tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19737597026778552392024-03-20T16:45:46.533-05:00Prairie StoriesThe Museum of the Grand Prairie is located in Mahomet, Illinois. We are part of the Champaign County Forest Preserve District, and our mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret the natural and cultural history of Champaign County and East Central Illinois.
Through diverse experiences, we seek to inspire our audiences with a sense of connection to, and stewardship of, their natural and cultural world. Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-49133295392629052512016-10-17T12:00:00.000-05:002016-10-17T13:57:14.140-05:00....And we're back with a new Mystery Artifact! <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's been a little while, but we're back with another edition of Mystery Artifact! Wooooo!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did you miss me? </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, even if you didn't, here’s this week’s artifact:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzNnJ6DBXv6ZyShVFmQW2abBVsc1SpxD4RvqLlNfAbE7x52wGbveA16Na05aXwWA1PxZEbKnHNMr8QeRSDM1BkRx6F-uxwl3xmWXCmobJKf3d-oa6u1USA8dYbBw9wm1lAFtY9PRwTm0/s1600/IMG_9564.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFzNnJ6DBXv6ZyShVFmQW2abBVsc1SpxD4RvqLlNfAbE7x52wGbveA16Na05aXwWA1PxZEbKnHNMr8QeRSDM1BkRx6F-uxwl3xmWXCmobJKf3d-oa6u1USA8dYbBw9wm1lAFtY9PRwTm0/s400/IMG_9564.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Just kidding, I know you can tell it's much more than that!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRPbimETmz5PFYg43-5zFpKjcry1sF4wWkQj2IUw-Y2IHKOaJzvMa5Qa0x0gCX0UqZQjJypfndua84cLUJFRXJjWZuzvemtcpMyD9QA494AcXVpfTJyaKdccK8rvGE-zTzJA27UlNGu8/s1600/IMG_9574.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrRPbimETmz5PFYg43-5zFpKjcry1sF4wWkQj2IUw-Y2IHKOaJzvMa5Qa0x0gCX0UqZQjJypfndua84cLUJFRXJjWZuzvemtcpMyD9QA494AcXVpfTJyaKdccK8rvGE-zTzJA27UlNGu8/s400/IMG_9574.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are three cylinders that protrude from this artifact. One sits in the center of the front of the object, and the other two (which are smaller) sit towards the front on the top. They each have a circle of glass sitting within them. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Also of note is the back part of this strange object! …. This section can slide back and forth on a track, which reveals an apparatus that can be seen in the photo below:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvOzr9gkKh1rofLBtnLaCuflmEShH6adtcThN45SkCF7Ulq3_4R4L46n27bOCBkq3LpPnp8XLWYHqVyy0acUHsebEyVrwg1byagFeP2kcFeMLW7aB9XNF-9oqjUh9OpLH_wiM5XPNyvc/s1600/IMG_9559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDvOzr9gkKh1rofLBtnLaCuflmEShH6adtcThN45SkCF7Ulq3_4R4L46n27bOCBkq3LpPnp8XLWYHqVyy0acUHsebEyVrwg1byagFeP2kcFeMLW7aB9XNF-9oqjUh9OpLH_wiM5XPNyvc/s400/IMG_9559.jpg" width="346" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9vE6x_8O2ZuoKTlqaWMsGN8mcqT0Or4of_hev9RLyTAsjdxWUjbKI7uX1_CkaSw22YTX5-yoBKetzHCpDbCSqz0cApMsX_f1CqtkFpDHO_XlikvfRRVSq-EkBchINQ6V76xyn1OK7SY/s1600/IMG_9600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj9vE6x_8O2ZuoKTlqaWMsGN8mcqT0Or4of_hev9RLyTAsjdxWUjbKI7uX1_CkaSw22YTX5-yoBKetzHCpDbCSqz0cApMsX_f1CqtkFpDHO_XlikvfRRVSq-EkBchINQ6V76xyn1OK7SY/s400/IMG_9600.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I know you can see the name of this artifact in the pictures, but try to guess what it is without googling that name! Let us know what you think on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. And of course, you can always comment on this post with your guesses. If you need a closer look at this artifact, please come visit us! We are open 1-5 pm daily. The answer will be coming soon!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwyjJxtcioTQSIOcGZIJa_y9F_MSBmeBqMCQil3dg3IMIPJItWN4LmTDfNNay2PQFp5LNkrw9pL-uSXZUpNzOYH8aLBV9RLHf61uQov6K2ggIT0BunTR5EkHLE3C1RvDI53bk6JVISeE/s1600/IMG_9524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwyjJxtcioTQSIOcGZIJa_y9F_MSBmeBqMCQil3dg3IMIPJItWN4LmTDfNNay2PQFp5LNkrw9pL-uSXZUpNzOYH8aLBV9RLHf61uQov6K2ggIT0BunTR5EkHLE3C1RvDI53bk6JVISeE/s400/IMG_9524.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-50498828423721582242016-09-20T16:01:00.000-05:002016-10-17T10:18:56.225-05:00Did You Pick Out the Correct Answer for this Mystery Artifact?<div class="gmail-p1" style="font-family: times;">
I’m here again to let you know some information about an artifact from our collection. It’s last week’s mystery artifact and it looks like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICXtfaFz_BO6AUKA2ruCNvCw9O6aJGtMGgVhFqVUlJkmx8v1pM2gkTooUh7g1tkxSkrzUEi4-ry4VPp8IBKpU2Uh7-s5OzU9bWVbl7sC-fCOQv29Sz1GoQ9f2J-7yn_noU5Gi2bBBYco/s1600/IMG_9459.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICXtfaFz_BO6AUKA2ruCNvCw9O6aJGtMGgVhFqVUlJkmx8v1pM2gkTooUh7g1tkxSkrzUEi4-ry4VPp8IBKpU2Uh7-s5OzU9bWVbl7sC-fCOQv29Sz1GoQ9f2J-7yn_noU5Gi2bBBYco/s400/IMG_9459.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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We had some pretty good guesses: an egg mixer, a rug beater, a lightbulb changer…but this artifact is in fact a sort of seasonally appropriate artifact, as fall is about to start. It's an apple picker, or an "apple-picker basket." </div>
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Maybe you’ve seen something like this before. If you’ve been to an apple orchard where they let you pick your own apples, they might offer you a tool that looks like this:</div>
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSr77P977y06B5lvcyM9brxuL8NzeJWwgyRXivuCSgnL8u_YI77H9furnSb6zuZaOaq-H8bhMLxUbd7BTkntF98GxfeZfphu1Q4RdGvkF59giKyh3Y7yuvJOFTsIpMGA8B9XooVhH2oZc/s1600/49ca1a6f-1c43-48fa-95f8-e56e995ba4ae_1000.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSr77P977y06B5lvcyM9brxuL8NzeJWwgyRXivuCSgnL8u_YI77H9furnSb6zuZaOaq-H8bhMLxUbd7BTkntF98GxfeZfphu1Q4RdGvkF59giKyh3Y7yuvJOFTsIpMGA8B9XooVhH2oZc/s400/49ca1a6f-1c43-48fa-95f8-e56e995ba4ae_1000.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="gmail-tr-caption" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 4px;">This one has a little piece of foam at the bottom for a safe place for your fruit to land.</td></tr>
