Comments on: In the Archives: A Path Less Traveled By

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 17:39:57 +0000

In the 19th century the “fob” was the pocket that the watch is carried in, and this item would have been called the “chain.”

By: Bear

Bear — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:56:09 +0000

what is interesting, if you will notice, is that there are two types of clasp. One is a toggle clasp and the other, a spring ring clasp, which is interesting in that it means it is attached in two places and in two different fashions.

By: Bear

Bear — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:46:25 +0000

uhm, i believe that they are called ‘fobs’. Watch fobs. And they are made to attach to the vestcoat, holding the watch in place, where it is secreted away in the vest pocket.

But I believe ‘fob’ is the proper name for it.

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 00:21:39 +0000

Those do look like watch chains, although it’s hard to be sure without seeing the whole thing. The long rod goes into a buttonhole, the long chain leads to the watch, and the short chain holds the fob. The fob was originally a sort of handle for removing the watch from the pocket, but on these chains it’s strictly decorative.

By: Laura Bien

Laura Bien — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:59:51 +0000

That is very helpful extra information; thank you for taking the time to add it. It is always gratifying to hear from those with expert knowledge on the subject. I also was glad to learn about the flat-headed peccary. I had had no idea such a creature existed, but according to this website "the most common medium-sized mammal during the North American Ice Age." (!) Interesting to learn that there are still peccaries in the Southwest and that they are an indigenous American pig as opposed to the feralized European pigs that are wild in Michigan, the South, and some other areas. Neato!

By: George Hammond

George Hammond — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:57:57 +0000

“Oh my, the “Deep Blue” archive is available to the public?”

Much of the material is, but not all. Accessibility of particular items is up to the individual people and departments that put them there. The Museum of Zoology has made many of the papers in their two periodicals (the “Occasional Papers …” and “Miscellaneous Publications…”) available for free download. You can find lists of titles on the Museum website: [link]

They are organized by animal group, and then each paper’s number links to the pdf. Most of these are technical publications, of interest only to specialists, (e.g. “The myology of the pectoral appendage of three genera of American cuckoos,” “An Oligocene mudminnow (family Umbridae) from Oregon with remarks on relationships within the Esocoidei.”) but some of it will be of interest to local naturalists. Norman Wood’s 1951 “The Birds of Michigan”, all 591 pages, is there (it’s a big file, 25 Mb).

“Now, my understanding is that the “panther” I referenced is the same as a mountain lion that you mention, is that correct?”

yes. Historically, “panther” gets used for a variety of solitary big cat species by English-speakers around the world (mountain lions and jaguars in the western hemisphere, leopards in the east), but here in Michigan it would have referred to Puma concolor, aka mountain lion, aka puma, aka cougar. Prior to European settlement, this species was found from southeast Alaska east to the Atlantic and south all the way to southern South America.

“Bison remains in Jackson County!–that is remarkable!” Bison ranged across the southern part of the state, where the land cover was open enough, all the way to the western slopes of the Appalachians: [link]

“And elk strolling in Washtenaw” yeah, I like to think of an elk herd grazing in the oak opening that was where the diag is now. :-) Don’t get me started on the missing species, the mastodons browsing the swamps where the airport is, or the giant beavers eating cattail tubers in the shallows along Allen Creek, or the trout and the 6 foot sturgeons spawning in the Huron, or the flat-headed peccaries browsing on hackberry shoots along Stadium Boulevard…

By: cmadler

cmadler — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 15:54:06 +0000

If I recall correctly, wristwatches were widely considered only appropriate for women. I believe it changed in or shortly after World War I, when airplane pilots wore them out of necessity (because it would be too much to try to pull out a pocketwatch while flying a plane!), and no one was about to question their manliness. Once wristwatches became socially acceptable, they were quickly adopted in light of their convenience.

As an aside to this aside, I’ve seen some interesting discussion recently about the current decline of the wristwatch. Since most people carry cell phones, which display the time, there’s less need to wear a wristwatch in most cases, and I’ve heard that wristwatch use among young adults is declining precipitously.

By: Laura Bien

Laura Bien — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 05:02:49 +0000

George Hammond: Oh my, the “Deep Blue” archive is available to the public?

And there go my plans to decorate the tree tomorrow…

That is fascinating information you kindly typed in for us. Now, my understanding is that the “panther” I referenced is the same as a mountain lion that you mention, is that correct? I believe so. Bison remains in Jackson County!–that is remarkable! And elk strolling in Washtenaw…really interesting. I look forward to poring through the archive you kindly mentioned, and thank you!

By: Laura Bien

Laura Bien — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 04:59:22 +0000

cmadler: Hmm, interesting guess. I wonder when wristwatches came into fashion.

By: Laura Bien

Laura Bien — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 04:58:36 +0000

ABC: Sneaking one in due to the kindness of the C’s editors; I was backed up on another project, and was grateful to them for bumping the deadline. Anyways, are you sure this is not a marshmallow containment chain?