Monday, August 14, 2017

Leftovers Day 14 -- Tom Foolery

This dime store disguise was originally sold by Ben Franklin (the store, not the Founding Father) for 10 cents (of course).



Based on the header card, you could buy them in a variety of styles ranging from "plain face" to "bee attack" to "mustachioed" to" buck teeth" to "hoop ring piercings"(??).


3 comments:

  1. ok, since i assume you have a life-long interest in all things "TOM" related: any idea where the term "Tom Foolery" came from? why are Toms so notorious as jackanapes?

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    Replies
    1. I've seen a few explanations, but the one that makes most sense is that "Tom" is just a name for maleness as in "tomcat" and "tomboy" hence "tomfoolery" is just male foolishness.

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    2. wow -- that makes TOTAL sense. see, i knew you'd know!

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