That extra pants pocket restores faith in you people
Today’s question;
Why do men’s trouser pockets only on the right side have that extra pocket in the pocket? And what is the purpose of the small pocket?
Sometimes late at night when sleep comes slowly and I’m staring at the ceiling wide awake and worrying about you people, one of the fears that plagues me is that someday you will run out of things to wonder about and I will be forced to think up these questions myself, which is beyond my abilities.
And then one of you always steps forward with something like this. It always eases my fears and restores my faith in you people.
That little pocket, either the one on your jeans or the one deep inside the right hand pocket of your other pants, is there for a perfectly good reason. It’s there because it’s the cowboy way.
Years ago, kiddies, people wore wristwatches instead of just looking at their phones. And before they wore wristwatches they carried pocket watches.
Men carried pocket watches in their vests, sometimes with a fancy chain and fob.
And then along came Levi Strauss, outfitter of the Old West.
Strauss realized the cowboy lifestyle meant your watch might easily fall out of your vest pocket so he stitched in an inner pocket to pack your timepiece.
According to a Levi Strauss website, “Originally included as protection for pocket watches, this extra pouch has
served many functions, evident in its many titles: frontier pocket, condom pocket, coin pocket, match pocket and ticket pocket, to name a few.”
We’ve had record high temperatures and the majority of leaves still remain on our trees. Will the high temps prevent the usual sprouting of new growth in spring? Have faith, friend. The sun will come up tomorrow. Spring will bring new life.
Have a question for Clay? Reach him at 602-444-8612 or clay.thompson@ arizonarepublic.com