a minute... what's that music I'm hearing?

Fortune favors the cookie

Invented here today.

What is it?

Answer here this time tomorrow.

Hint: smaller than a bread box.

Another: no batteries required.

Helpful Hints from joeeze: Ripen fruit faster by burying it in rice

Wrote Matthew Rogers on Lifehacker: "Burying your fruit in uncooked rice is a quick and easy way to shave a few days off the ripening time. Just take something annoyingly slow to ripen, like a mango, and drop it into a bin of rice (the same rice already sitting in the kitchen is fine). Don't worry about ruining the rice, it'll be fine unless you forget the fruit's in the bin."

"A container of rice makes it easy for the fruit's ethylene gas to stick around longer, and promote ripening. This works in much the same way that brown paper bags or newspaper wrappings do. Using a method like this can reduce ripening time by entire days, but it's also a good way to overdo it. Just be sure to check on the fruit once or twice a day!"

Fair warning to the absent-minded: out of sight, out of mind.

[via The Kitchn]

Tie-down Tea Cup

What took so long?

Designed by George Lee.

From the website:

............................

Tie-down Tea Cup solves the eternal problem of fishing around for that tea bag that's inevitably fallen into your cup.

Designed like a boat dock cleat — your tea bag won't go floating away.

Simply tie your teabag to the tab and you're all set.

3.5"Ø x 4.18"H.

Holds 12 oz.

Porcelain.

............................

$28.75.

Bitter, aren't you?

Admit it: you'd love to have one — if only they made a left-handed version.

Guess what?

My Crack Research Team®™© went way deep and found it for you.

$28.75. 

Sky-Frame Cornerless Windows

Want.

[via Fancy]

Limited-Edition Killer Ring

A 2004 design by (the late) Tobias Wong and Philipp Mohr.

From the website:

...........................

Tiffany-style setting.

3pt artificial diamond.

Sterling silver, 14k or 18k gold, or platinum.

Maker stamps: 925/14KT/18KT/PT WMC (Wong Mohr Collaboration)

Edition limited to 1,000 in silver, 500 in gold, 250 in platinum.

Hand made in Brooklyn, New York.

Sizes 4-12.

...........................

Silver or 14k Gold: from $139–$760.

18k Gold or Platinum: Apply within.