Be my vile Valentine
QUESTION Why did the Victorians troll each other with hate mail known as vinegar valentines?
Vinegar valentine is the modern term for a Victorian phenomenon known as mock or mocking valentines. They were popular between 1840 and 1880, rivalling the sales of valentine cards.
Mocking valentines featured a crude caricature above an unpleasant little verse designed to offend or burst the pomposity of the intended recipient.
Some were designed as an antivalentine to ridicule a prospective lover, others to highlight a social ill, from poor manners and hygiene to pride and alcoholism. For instance, under a picture of a lady with a large nose, is the verse: ‘On account of your talk of others’ affairs At most dances you sit warming
the chairs. Because of the care with which
you attend, To all others’ business you haven’t
a friend.’
Then there’s one criticising bad table manners. This featured a picture of a rednosed man in a wig gnawing on a bone: ‘I can fancy Cupid’s vagaries, With many a horrid grin, Yet hoping for a heart, my boy, I merely
find a skin! You can play upon an instrument, As we can plainly see, Yet my jolly fine bone polisher, You’ll never play on me.’ another featured a grotesque woman playing the piano and caterwauling: ‘You are a nerve-destroyer When a pig’s getting slaughtered,
the noise that it makes Is sweeter by far than your trills and
your shakes; And the howling of cats in the backyard
at night, Compared with your singing’s a dream
of delight. Your squalls and your bawls are such
torture to hear. A man almost wishes he had not an ear: If someone would choke you, and thus
end their pain. Hearty thanks from your poor distressed
neighbours he’d gain.’ Some were aimed at local tradesmen. One, to a butcher, states: ‘You’re greasy as the pork you sell,
And tough just like your beef; Your customers who know you well, All hope you’ll come to grief.’
as in internet trolling, the attraction of writing a vinegar valentine was the thrill of being nasty with the safety of being anonymous. it was also a backlash against the commercialisation of Valentine’s Day and the sickly sweet cards popular in the era.
at a deeper level, these cards criticised behaviour that deviated from social norms. in a moralising era, they functioned as a kind of society policing: anonymous, they could speak on behalf of many; under the cover of humour, they exercised a collective social control.
Rachel Pringle, Nottingham.
QUESTION In comparison to man-made pollution, how does the Hawaiian volcano measure up?
VOlcanOeS emit cO2 through eruptions and lava flows. another source is the carbon dioxide released through hydrothermal vents along the midatlantic ridge — the world’s longest mountain range, deep under the ocean.
it has been estimated that 0.645billion tons of cO2 per year is emitted by the world’s volcanoes. This can be compared with humanity’s 29billion tons per year, which is 45 times higher.
large, violent eruptions may match the rate of human emissions for the few hours they last, but are too rare and fleeting to rival annual emissions.
emissions from volcanoes are dangerous at a local level. cO2 trapped in low-lying areas can be lethal to people and animals. Sulphur dioxide is irritating to the eyes, skin and respiratory system.
Hydrogen sulphide is toxic in high concentrations while hydrogen halides can poison drinking water.
rather than warming the global climate, volcanic eruptions can have the opposite effect because carbon dioxide isn’t the only thing ejected into the atmosphere.
Volcanic ash and microscopic particles reflect sunlight back into space, cooling the climate.
The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora produced enough ash in the atmosphere to cancel summer in europe and north america in 1816.
Dr Ian Smith, Cambridge.
QUESTION Is it true that hundreds of soldiers were killed in a rehearsal for the D-Day landings?
THe earlier answer related that the Slapton Sands memorial to the hundreds killed during exercise Tiger was down to the work of local resident Ken Small.
He told his story in his compelling book The Forgotten Dead and devoted his time, energy and financial resources to bringing this wartime tragedy to wider public notice.
in all weathers, every day except christmas Day, he’d stand in the car park at Slapton Sands selling signed copies of his book from the boot of his car.
i was at Slapton the day after the Sherman tank was hauled out of the sea. it was in the car park dripping water.
Ken died in 2004 after being honoured by ronald reagan for his efforts to establish the memorial to U.S. soldiers at Slapton Sands.
Barry Read, Sittingbourne, Kent.