koopkooper
Practically Family
- Messages
- 610
- Location
- Sydney Australia
OUTRAGE is the first thing that I feel when the simple act of reaching for my handkerchief is met with such an unpleasant reception by others.
To think that such an item, once a luxury embraced by French courtiers at the time of Henry II, made with the finest and most expensive fabrics - a symbol of aristocracy - would today be ridiculed by many as an unhygienic safe-haven of germs? A tool of German royalty and even found in the court of Richard II, King of England, the handkerchief is an instrument that has been endorsed by the highest ranks of society.
So why is it that today the handkerchief is more often than not used purely in jest?
The number of lives the handkerchief has saved throughout history would surely be enough to invoke respect within society - yes, that's right, how many men in times of crisis, at the brink of defeat and certain death, have turned to a white handkerchief to surrender?
Today it is the tissue that rules, but did you know that Kleenex initially sold the tissue as a make-up remover, believing that a disposable handkerchief would not sell?
While it may be true that the handkerchief has suffered bad PR of late, its adoption by so many gangs as a glorified bandanna may just ensure its survival, at least for the moment.
Let's look at the big issues. The use of a handkerchief is undoubtedly an environmentally sound practice, saving the use of so many tissues, but what about hygiene? Any normal person would change handkerchiefs at least daily, to be washed and reused; so unless you are an enormous germaphobe, I must insist that the miniscule hygiene concern is greatly outweighed by the long-term conservation that this medium allows.
With each passing day of new technology and ideas, I do question whether, after 400 years of use, the handkerchief's survival is at risk. If it is not reinvented soon, if we do not start to see film stars blowing their noses into handkerchiefs, if we don't see them taken into space as an astronaut essential, we could be at risk of losing a modern-day piece of history that fits right into our pockets.
Even as a simple inclusion in the breast pocket of a man's suit, the once commonplace proud white handkerchief has become rare. Are we losing merely a snot-cloth or a vestige of our ancestors, to be carried with pride?
If you still strongly support the death of the handkerchief, then, my friend, I will pray for you on that rainy day when you have to try surrendering with a tissue.
To think that such an item, once a luxury embraced by French courtiers at the time of Henry II, made with the finest and most expensive fabrics - a symbol of aristocracy - would today be ridiculed by many as an unhygienic safe-haven of germs? A tool of German royalty and even found in the court of Richard II, King of England, the handkerchief is an instrument that has been endorsed by the highest ranks of society.
So why is it that today the handkerchief is more often than not used purely in jest?
The number of lives the handkerchief has saved throughout history would surely be enough to invoke respect within society - yes, that's right, how many men in times of crisis, at the brink of defeat and certain death, have turned to a white handkerchief to surrender?
Today it is the tissue that rules, but did you know that Kleenex initially sold the tissue as a make-up remover, believing that a disposable handkerchief would not sell?
While it may be true that the handkerchief has suffered bad PR of late, its adoption by so many gangs as a glorified bandanna may just ensure its survival, at least for the moment.
Let's look at the big issues. The use of a handkerchief is undoubtedly an environmentally sound practice, saving the use of so many tissues, but what about hygiene? Any normal person would change handkerchiefs at least daily, to be washed and reused; so unless you are an enormous germaphobe, I must insist that the miniscule hygiene concern is greatly outweighed by the long-term conservation that this medium allows.
With each passing day of new technology and ideas, I do question whether, after 400 years of use, the handkerchief's survival is at risk. If it is not reinvented soon, if we do not start to see film stars blowing their noses into handkerchiefs, if we don't see them taken into space as an astronaut essential, we could be at risk of losing a modern-day piece of history that fits right into our pockets.
Even as a simple inclusion in the breast pocket of a man's suit, the once commonplace proud white handkerchief has become rare. Are we losing merely a snot-cloth or a vestige of our ancestors, to be carried with pride?
If you still strongly support the death of the handkerchief, then, my friend, I will pray for you on that rainy day when you have to try surrendering with a tissue.