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With both the one seen above and our mystery artifact, you use it to pull apples or other tree-fruits from high branches. How do you do this? It’s pretty simple: you place the picker around the apple you’d like to pick and gently pull away from the tree. If the fruit is ripe enough, it should drop right into the basket of the fruit picker, and you can put it in your bag for safekeeping. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHgNywa76nRKJDzQsXFfS1EBQy8XaYcEda9usd7J0wmEBi5HaK5SWrljvzcFD_ri_G7nntkrs8kl5OkIfa8sIH8LhuETZU-wh-0T9FZgHb4XZOwDUXOCYBqINleCsFOYvR-tiDc-yl80/s1600/apple-picking-bag-picktheworld.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHgNywa76nRKJDzQsXFfS1EBQy8XaYcEda9usd7J0wmEBi5HaK5SWrljvzcFD_ri_G7nntkrs8kl5OkIfa8sIH8LhuETZU-wh-0T9FZgHb4XZOwDUXOCYBqINleCsFOYvR-tiDc-yl80/s320/apple-picking-bag-picktheworld.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There are other types of apple pickers, including this one, that allows you to clamp onto the fruit and twist it to get it to release from the branch. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyC2K-NrKTLgtGVanyTzLTtHh4q7fGv8fWdJOhCXa-M0gTsEL_4ILyDOhKGVhMuWhTdNJKmTPAPXieQMHQwbIuILowuzC-M-cmyXncrFc0L03ZvruPPlYad-L85JRUxuQAXKqi94GY9g/s1600/31UC%252B-fFAaL.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyC2K-NrKTLgtGVanyTzLTtHh4q7fGv8fWdJOhCXa-M0gTsEL_4ILyDOhKGVhMuWhTdNJKmTPAPXieQMHQwbIuILowuzC-M-cmyXncrFc0L03ZvruPPlYad-L85JRUxuQAXKqi94GY9g/s320/31UC%252B-fFAaL.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
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Also, there are varieties with a cloth bag instead of a wire basket, which allows for less bruising of the fruit when it drops. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPCUiQLeDft9rmesAc-0FedE9VV98VQjZjR2c-ZEkWRTX3Q2V9_1w2pBFsP0p_kAF_hPZRMdNwaOdT9gYvmgmz9uSW4NJoKHC4kAACbHmj6DVOt-VHUhHLACFih1MF9Aa4EsgCGKYpaA/s1600/GGT-241_large.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPCUiQLeDft9rmesAc-0FedE9VV98VQjZjR2c-ZEkWRTX3Q2V9_1w2pBFsP0p_kAF_hPZRMdNwaOdT9gYvmgmz9uSW4NJoKHC4kAACbHmj6DVOt-VHUhHLACFih1MF9Aa4EsgCGKYpaA/s400/GGT-241_large.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Most of these types of tools have very long handles so that someone can pick high up fruit from standing on the ground. What's strange is our example, the Mystery Artifact is actually not that long. We're not quite sure what that is. It's possible someone who owned this one added a shorter stick. Even though this wouldn't help them get fruit from the highest branches, it would definitely help with things that are out of reach, and perhaps even would help quite a bit when using a ladder.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopHofJrg381NYGRzsptNeXcVnujGacNMB-3IZpxnzVZZthOb7L1VWZmQKLh9DZcNzbuTNSotw143Wr9sdoPUWB5JFnc8VyoHFBrfPedbLAh3rp9oX6jjbr59J01Z_KJ8hDlWb5beSYWE/s1600/Orchard.harvest.jpg" style="color: #1155cc; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiopHofJrg381NYGRzsptNeXcVnujGacNMB-3IZpxnzVZZthOb7L1VWZmQKLh9DZcNzbuTNSotw143Wr9sdoPUWB5JFnc8VyoHFBrfPedbLAh3rp9oX6jjbr59J01Z_KJ8hDlWb5beSYWE/s400/Orchard.harvest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Have you ever used one of these before? Does this make you wanna go out to your local orchard and pick apples? Let us know what you think about this mystery artifact, and stay tuned for a new one soon. Of course, you can always come in to the museum to check out this artifact, a number of our past mysteries, and so much more. We're open daily 1-5 pm. Thanks for reading!</div>
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Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-75086036481637188312016-09-12T13:40:00.000-05:002016-09-12T13:59:47.772-05:00C'mon and tell us what this Mystery Artifact is!<div style="text-align: center;">
It's Mystery Artifact time!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJshIZ1bHzs4ppjUqbItymDqVOg3LCXj7q_XeAtuafTdK0nyabA4fDQoOe3IV-3HEHocMCssfe0gYtkJ4qcHqqYXS4CVonKEnbNp1IuqSLhHCxwZFe1_Yrrl87B9T8tlhW-I8o5a_sX4/s1600/IMG_9459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJshIZ1bHzs4ppjUqbItymDqVOg3LCXj7q_XeAtuafTdK0nyabA4fDQoOe3IV-3HEHocMCssfe0gYtkJ4qcHqqYXS4CVonKEnbNp1IuqSLhHCxwZFe1_Yrrl87B9T8tlhW-I8o5a_sX4/s400/IMG_9459.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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Here's this week's object: It has a wooden handle and a top section made of wire. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU6KL953SoQH1HKm6p-2WX4XAFRzMhz6J5Waqhx9mJ1AjRKITTUaqtzUEUFhCvOUT-7lIk941zgkVcfPevI7Krl-5Ivs0HizBRj2i2gft-eobDwctjbzJrIlu-LO8y_9R5BCSNrHxvRs/s1600/IMG_9477.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU6KL953SoQH1HKm6p-2WX4XAFRzMhz6J5Waqhx9mJ1AjRKITTUaqtzUEUFhCvOUT-7lIk941zgkVcfPevI7Krl-5Ivs0HizBRj2i2gft-eobDwctjbzJrIlu-LO8y_9R5BCSNrHxvRs/s400/IMG_9477.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8Irxd2POixNAGuLQRA6frNPC3MNO_qzrqs8gAH75nGrAzBeDD-EhsD3i2tcaisSm7Oa59r7kZEcuAhQWgXVFL8WPCThcmKtE24LpB3vpOzz8Db_Ar0IZKMiIC7VXxgxZaSgdibJt_w4/s1600/IMG_9454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY8Irxd2POixNAGuLQRA6frNPC3MNO_qzrqs8gAH75nGrAzBeDD-EhsD3i2tcaisSm7Oa59r7kZEcuAhQWgXVFL8WPCThcmKtE24LpB3vpOzz8Db_Ar0IZKMiIC7VXxgxZaSgdibJt_w4/s400/IMG_9454.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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The basket on the top of the artifact is sort of egg-shaped. It has an opening in the front and loops that come to a point on the sides. It's about 9 inches from top to bottom, and less than 6 inches wide. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDPgJfaij7BcLioCHan_gWFp781pIQSMi5ony6aoOKcnzAIdwVXVveFdlwY18cwYdHnLAd2lmGyInuGjju-YOLXrkAGGAAPzZGoiZyKPbfAmndKXqg-z4Sudxg7RYnI8PMJk5eGs-SmI/s1600/IMG_9491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCDPgJfaij7BcLioCHan_gWFp781pIQSMi5ony6aoOKcnzAIdwVXVveFdlwY18cwYdHnLAd2lmGyInuGjju-YOLXrkAGGAAPzZGoiZyKPbfAmndKXqg-z4Sudxg7RYnI8PMJk5eGs-SmI/s400/IMG_9491.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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The handle on the bottom is wooden, square, painted red, and about 26 inches long. </div>
