weekend whatsit
A bit of history:
“Even at a range of 240 yards heavy war arrows shot from bows of poundages in the mid- to upper range possessed by the Mary Rose bows would have been capable of killing or severely wounding men equipped with armour of wrought iron. Higher-quality armour of steel would have given considerably greater protection, which accords well with the experience of Oxford’s men against the elite French vanguard at Poitiers in 1356, and des Ursin’s statement that the French knights of the first ranks at Agincourt, which included some of the most important (and thus best-equipped) nobles, remained comparatively unhurt by the English arrows.”
Strickland M, Hardy R. The Great Warbow. Sutton Publishing 2005. Pages 272–278
The English longbow had a draw weight that topped out at about 100 pounds. The Mongolain horsebow topped out at about 160 pounds. Both fired arrows of similar size and mass; 3 feet long and 3 1/2 ounces (!!!!). Even without the perhaps superior eastern metallurgy of the 1100s, the Mongolian arrow would be hitting quite a bit harder than the English one at similar ranges. And the English arrow could go through lesser plate armor. So I think it’s fair to posit that those bodkin arrows and the Mongol bow made for a whole lot of really dead knights.
None of this bodkin stuff has anything to do with odds bodkins, which was a Shakespearean era way of blaspheming in a socially acceptable manner.
What, no takers? Gosh.
The Kerry remark really is a huge clue. What smarmy, elitist, I’m-smarter-than-you utterance is he infamous for? Even ScrappleFace mocked him for it. A bit of research down the right avenue ... which is hinted at somewhat by the first redhead picture and by the written clues ... and you’ll have the answer. Sure, I could put in an eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles and arrows, but that would make it too easy. So c’mon, step right up.
Gak, I just gave you 2 more clues in addition to the big hints, even if one is a very weak pun. And no, the answer has nothing to do with Alice’s Restaurant.
Free caulk for the winner!!
Ok, Ian guessed it. But he was nice and sent in his guess by email. He didn’t need the clues since he uses one himself I think. Or at least knows his subject enough to know about these things. So they are very old, but still in use today ... although not all that common here in America or Western Europe.
Do you guys need more clues, or is no one interested (or even reading) ?
Reading - yes
Interested - yes
Have no friggin’ clue - yes (although I was entertaining some erotic speculations until I read that a guy (I’m assuming Ian is male) uses one)
That’s what guesses are for! I mean, hey, it could be a fancy left handed nostril picker, for folks with really large schnozzes. Like John Kerry.
Or it could be some kind of old fashioned hair doopy, once used on fancy horses by the best of the warrior caste, but also favored these days by redheads with tons of thick rich hair. Once upon a time, pretenders at the royal court wore them to make other people think they too were mighty warriors, but they weren’t. Status symbols. And that’s when they got fancy, in a conspicuous consumption way.
It could be a stone accountant’s visor made to fit mice, made by a lost civilization that went bankrupt when somebody invented cats.
It could be an artificial foreskin, fancied up for visiting the vestal virgins. Made from smooth stone or stiff leather, used with a bit of milk glue it was the Viagra of early civilizations in the Far East.
It could be a removable harpoon barb that fits over a narwhal tusk spear point.
A cap lifter. A bottle opener. A fish gutter. One brass knuckle, made of stone. A labrette of some kind.
But it is none of those.
Irritated - Yes
Posted by Elvula
10/25/2010 at 12:14 AM
Mark also figured it out, though he admits it took him a bit of googling to get there.
Give already…
Or are you going to continue to mine this vein of frustration?Posted by Elvula
10/25/2010 at 04:18 PM
I must admit that I just can’t fathom what redheads and John Kerry have in common. And I have no idea what to google. But in any event, here’s a few lame guesses.
It/they are pommel decorations (that’s a saddle horn for you non-horse types) for miniature ponies.
It/they are penis rings for little people. (I warned you that I was having erotic speculations.)
Some sort of off-the-wall guitar picks.
/signed/ Clueless
Must admit to embarrassment here. Being a dilettante archer since my youth, never have seen a mongolian release. Consider this vein depleted, deflated...whatever…
Posted by Elvula
10/27/2010 at 08:56 PM
Awesome
Yes I too attempted to connect John Kerry and Keri Byron - you do not want to know where that dragged me. I was totally flummoxed and having done archery in my youth - should have guessed it - but since I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night - my memory sucks.
Interesting - and if things had not been chaotic around here - I’d probably been able to do some real googling, binging and yahooing. But it doesn’t mean I’d get to the answer at all!
God Help America
A Proud American Infidel
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