DID YOU KNOW …? Why was British money so confusing to the rest of the world before 1971?

By JACK BAGLEY
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
When you see this column, it will be time to begin waving goodbye to 2025.
I hope your Christmas was a wonderful one, and that you are planning a happy (but very safe) celebration for the incoming new year. Me?  I’m going to bed early.  I’m too old for all that celebrating stuff.
Next time we meet, the calendar will say it’s 2026 … for all of us, though, it’s always trivia time.  Here’s the last column of the year, and I hope you like it!
Happy New Year, everybody!
Did you know …
… the phrase “Waterloo Ivory” has a very dark history? After the battle of Waterloo in 1815 in Belgium, looters descended on the corpses of the fallen soldiers and began removing their teeth. The stolen teeth were later sold to dentists, who marketed them as denture sets called “Waterloo Ivory.” The name was later used to refer to dentures made from the teeth of soldiers who died in the U.S. Civil War as well. (Ewwwww.)
… you may know someone who practices xylography? Don’t worry, it’s not one of the mystic arts or anything – though it is an art. Xylography is the art of engraving wood, and the term is also used to describe early printing processes which involved text engraved on wooden blocks. (Remember those old woodburning kits you could get for kids?  Try finding one of those now.)
… the first department store Santa Claus donned the red and black outfit in 1890? James Edgar (1843-1909), a department store owner in Brockton, Massachusetts, is believed to be the first person to dress up as Jolly Old St. Nick for a store. Edgar’s Santa was based on the illustrations of Thomas Nast (1840-1902), who drew Santa in the guise we now know and love for Harper’s Weekly in 1862. Edgar performed as Santa in his store annually and over the years, children from all over New England came by train to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Today’s modern department-store Santa can trace his lineage directly back to Edgar. (Ho, ho, ho, James Edgar!)
… native Hawaiian women use flowers to signal their romantic availability? If a woman native to Hawaii places a flower on her right ear, it means she’s available. (If it’s a big flower, it means she’s not all that particular.)
… an Ecuadorian politician was elected president of the country five times? That’s not the special part, however. José Maria Velasco Ibarra (1893-1979) was overthrown by the country’s military forces four times. After the first two overthrows, when the military allowed democracy to return to Ecuador, Velasco Ibarra was elected president again. He only served out his complete term after his third election in 1952, and was overthrown after his fourth and fifth elections. (Somebody wasn’t getting the message, it seems.)
… British money was very confusing until 1971? That year, the British currency was decimalized – made to work in factors of ten. The pound was still the main unit, and it was divided in 100 pence. But prior to 1971, British currency was, to other nations, most confusing, because it was based in factors of 12. The pound was the main unit, but it was divided into (in order of value, smallest to largest): the farthing, the half penny or ha’penny, the penny, threepence, sixpence, the shilling, the florin, the half-crown, and the crown. The farthing was worth ¼ penny, the half penny you can guess, same for threepence and sixpence, the shilling was worth 12 pence, the florin worth two shillings, a half crown was worth two shillings and sixpence, a crown was worth five shillings, or ¼ of a pound, and a pound was worth 240 pence. A pound could be in the form of a paper bill, called a note, or a gold coin, called a sovereign. If that isn’t confusing enough to you, as a non-British subject, try these slang terms: a quid or a nicker, which were terms for a pound; bob, for a shilling; and a guinea, a gold coin worth 21 shillings. Guineas were more “gentlemanly” than shillings. (Makes sense to me!)
… a popular character on Sesame Street used to be a different color? Oscar the Grouch, the grumpy Muppet who lives in a trash can, is green. But at the beginning of the show, back in 1969, he was orange. There was no particular reason for Muppet creator Jim Henson (1936-1990) to change the character’s fur color, but he did for the show’s second season. On the show, Oscar explained the color change by saying he’d gone on vacation to the Swamp Mushy Muddy, and his color changed overnight. (Right.)
… one should always be careful of what one offers? Take, for example, the case of King Konrad III (1093-1154) of Franconia, a province of what is now Germany. When forces led by Konrad defeated the Saxons at Weibertreu Castle in 1140, Konrad granted the women of the castle free departure, allowing them to take whatever they could carry on their backs. The women of the castle chose to carry the men of the castle on their backs, and Konrad – admiring the ingenuity of the idea – kept his word. The men were supposed to have been either slaughtered or imprisoned, but they went free because Konrad was an honorable man.
… one of the most off-beat portraits of Queen Elizabeth II was created with tea bags? English artist Andy Brown (born 1980) created a portrait of Her Majesty (1926-2022) out of 1,000 used (and unused) tea bags stitched together on burlap for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. The Queen was said to have been “bemused” by the offbeat portrait. Brown has also visited 90 baseball parks in nine countries to create paintings which capture the baseball experience. (Gives “tea time” a new meaning, eh?)
Now … you know!
Copyright © 2025 Jack Bagley