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It's a pretty simple artifact, so perhaps it's simple to figure out its use? Let us know if you know what it is! You can let us know your guesses/answers here on the blog, by telling us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/museumofthegrandprairie/">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/musgrandprairie">tweeting at us,</a> or even by commenting on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/museumofthegrandprairie/">our Instagram</a>. </div>
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If you need a closer look at this artifact or just want to check out some of the other recent mystery artifacts (or any of our great exhibits), you can always come to the museum. We're open daily from 1pm - 5pm. Come visit us!</div>
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Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-15746591628215230492016-09-06T15:57:00.000-05:002016-09-06T15:57:02.594-05:00A Red Hot Mystery Artifact Reveal...<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Hello again! Last call for any guesses on this here Mystery Artifact? We got a guess for the lantern on an old firetruck, but it's a little stranger than that...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5P-8zcAjpyrzmB8a0wcQwcszU4VoRgGT68wc8Sn-kBWqi-ImRbYkqZSNdx2tNCznETDtMFYmyvuh9ihpUUDQ1-_yq9qAXnlGX3gY4tFFtwieMzMNiDC0_A7eROyQmrZf3QGQq4zg-piI/s1600/DSCF8161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5P-8zcAjpyrzmB8a0wcQwcszU4VoRgGT68wc8Sn-kBWqi-ImRbYkqZSNdx2tNCznETDtMFYmyvuh9ihpUUDQ1-_yq9qAXnlGX3gY4tFFtwieMzMNiDC0_A7eROyQmrZf3QGQq4zg-piI/s400/DSCF8161.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZHMhjBz6CtItGG5UQaVvB8GhS0eJZqI1CEaMXI005Hv26OmMMoDW0hEwMZlGNDeoBmNWs1mzDonk2wr4THG6mgr1ZyuBxoqhBgEqYYuYfWYEdH1pE3Bgz0s-BP9ut1Nzpn4DqWXPHo14/s1600/DSCF8182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZHMhjBz6CtItGG5UQaVvB8GhS0eJZqI1CEaMXI005Hv26OmMMoDW0hEwMZlGNDeoBmNWs1mzDonk2wr4THG6mgr1ZyuBxoqhBgEqYYuYfWYEdH1pE3Bgz0s-BP9ut1Nzpn4DqWXPHo14/s400/DSCF8182.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">This is a heater for a car...more specifically, for the engine block of a car. Perhaps the patent for this mystery artifact can explain it better: </span><i>The invention relates to portable oil burning
heaters of the distillate type which are especially adapted for keeping warm the motors of automobiles and airplanes when stored in unheated
garages or parked in the open in localities subject to low temperatures. </i></div>
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<span class="s1">The way you use this artifact is to hang it by the hook under the hood of one's car. Though this might seem weird now, the patent is from 1940, when the hoods of cars were much more likely to fit something like this heater. </span><br />
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<span class="s1"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EyGaKkgv_JAaipkiCWWhcNz8CSchsrrfsAm0EVijhmHnAye5-ieK3rYy_k8wVMJHrQT-kthDYuE0-gB3t-5PAAn5o4ZZpNM847-rqIaLpkIUAlxmuYGW0vCjZzNDBM3GJlz5vo_YqEM/s1600/CAR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6EyGaKkgv_JAaipkiCWWhcNz8CSchsrrfsAm0EVijhmHnAye5-ieK3rYy_k8wVMJHrQT-kthDYuE0-gB3t-5PAAn5o4ZZpNM847-rqIaLpkIUAlxmuYGW0vCjZzNDBM3GJlz5vo_YqEM/s400/CAR.png" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="s1">The canister at the bottom is meant to be filled up with kerosene, and inside the cylindrical part on the top is where the flame sits. The can-like cylindrical part on the top of this object is actually just a snuffer, and it would be used with the screen underneath exposed. The patent for the artifact says this is ok because: "</span>air can enter through the screen but flame
cannot pass from the interior to the exterior of
the screen there is no liability of explosion or
danger of accidental fire."<br />
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<span class="s1">These days, a very similar kind of thing is used, but without the flame (which seems a little scary, right?). Many people, especially in northern states here in the U.S., Canada, Scandinavia and so on, use something called a block heater, which is a heater inside the hood of their car. These block heaters are powered by electricity, and is usually plugged into an outside outlet, like this:</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AeFGY0XbayrK5VedGRxhsfBxVLbNI9pFCPFyjJtrDDhlLeF-97rbxGHSDPJayu6Ys5PbPOvJJxzXcUtEKCn5OSdaPDDDq9yXWs-jb6GY8zYHvmq_JMDlgd7EihufeamMBhIJRjAJuao/s1600/Standheizung-Schweden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7AeFGY0XbayrK5VedGRxhsfBxVLbNI9pFCPFyjJtrDDhlLeF-97rbxGHSDPJayu6Ys5PbPOvJJxzXcUtEKCn5OSdaPDDDq9yXWs-jb6GY8zYHvmq_JMDlgd7EihufeamMBhIJRjAJuao/s400/Standheizung-Schweden.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A block heater in use in Sweden.<br /></td></tr>
