page 16

and the lord said, "let there be light".  and it was good.


bubble light box Do you remember when almost every christmas tree had at least one set of bubble lights?
I remember bubble lights at Christmas.
I remember similar bubble lights built into oil derricks for use with train sets.

 
do you remember ship head lights ?

I remember when my dad bought an old ship head light, installed a light bulb, and hung it by the front door.

I remember my dad's light was made of copper and came with a coal oil burner.  I am glad I never had to climb a mast to fill and light such a head light, particularly in a wind storm.

 ship's head light, electric

 
 
do you know what this is?
do you know why it has a pointy end?

Do you know what this is and why it is pointy?
(the answer is at the bottom of the page)

 
 
lava lamp c.1960 do you remember when everybody had lava lamps?

I remember watching the globs go up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and ...

I remember why I don't like lava lamps.

If you don't like them either, then I have bad news for you - they're back!

 
 
Do you remember when bicycle head lights were powered by carbide?

I remember putting in calcium carbide "rocks" from the hardware store and adding water.

I remember I had to use a match to light my light.  It did not have built in lighter like the light shown here.

 carbide bicycle lamp c.1890

 

do you remember when "last one out put out
the lights" meant using a candle snuffer?
Gorham silver and ebony candle snuffer
I remember the large candle snuffers they
used in church to put out the hugh candles.


trainmans
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do you know what this is?
do you know why it has a pointy end?
answer:

Victorian silver wick trimmer

This is a wick trimmer for trimming candle wicks and lamp wicks.
 The trimmings are caught in the box attached to one scizzor.

I don't know why it has a pointy end.  Either I don't remember, 
or more likely, I never knew in the first place.
Maybe it is so mothers can say "be careful with that or you will
put your eye out."
Maybe it is so that when you cut a candle wick too short, you
can save the candle by poking a hole in the wax and putting in
a spare bit of wick.
Maybe it is so you can clean your nails after mucking about
with a lot of dirty old candles.
Maybe somebody who knows will e-mail me and tell me!

e-mail me

This page created 30 May 2000
last modified 2 December 2001