The pie-eyed Pinocchios
QUESTION
What is the story about the 1940 Disney premiere of Pinocchio, which went spectacularly wrong? Pinocchio premiered in new York city on February 7, 1940, at the center Theatre. After the success of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, expectations were high.
inspired by the lovable seven dwarfs, the film studio’s publicity department hired 11 little people, put them in Pinocchio costumes and placed them outside on top of the theatre canopy to dance about and give a carnival atmosphere to the event. There is photographic evidence to prove it (see far right).
Accounts exist from many sources — for example, the book Walt Disney: hollywood’s Dark Prince by Marc Eliot — describing how the event descended into chaos after food and wine was hoisted up to sustain the Pinocchios.
The dwarfs became inebriated and began to shed their clothes. By 3pm, patrons were startled to see and hear 11 naked men loudly belching and busily engaged in a lively game of craps — gambling on the roll of a dice.
The Pinocchios steadfastly refused commands to cover up and climb down, instead hurling obscenities.
Police were called, and officers climbed ladders to reach the merry crew and haul them down to the street in pillowcases.
Will Brough, Bristol.
QUESTIONS
Does the Mexican pinata have Chinese origins? ThE word pinata comes from the italian word pignatta, meaning ‘fragile pot’.
it is sometimes said the Venetian merchant traveller Marco Polo brought back the custom from his journeys to china, but there is no evidence for this from his own accounts.
The original pignatta in the 14th century were simple clay pots or jugs without decoration. The traditional shape was that of a pine cone, pigna in italian.
it became customary to give pignata during Lent and they would be broken to reveal seeds or nuts. They migrated to Spain, where they were embellished with ribbons, garlands or paper fringes for Pinata Sunday or the Pinata Dance.
it was during the first years of the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century when missionaries, interested in attracting the native population to religious ceremonies, incorporated the pinata — plus fireworks, flares and carols — into christmas celebrations.
After mass priests would invite people to break the decorated pots, which symbolised evil, with a pole.
This ritual became highly stylised. The pinata became a ball — representing Satan — with seven cones sticking out, each with streamers on the end, symbolising the seven deadly sins: greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath and lust.
candies and fruit inside the pinata stood for the temptations of wealth and earthly pleasures. Blindfolded participants were instructed to hit the pinata — with a stick symbolising virtue — in an effort to fight the forces of evil.
The goodies inside were a reward for keeping the faith.
Slowly, the pinata lost its religious association and today is a party game.
Silvia Acuejo, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion.
QUESTION
Where is the oldest bank in the world? ThE basic concept of a bank is an institution that accepts money from a third party for safe-keeping (a deposit), and in return pays the depositor a reward for holding their money (interest).
The deposit money is of no use to the bank unless it lends the money to another party, for which privilege the borrower pays interest to the bank.
The margin between the lending (higher) rate of interest and the deposit (lower) rate of interest constitutes the bank’s profit.
in Britain, this practice was frowned upon by state and church until statutes of 1570 and 1624 made it legal.
This is when banks as we know them began to develop. Prior to that a form of banking had been practised in London by the Lombard family, who were originally from italy.
in 1318 they were granted land in what is now Lombard Street, trading as goldsmiths. They would have been familiar with the italian terms lire, soldi and denaro, from which we got £ s d (pounds, shillings and pence).
The Lombards might lay claim to being the earliest bank in Britain, with their 1318 goldsmith/pawnbroking/moneylending business in London.
Morris & clayton was one of the earliest banks, as we now know them, in Britain. The earliest surviving English cheque was drawn on this bank on February 16, 1659, for the sum of £400, handwritten in ink on paper, with a trace of sealing wax.
in 1672, after a seven-year apprenticeship, Richard hoare was made a freeman of the Worshipful company of Goldsmiths at the sign of the Golden Bottle in cheapside and was able to trade on his own account. The following year he bought his former master’s business and soon built up a sizeable trade as a goldsmith/banker, making hoare’s Bank the oldest surviving bank in Britain.
on July 27, 1694, the Bank of England was created by Royal charter and capitalised by a public share subscription. in return for this privilege, the Bank loaned the Government £1.2 million at 8 per cent interest, plus an annual management fee of £4,000.
Sweden’s Riksbank is the oldest central bank, founded in 1668.
The current claimant for the world’s oldest surviving bank is italy’s Banca Monte dei Paschi de Siena, founded in 1472. however, its finances are in a perilous state. Lyn Pask, Blackwood, Gwent.
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