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<span class="s1">Both the modern block heaters and these kerosene ones were meant to keep a few things in particular warm. Block heaters keep coolant warm. I know, that sounds weird, doesn’t it? The coolant spreads the heat that it receives throughout the engine block, and that makes it easier for the car to start. One of the most important things that gets heated in this process is the motor oil, which can congeal at low temperatures. If it gets too cold, it's pretty much impossible for the oil to do its job of lubricating the engine. So, perhaps the heater doesn't keep the engine "red hot," but it does keep it warm enough to keep your automobile working safely. </span><br />
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I don't know about you, but I found this artifact pretty fascinating (and a little dangerous). I'm pretty glad it doesn't get quite cold enough here in central Illinois to need one of these heaters! <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Stay tuned for another mystery artifact! As always, if you're interested in a closer look at this or any of our recent mystery artifacts, please come visit us and take a look around the museum. We are now open 1-5 pm 7 days a week. </span><br />
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<br />Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-46599976598231966292016-08-29T10:44:00.001-05:002016-08-29T10:44:18.277-05:00Does this Mystery Artifact Raise a Red Flag? <div class="p1">
Good afternoon! </div>
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Are you ready for a new mystery artifact? Here’s this week’s challenge!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXGEZQ-SoE-Ipvvx6kPXE8wuZgGsXGqpMURX9onylvi3WBPQHZif2FkqpFsOpnVeOeLEIEeBxYEnRwrbt5MFEMyKvc3p6n0HU0nwh_jJeDxe1E-WAPm9Ma2AEHEkgb3mhOfFE4m_P-Fo/s1600/DSCF8190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzXGEZQ-SoE-Ipvvx6kPXE8wuZgGsXGqpMURX9onylvi3WBPQHZif2FkqpFsOpnVeOeLEIEeBxYEnRwrbt5MFEMyKvc3p6n0HU0nwh_jJeDxe1E-WAPm9Ma2AEHEkgb3mhOfFE4m_P-Fo/s400/DSCF8190.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s a metal artifact. It has two sections, the first being a wide base that has been painted red. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyeL-0oOzw_XxzgzysK2LHVgpgcU5Xp7AepJ8oPapvYQaIjG4VrCBeiDOcX7AxRGEU2rsdFJMVv57GUW_ncfRKZ5ROMQUKQsSAHuF8NPqzo9peSGgLLphvrL6woDTjRHNqo8t5IaM1O0/s1600/DSCF8161.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyeL-0oOzw_XxzgzysK2LHVgpgcU5Xp7AepJ8oPapvYQaIjG4VrCBeiDOcX7AxRGEU2rsdFJMVv57GUW_ncfRKZ5ROMQUKQsSAHuF8NPqzo9peSGgLLphvrL6woDTjRHNqo8t5IaM1O0/s400/DSCF8161.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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One side of this base part has a small handle attached. There's also a twist-on cap on this part, opposite the handle. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OaeRuyyUZ7Ughf0kwKSlIw5wBsVa3lh6DEsEM5NHTldhkBVU5Veare9-ZE03uMtNDn3U7WZyYB5smwcCGxdEu5rdOgW8yJLUXTXxXC9qc-hnBDCfN7aG2kLAoCnqZjYMWfFFxnH0eGA/s1600/DSCF8168.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5OaeRuyyUZ7Ughf0kwKSlIw5wBsVa3lh6DEsEM5NHTldhkBVU5Veare9-ZE03uMtNDn3U7WZyYB5smwcCGxdEu5rdOgW8yJLUXTXxXC9qc-hnBDCfN7aG2kLAoCnqZjYMWfFFxnH0eGA/s400/DSCF8168.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's also a sticker label that should be on the front here, where the red is a lighter shade.</td></tr>
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The second part is the narrower top section, also made of metal, but without a paint job. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCsItk7q8lNDfWxAh_DX5olfrOmR5EnvEbG_lINJEfur7xWYJM0WEvb6oSw3b56c7nojVL6c3IlLUbDIOWH3I8tHfeVpulqPWvUuOxTqO9T0qAcZyU4sb23A_uEI_u83UPM151fVKA2o/s1600/DSCF8201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrCsItk7q8lNDfWxAh_DX5olfrOmR5EnvEbG_lINJEfur7xWYJM0WEvb6oSw3b56c7nojVL6c3IlLUbDIOWH3I8tHfeVpulqPWvUuOxTqO9T0qAcZyU4sb23A_uEI_u83UPM151fVKA2o/s400/DSCF8201.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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This section has a removable cover, and under the cover, it looks like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgABZYEc18E6V3laigV8tFZ7-FHGO6N8N2jVdOzxti9RfZnkUZYTTkPmsWTBip8MLs7oImFBumZfdvR4MT5DGjm6YReqvu0ynXe8-YqTOtz8fok1uI7f1WhlyCeGWd50kQirgvp9YzI5MQ/s1600/DSCF8182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgABZYEc18E6V3laigV8tFZ7-FHGO6N8N2jVdOzxti9RfZnkUZYTTkPmsWTBip8MLs7oImFBumZfdvR4MT5DGjm6YReqvu0ynXe8-YqTOtz8fok1uI7f1WhlyCeGWd50kQirgvp9YzI5MQ/s400/DSCF8182.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Lastly, towards the bottom of the upper section of the artifact, a wire is connected on either side, which extends to a hook at the end. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9KA1G0xhH_Ef2ywHTfEkWfIE_5t1STkMzRDvYPZ5UpsTBFsT65LybcZNMLzaA5m2WG2KOXFsvRmzO77KqON4WtvE1Y4Shplrsyg2z6y-YxghkWdLIb-wne0adFIqH4OlpZKlf9hi8vU/s1600/DSCF8155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9KA1G0xhH_Ef2ywHTfEkWfIE_5t1STkMzRDvYPZ5UpsTBFsT65LybcZNMLzaA5m2WG2KOXFsvRmzO77KqON4WtvE1Y4Shplrsyg2z6y-YxghkWdLIb-wne0adFIqH4OlpZKlf9hi8vU/s400/DSCF8155.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What is your purpose, little hook?</td></tr>
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Just so you know the scale we’re talking about, here’s the measurements: It is about 8 inches tall, the diameter of the red base part is about inches and the diameter of the top part is 3 1/4 inches. The wire is 8 inches from its connection to the artifact to the end of the hook. </div>
