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Christmas Stocking History for the Holidays - A Magic Solution

The Christmas Stocking (Part 2)
..........Smith's Magic Solution

As the reader of this blog will recall, last time we discussed several possible origins of the Christmas stocking tradition.

This time, Toy Tech would like to talk about an historical struggle that occurred within the community at large relative to the Christmas stocking.

There was a time during the 19th century when it was all too possible that the Christmas stocking tradition was dying.

In the latter part of the 19th century, the Christmas tree rapidly took over as the holiday decoration of choice both in American homes and elsewhere in the world.

As evidence of that, in the year 1883, The New York Times wrote an article lamenting the decline of the Christmas stocking.

The Times complained that the Age of Enlightenment had all but eliminated the legendary aspects of Christmas.....

Continue reading Comments (0) Tuesday, 3:37 pm | December 15th, 2009

A History of the Christmas Stocking - Legend and Tradition

The Christmas Stocking (Part 1)
........in ancient legend and tradition

As is appropriate for the Christmas Season, Toy Tech found himself this week considering where and when the tradition of the Christmas stocking originated.

There are several alternative theories, all of which seem plausible when considered alone.

However, when juxtaposed, Toy Tech was unable to decide which of the legends or purported bits of history presented the strongest case.

Therefore, rather than making the final choice, he felt it appropriate for the blog's readers to do that.

The leading contenders are presented here. Readers are encouraged to use the comment section to cast their votes for the story that seems most probable from their point of view.

Our first candidate involves a 4th century nobleman who, in his youth, was very handsome and wealthy. The nobleman married and had three lovely daughters.

Unhappily, a long period of crop failure settled upon his lands. As a result, he and the many families who depended upon the nobleman were reduced to penury.....

Continue reading Comments (0) Monday, 3:22 am | December 7th, 2009

Want a Ride? A History of the Bicycle

We are all familiar with the most famous bicycle makers of all time, the Wright Brothers. They invented and sold their own brand, the excellent Van Cleve (an original Van Cleve advertisement is shown at left).

On the other hand, the Wright Brothers used their bicycle business to seed another, one that involved several appointments at Kitty Hawk.

It is an interesting historical footnote, one of the serious challenges to the Wright's claim that their Flyer 1 was the first usable manned aircraft was the absence of wheels, one feature that bicycle makers hardly ever eliminate. (Photo below - Flyer 1 historical landmark). Other challenges included the Flyer 1's need for a headwind and catapult in order to take to the air.

No matter, wheels were eventually added, and the Wrights were credited with inventing the original manned aircraft.

Orville and Wilbur won out primarily because of their invention of the three axis control, which allowed for the first time the pilot to control the craft while in the air, an important feature if one wishes to fly, say, from New York to Paris aboard a Boeing 767.

However, airplanes and three axis controls will be for another time.

In this article, we want to speak of the Wrights' "seed" business, bicycles, all of which had wheels from the very beginning.....

Continue reading Comments (3) Tuesday, 7:32 pm | November 17th, 2009