Having a Butcher's, Then and Thenner

[steepholm]

I just had occasion to put this juxtaposition (long forgotten) on Facebook, but can't remember whether it ever appeared here. Anyway, we described it (but didn't show it) in Reading History in Children's Book. It features illustrations from the Ladybird books Shopping with Mother (1958) and Julius Caesar and Roman Britain (1959). Might they possibly be related?



(The article that prompted me to post this is here.)

While I have your attention, let me put you an unrelated question. The other day my mother noticed that I had taken to wearing my watch on my right wrist, and asked why. I explained that, being strongly left-handed, I was a little worried that my right arm didn't have enough to do. Hence, for example, my learning to eat with chop sticks right-handed as a kind of brain exercise. While my watch is very light, I reasoned that wearing it on my wrist all the time it would over the course of a day amount to a significant amount of physical work, equivalent to lifting a far heavier weight over a much shorter period, and that this might help appreciably redress the imbalance in strength between my right and left arms.

My mother was, shall we say, sceptical. But who was right?

Comments

[kalypso]

I don't know whether the watch will make a difference, but at some point in the 1990s I decided to mouse with my left hand, on the grounds that I kept hearing about people getting RSI using their mouse and it would be a nuisance if I was affected in my dominant right hand. Now I am invariably puzzled when I find other people have their mouse on the right.

[steepholm]

I 'mouse' right-handed, because it happens to be on that side, and it's not as if using it that way requires much sinistrality...

[jadelennox]

Back when I wore a watch the rule I was taught was you should always wear the watch on your non-dominant hand anyway, just so it won't get caught on things.

[steepholm]

Someone said something similar over at LJ, but I must lead a very unadventurous life, because I can't remember getting my watch caught on anything, no matter which hand I wore it on.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

All children are blond - even Roman children, although the adults are dark haired. Well, well...

I am left-handed, and have always worn my watch on my right wrist. It's less likely to get in the way, or that's my rationale, though if I'm doing something like cooking I take it off, anyway. I share your mother's scepticism about watch-wearing as physical exercise.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Actually, children often have blond hair that darkens as they grow older. I have photos of me as a tot with blonde curls that later turned straight and mousey brown. My daughter also started out blonde and now has very dark brown hair.

Regarding watches, my husband, a left-hander, has always worn his watch on his right hand for the same reason as you.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I can't say my watch has ever got in the way, whichever hand I wear it on. Unless I were helping a cow with a difficult delivery, I'm not sure how it would happen - but I may yet find out the hard way.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

When I wore a watch, I always wore it on my right, because my left was always busy. My right was never doing anything, so I could always glance down to see the time.

[grrlpup]

It used to be much less awkward to wear my watch on my left wrist and wind it with my right hand than vice versa, even though I'm left-handed, because the little winding-knob was always on the right, by the 3. Now I use the modern pocket watch, i.e. the cell phone.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

Indeed, in the days of clockwork there was definitely a good reason to wear the watch on the left hand - but now I only need to adjust it 7 times a year (at the end of months with fewer than 31 days, plus at the beginning and end of BST). Since I remove it at night anyway, it's not really an issue.