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Do you have a guess as to what this mystery could be? We always like to hear to your guesses, so don't be shy! <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">You can comment here, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Museum-of-the-Grand-Prairie-122468977814451/" style="background-color: white; color: #774c00; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;">on our Facebook page</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/musgrandprairie" style="background-color: white; color: #774c00; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;">tweet</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"> the answer at us, or </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/museumofthegrandprairie/" style="background-color: white; color: #774c00; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;">comment on Instagram</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">! Of course, you can always take a look in person and see all the great stuff happening at the museum!</span></div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-79424368153991009632016-08-22T14:02:00.000-05:002016-08-22T14:02:34.477-05:00Did This Mystery Artifact Catch Your Eye? Time to Reveal It!<div class="p1">
Hello!</div>
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Perhaps you guessed this one correctly, or perhaps you had no idea, but today we will be talking about this mystery artifact:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgIx5Z4-cgfaCMPGZY_TU7_Sv6wibpEAZZ9wxON8XsqX7FRjv-CJefqJ79Qp90CyoINIdFx8rAHEWiQKwcGz1LcJNy9WllrgbMxK6Xs2f57i8IPlAcCPOcXHubobeL1u1AnN4Qh9If3o/s1600/DSCF8063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsgIx5Z4-cgfaCMPGZY_TU7_Sv6wibpEAZZ9wxON8XsqX7FRjv-CJefqJ79Qp90CyoINIdFx8rAHEWiQKwcGz1LcJNy9WllrgbMxK6Xs2f57i8IPlAcCPOcXHubobeL1u1AnN4Qh9If3o/s400/DSCF8063.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s a mousetrap! We got one guess of "animal trap" which was essentially correct! Hooray!</div>
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To be a little more specific, this kind of mousetrap is called a “delusion trap" and was invented in 1879. That name seems a little mean to me, but let’s look at exactly why they call it that. </div>
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To start, we have to look at how exactly this trap works. The bait, usually cheese of course, is inserted on the little ledge at the back of the left side of the trap. Then how are the mice trapped? The metal floor on the the left side is <i>basically</i> a see-saw. It is tilted towards the front normally, but as the critter walks toward its bait, the metal floor tilts toward the back of the trap, blocking the way back out. </div>
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From there, they’d try to get out of the trap through a little hole to the side of the entrance, which can be seen in the photo below: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgixZMyQUwHG0ObCwTtIw7KA4ImaYYlKPbdBxoWNkb1MAqVh9gzlQ8XBffZ6xs_bBjl4K6uVESSTSNkXCwrxBzXrz2GpPa-h_MgNW61DDPylHKjvmOGJxVczbmmKYF_xOGlJu6KFQAsKU/s1600/DSCF8083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgixZMyQUwHG0ObCwTtIw7KA4ImaYYlKPbdBxoWNkb1MAqVh9gzlQ8XBffZ6xs_bBjl4K6uVESSTSNkXCwrxBzXrz2GpPa-h_MgNW61DDPylHKjvmOGJxVczbmmKYF_xOGlJu6KFQAsKU/s320/DSCF8083.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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They are then stuck in the left side of the trap for however long it takes for someone to notice they’re in there. Because the trap is set up like that, it’s possible for many mice to get stuck in the same trap. </div>
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Or, here’s a much simpler description of what happens in this trap:</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pYQpK0YqKsSmTnoSkKG-9jCz7U399PIIcxpuy53Gc-h32pfRm3QROnpblcreeNGsDOagfW_0eZcmMln-FHfE58O8HzR-wrrNKUJUcGex33X-MWer4FwgiLESpGsnRqkBw-On_g_tyqs/s1600/11825921_918227804922235_140297134187023916_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pYQpK0YqKsSmTnoSkKG-9jCz7U399PIIcxpuy53Gc-h32pfRm3QROnpblcreeNGsDOagfW_0eZcmMln-FHfE58O8HzR-wrrNKUJUcGex33X-MWer4FwgiLESpGsnRqkBw-On_g_tyqs/s400/11825921_918227804922235_140297134187023916_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The mouse goes in to get the bait,<br />And shuts the door by his own weight,<br />And then he jumps right through a hole,<br />And thinks he's out; but bless his soul,<br />He's in a cage somehow or other,<br />And sets the trap to catch another."</td></tr>
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There is little information about what is done with the mice after they are stuck in the “holding area” in this trap. It seems there’s two ways the mice could be dealt with after being caught alive like this. One, the more humane way, is to let them go in the wild very far away from one’s home, so they can’t find their way back. However, there’s also the more permanent way of getting rid of these mice, by killing them. For the delusion traps, that was usually done by putting them in water so that the mice would die of drowning. </div>
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Or something a little more unfortunate could cause the mouse's demise. As <a href="http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/merl/2016/02/03/155-year-old-mouse-trap-claims-its-latest-victim/">in the case of one particular catch-alive trap in a museum in England,</a> it could get stuck in a mousetrap and be found a while later. How sad! This is a very strange story, you should check it out!</div>
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Thanks for reading about this Mystery Artifact! We'll be back soon with a new one. <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We'd love it if you came to visit to check out many of our previous mysteries in person, or just to have a look around the museum. The Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit Water/Ways won't be around at our museum much longer so check it out while you still can! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We are open 10 am - 5 pm Monday through Saturday, and 1 pm-5pm on Sundays. </span></div>
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Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-48012678825499118442016-08-15T12:22:00.001-05:002016-08-15T12:22:46.591-05:00Guess What! It's a Mystery Artifact!<div class="p1">
