Do you ever do something “bad” while driving, like run a red light, and then start making up a story in your head to try to weasel out of a ticket in case the cops stop you? Me neither. The story makes perfect sense to you, but a little guy in the back of your brain knows you wouldn’t have a chance. Anyway, there was a GEO METRO in yesterday’s puzzle, and I love this story posted by whatsername:
A former coworker got stopped for “attempted speeding” in a GEO METRO. This guy commuted 125 miles each way, much of which was through the mountainous areas of northern Arkansas where he was pulled over. He explained to the patrolman that he had to go as fast as he possibly could on the way down the mountain; otherwise he wouldn’t have enough speed to make it back up the next one. The cop stepped back, looked at the vehicle, shook his head, and sent him on his way without so much as a warning.
The clue for OTTER yesterday was: “Animal that might make a waterslide to play on.” Otters are notoriously playful. They may construct a slide to get from point A to point B, but if it’s fun, they will keep going down it over and over again before continuing on. The writeup on otters in Britannica notes in the very first sentence that otters are known for their playful manner. Adorable. I don’t know what our photographer Phil did to get this one to wave to us. You’re incredible, Philly! We don’t pay you enough.
Mary Quant died in her home in Surrey, England yesterday. She was 93. The headline in the Times obit called her a British fashion revolutionary. We live in the world of our vision; who knows how profound the changes she brought to our world really are?
Quant opened a boutique called Bazaar on King’s Road in London in 1955, and started selling the outfits that she and her bohemian friends were wearing, “a bouillabaisse of clothes and accessories,” — short flared skirts and pinafores, knee socks and tights, funky jewelry and berets in all colors. She made some of the clothing herself, and the store became a hangout like a coffee bar.
A decade later, Mary Quant was a global brand, with licenses all over the world — she was named an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1966 for her contribution to British exports — and sales that would soon reach $20 million. When she toured the U.S. with a new collection, she was greeted like a fifth Beatle; at one point she required police protection. In 2009, she was honored by the Royal Mail with her own postage stamp, featuring a model wearing a black Mary Quant flared mini. In 2015, Ms. Quant was made a dame.
It’s not clear who actually “invented” the miniskirt, but Quant as much as anyone brought about its explosion, and she has been called the “mother” of the miniskirt. Here’s a young Mary herself, and then one of my tax students modeling a mini.
OBOE is a common answer in Crossworld; it shares three letters with our favorite snack treat OREO. But the clue for it today was new to me: “Heckelphone relative.” Any of you hear of a heckelphone before? It was developed by Wilhelm Heckel at the suggestion of Richard Wagner. It’s larger than an oboe and is an octave lower.
The first annual meeting of the North American Heckelphone Society took place on August 6, 2001, at the Riverside Church in New York City, with six heckelphonists in attendance. Later meetings have included as many as 14 instruments.
Good night readers! Sweet dreams!
The Wellington Files 