I often say how obvious these are but I really do feel that way about this one! Still, it's an interesting little artifact so let's take a look at it! </div>
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Here’s the next mystery artifact for you to puzzle over (or not):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtGBhZnqbBKN8-sObAGwyWNyu8qn2JerNlw_RCh5ZYtTAHZ0L6ucURjNciP9KiIrcaWtjbNBgLwwglPUgAPLHY71vg4WhsBiw_N5KFuTXYYyx2msEvcBnQVZhV58y-o0_hyphenhyphenw3rhTZRQA/s1600/DSCF8095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtGBhZnqbBKN8-sObAGwyWNyu8qn2JerNlw_RCh5ZYtTAHZ0L6ucURjNciP9KiIrcaWtjbNBgLwwglPUgAPLHY71vg4WhsBiw_N5KFuTXYYyx2msEvcBnQVZhV58y-o0_hyphenhyphenw3rhTZRQA/s400/DSCF8095.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s a small box (4 inches by 5 1/4 to be exact). The front, the base and the mechanisms inside are made of metal. The top, sides, and back are all made of wood. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhx_GhVOhpycXoptTaLGAJK8ky5YPmonvR44-mG10C_8OwW3Eg3V0rJ_BByaYn0YmjjMWdhQhi_K0wJVOMxOKxKgABxj7vK7ivMc1D6OO8qrz9uebUXj2xaVrRy_Cbw21CQn4tOUsA54/s1600/DSCF8057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhx_GhVOhpycXoptTaLGAJK8ky5YPmonvR44-mG10C_8OwW3Eg3V0rJ_BByaYn0YmjjMWdhQhi_K0wJVOMxOKxKgABxj7vK7ivMc1D6OO8qrz9uebUXj2xaVrRy_Cbw21CQn4tOUsA54/s400/DSCF8057.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BXxqMq8NNiWnVRQB1Mnz6RifGT1J0xrYR9aUFon8AIzwZ0Dtdm-KhuM60Ap0BdYt7AuRfqFrAz9YZILUL1vEwF2pUKfeCCH2ZeSe7Rx1BpQRfky93fnB7XQ8g5T-QsLF56rLszWixA4/s1600/DSCF8063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8BXxqMq8NNiWnVRQB1Mnz6RifGT1J0xrYR9aUFon8AIzwZ0Dtdm-KhuM60Ap0BdYt7AuRfqFrAz9YZILUL1vEwF2pUKfeCCH2ZeSe7Rx1BpQRfky93fnB7XQ8g5T-QsLF56rLszWixA4/s400/DSCF8063.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjakv_QjJOTRWzKfCFBfdRF8GZsLrwOumv0WmB9L-3wB7ghxaqjndvet5UitVcCr8xE8WZRIQH1OMcAbC2odfYz_6Rw9E-MMxkgT-ZIcOHRd08lLVP9r3-HUxjcuS1BGBaeiCnfASHIayg/s1600/DSCF8075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjakv_QjJOTRWzKfCFBfdRF8GZsLrwOumv0WmB9L-3wB7ghxaqjndvet5UitVcCr8xE8WZRIQH1OMcAbC2odfYz_6Rw9E-MMxkgT-ZIcOHRd08lLVP9r3-HUxjcuS1BGBaeiCnfASHIayg/s400/DSCF8075.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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On the front is a large hole leading to a flat metal surface that goes all the way back to the back of the object. To the left of that, there’s a series of smaller holes cut into the metal front. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswdJXo2m-gwXYrdADtSKWodDI6EfoyhS3Zj50UHaHY3WbkC-5SFRfLOiEMEKkCOP4tRYItJJfQ0SML1344eW9MrKqcjvU2dbdfJUTk5j3WjLvHl9jgBXhyRMMKDcquc0n30FMvBO3rv0/s1600/DSCF8091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswdJXo2m-gwXYrdADtSKWodDI6EfoyhS3Zj50UHaHY3WbkC-5SFRfLOiEMEKkCOP4tRYItJJfQ0SML1344eW9MrKqcjvU2dbdfJUTk5j3WjLvHl9jgBXhyRMMKDcquc0n30FMvBO3rv0/s400/DSCF8091.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Finally, there’s a panel on the top that can be removed to look into the inside. I could go on and on about the inside of this artifact, but I think that’s best saved for the reveal. </div>
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What is it? Let us know what you think (or what you know!). <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">You can comment here, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Museum-of-the-Grand-Prairie-122468977814451/" style="background-color: white; color: #774c00; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;">on our Facebook page</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">, </span><a href="https://twitter.com/musgrandprairie" style="background-color: white; color: #774c00; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;">tweet</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"> the answer at us, or </span><a href="https://www.instagram.com/museumofthegrandprairie/" style="background-color: white; color: #774c00; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px; text-decoration: none;">comment on Instagram</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">! Of course, you can always come see us and take a look in person!</span></div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-61560819214494508902016-08-03T07:15:00.000-05:002016-08-03T07:15:05.972-05:00A Mystery Solved is Music to My Ears.<div class="p1">
Hello again!</div>
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Today I get to tell you a little bit more about this strange little mystery artifact. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtmug2l_ygugvKvPZw1B9Lie2LLZJ0s54wbrp5DvwkK-v9L7D8NU1V2ZFL3EcM8CqyRwSV-o2R_CS7qYrImhnaRdNPwB2GeK9VnTgWvM8zIf6uezxMlOLDa_Yi0VNkI6jYmX6VNau8Z0/s1600/DSCF7987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtmug2l_ygugvKvPZw1B9Lie2LLZJ0s54wbrp5DvwkK-v9L7D8NU1V2ZFL3EcM8CqyRwSV-o2R_CS7qYrImhnaRdNPwB2GeK9VnTgWvM8zIf6uezxMlOLDa_Yi0VNkI6jYmX6VNau8Z0/s400/DSCF7987.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s a phonograph cylinder! Thanks to John for your guess on the blog!</div>
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But why is it a cylinder? Didn’t phonographs use old-fashioned records? The big flat discs? </div>
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Well, yes. But before the invention of that kind of record, there were these things. They were small cylindrical records, that worked pretty much the same way. The lines around the outside of the cylinder are actually grooves, much like the grooves on a record. The phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, while he was working on a way to transcribe telegraphs in order to play one on repeat. He first experimented with recording sound by embossing onto wax paper, then moved on to doing the same on cylinders covered in tin foil. The tin foil, however, only lasted for a few plays of the recording. The novelty of the invention wore off, and Edison instead started working on the incandescent lightbulb. </div>
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However, eventually, new cylinders were developed for phonographs, made of three different types of wax mixed together. Most early wax phonograph cylinders were generally brown, and looked like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSXJfeAsMKVAB9WFKo2AHZgK29qoqM1KHOnrS4sTDiz9UC5FhWFnClM-OamJCRHu6pFpi9bzqKl0fGxJ8jushXUrrEz-IZT9Fopdtz8jmjzScE2vZDweBOCoqiW9h09OtmXw7DIBjDTw/s1600/Brownwaxcylinders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWSXJfeAsMKVAB9WFKo2AHZgK29qoqM1KHOnrS4sTDiz9UC5FhWFnClM-OamJCRHu6pFpi9bzqKl0fGxJ8jushXUrrEz-IZT9Fopdtz8jmjzScE2vZDweBOCoqiW9h09OtmXw7DIBjDTw/s400/Brownwaxcylinders.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our mystery artifact, though, is an example of the next step in these cylinders. Called “Blue Amberol Records,” they are made of celluloid, a type of hard plastic. The strength of these cylinders is that they were “indestructible,” or at least they were much less likely to break down or degrade in quality after numerous plays through. These are actually even more durable than the disc records that came after them!</div>
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These kinds of cylinders were played on machines that look somewhat like what you expect when you hear the word "phonograph." This particular one in our collection is called an Amberola (like the Amberol records!) and was made by the Edison company:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCTHreB3IPA9X_zyuupNvcub0aCvGMOkpI1iJL0Feyp2_2HcTvGw3ZGzOXT_PJPNHC8IeLOkDdUXcjsMXj-rH1BlfiWVoDdDNBYOjn_LElPinlZ9QzGnIprtcBwoshHxG9sPYWTtzRHA/s1600/DSCF8023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwCTHreB3IPA9X_zyuupNvcub0aCvGMOkpI1iJL0Feyp2_2HcTvGw3ZGzOXT_PJPNHC8IeLOkDdUXcjsMXj-rH1BlfiWVoDdDNBYOjn_LElPinlZ9QzGnIprtcBwoshHxG9sPYWTtzRHA/s400/DSCF8023.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqfUaOeQiP3pCOPrdKhFsZR1qJovCkF4NbjfJkcZkq6mMq1oH6vD4AHI4GmkEx1-T12oE2aOHFzvnYHMggeuGbD5lxsgVkiv5VaGg32j7jxd5wjQO7pd_RhAYRfWWp7FPTYlJwpuz1zw/s1600/DSCF8026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqfUaOeQiP3pCOPrdKhFsZR1qJovCkF4NbjfJkcZkq6mMq1oH6vD4AHI4GmkEx1-T12oE2aOHFzvnYHMggeuGbD5lxsgVkiv5VaGg32j7jxd5wjQO7pd_RhAYRfWWp7FPTYlJwpuz1zw/s400/DSCF8026.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrx1NJ-AjQy2m1kW8ezY4HtZ4bZ1mbmBbaBzBeDQzXClmzNFfRrYyQQzHXI9u6xBba_VpVGUAbxG4Qw64ZW7WRkn8uHRCcgY96pBmH_SbwTXYIubsb-96fnrCtWbkWU5vF9HrX1uby3Gw/s1600/DSCF8032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrx1NJ-AjQy2m1kW8ezY4HtZ4bZ1mbmBbaBzBeDQzXClmzNFfRrYyQQzHXI9u6xBba_VpVGUAbxG4Qw64ZW7WRkn8uHRCcgY96pBmH_SbwTXYIubsb-96fnrCtWbkWU5vF9HrX1uby3Gw/s400/DSCF8032.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As you can tell, the cylinder would have been put on the apparatus in the center. Then, that would spin, and the needle would move down the cylinder to play the record.</div>
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Now, why exactly don't we use these kinds of records anymore? Rather, why did the big flat records win out over these? Much of the reason was because the record-players and records were easier and cheaper to mass produce. Also, flat discs were way easier to store. In addition, as recording technology developed and the double-sided record was created, the simple fact of the longer duration gave disc records a clear advantage. Cylinders could only hold about 4 minutes worth of music (or whatever was recorded on them). By around 1912, it was clear that cylinders were on their way out, and discs were here to stay (well, for a while anyway). </div>
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Oh, and if you were wondering what was on this particular cylinder, see for yourself!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfATb8NmvZIJWNYxf3kEHRvvRkINJxeXOKTDWcwy236H2IJqWE5ylINN-26HSJRyUSXVJdnnycz698-1NjZHTDsjhpM33csCKJSlk6efB8Xu32qlcEgi_BM_6fjWetRqfYa3VrwBaTMYU/s1600/DSCF8018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfATb8NmvZIJWNYxf3kEHRvvRkINJxeXOKTDWcwy236H2IJqWE5ylINN-26HSJRyUSXVJdnnycz698-1NjZHTDsjhpM33csCKJSlk6efB8Xu32qlcEgi_BM_6fjWetRqfYa3VrwBaTMYU/s400/DSCF8018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Thanks for reading! We will be back soon with a new mystery artifact so stay tuned! And as always, please come and see us, these interesting mystery artifacts featured here on the blog, the new Water/Ways exhibit, and much much more! </div>
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Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-55894850847753464222016-07-25T12:00:00.000-05:002016-07-27T14:42:50.681-05:00Small, Dark and Mysterious: What's this Artifact?<div class="p1">
Hello dear readers! Sorry for not posting last week, we were busy with all our Water/Ways preparations and excitement! Just so you know, we have a ton of Water/Ways-related events and programs coming up for the next few months. Keep track of them on our Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!</div>
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Now, onto the main event of the Mystery Artifact!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiuUbtRC0iXbwi5PfITkva7uZYL7YGO-UeLm4S-Z451RIl-J-1CHLQcO3T2zuXr20E2tPDaGf6cTkW3EBRhVr46Qlzal19p5Tpl2aC7stp30UC1m1HAo_882bsYtEJrW09icCulE-SM8/s1600/DSCF7987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiuUbtRC0iXbwi5PfITkva7uZYL7YGO-UeLm4S-Z451RIl-J-1CHLQcO3T2zuXr20E2tPDaGf6cTkW3EBRhVr46Qlzal19p5Tpl2aC7stp30UC1m1HAo_882bsYtEJrW09icCulE-SM8/s400/DSCF7987.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This one is hard to tell the specifics in the photos, but someone still might know what it is right away. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUx6Z-4CNK46tdwRaEDxF4kZUQK7bB94in09lwt4MPLqUW20gx1ylIE3V1cS36MXIhB68pnhtEqASdyF6lrkFEpoeOZ6rweatwo61Dm8qhuWOumlwSQ9uuuSXDc2i4bHnnGeLUit__Xfk/s1600/DSCF7976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUx6Z-4CNK46tdwRaEDxF4kZUQK7bB94in09lwt4MPLqUW20gx1ylIE3V1cS36MXIhB68pnhtEqASdyF6lrkFEpoeOZ6rweatwo61Dm8qhuWOumlwSQ9uuuSXDc2i4bHnnGeLUit__Xfk/s400/DSCF7976.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The artifact is a hollow cylinder, black on the outside, white on the inside (actually, if you look really closely, it's very very dark blue). The outside has very small lines going around it most of the way up. There's also some writing on the top, but that will probably give it away pretty easily!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhIl3R_qfYE0H3T-89UPMzNQuaHvJU3yukx8vVCDmW5HL2IZwULCTgK0M8xxyWzKGTorx1WDTxBtaZ_Xyb_nJAqU4CniRCxzyrkvi5K4Y3W0E-Jeg_M3OkZpdMiRmhKTqnVdph5_T16U/s1600/DSCF7969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhIl3R_qfYE0H3T-89UPMzNQuaHvJU3yukx8vVCDmW5HL2IZwULCTgK0M8xxyWzKGTorx1WDTxBtaZ_Xyb_nJAqU4CniRCxzyrkvi5K4Y3W0E-Jeg_M3OkZpdMiRmhKTqnVdph5_T16U/s400/DSCF7969.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The inside has a few wide grooves. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KA-Pih5QLKrPlqn6GIIQU9qHrW3UJyKv5CBX7LdLYu-3INwaTH9XEyKNHbhBRblx1-HukVxRUaVkBRX0W8VYuuqTo-0wmtCMrbbPOnjDvIA_f4Ps1zX-jD1ciB1Zy_mmrveqthJBCNo/s1600/DSCF7984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KA-Pih5QLKrPlqn6GIIQU9qHrW3UJyKv5CBX7LdLYu-3INwaTH9XEyKNHbhBRblx1-HukVxRUaVkBRX0W8VYuuqTo-0wmtCMrbbPOnjDvIA_f4Ps1zX-jD1ciB1Zy_mmrveqthJBCNo/s400/DSCF7984.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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To give you an idea of the size, it’s about 4 and a half inches tall and 2 inches in diameter. </div>
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Do you know what it is? Let us know in the comments, or on any of the social media channels you’d like. Thanks for reading!</div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-9248813065007332232016-07-15T11:20:00.003-05:002016-07-15T11:20:40.584-05:00Water/Ways Finally Opens!<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTf6LTPsa-gKwfyFLNE4xn1Fv9Q9mGO2LuwNKCspqCf9iTwCxXjuaFB1u4lZK_YD9LLU1BqXYqQkLA2__bjPW6_10BqY1-lgCxSjNRalhO8U-3NrK2RC5MiVZkiag9LZ87WC8b2X2-nU/s1600/waterways.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTf6LTPsa-gKwfyFLNE4xn1Fv9Q9mGO2LuwNKCspqCf9iTwCxXjuaFB1u4lZK_YD9LLU1BqXYqQkLA2__bjPW6_10BqY1-lgCxSjNRalhO8U-3NrK2RC5MiVZkiag9LZ87WC8b2X2-nU/s1600/waterways.png" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></span></strong><strong><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Water/Ways Opening! The Smithsonian has finally arrived! </span></strong><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Opening from 10-4 <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2142720867" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">Saturday July 16, 2016</span></span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">The Museum of the Grand Prairie is delighted to be hosting the Museums on Main Street Exhibit Water/Ways as jointly sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the Illinois Humanities Council.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Join us to explore the Smithsonian Water/Ways, and learn how water impacts our local community in the companion exhibit,<em> The Worth of Water</em>. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">As a part of the Museum of the Grand Prairie’s opening celebration of Water/Ways:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin-bottom: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Sara Grady, storyteller and water advocate, will present: Water, Wonder, Words: Language, Stories, and the Cradle of Life at <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2142720868" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">2:00 pm</span></span>. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Tours of the new exhibit will be given hourly.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Interactive stations set up in and around the museum from <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_2142720869" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;">1-4pm</span></span>, including a water table from the Illinois State Water Survey, and participation by the Upper Sangamon River Conservancy, Prairie Rivers Network, the Mahomet Aquifer Consortium, IDNR, and the USGS Ground Water Section.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></li>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">Refreshments will be served before the presentation. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;">For more info: <a href="tel:%28217%29%20586-2612" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank" value="+12175862612">(217) 586-2612</a> or <a href="mailto:kriopelle@ccfpd.org" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">kriopelle@ccfpd.org</a>.</span><span style="color: #4b4f56; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5pt;"><br /><br /><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Water/Ways is produced by Museum on Main Street, a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and Illinois Humanities.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><u></u><u></u></span></div>
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Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-57333461552739703652016-07-11T12:30:00.000-05:002016-07-11T12:30:02.554-05:00You Can Breathe Easy, this Mystery has Been Revealed!<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Kate answered on Facebook (Thank you for your answer!), this is a Kerosene Lamp Vaporizer from the late 1800s. Specifically, this artifact is a “Vapo-Cresolene Vaporizer.” Now what does that mean, exactly? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQSp3fexaFqQ64Mu_IM7P6mwz_s-u0MNfKNJRtjTksXfhyphenhyphenqui7UFhx8qi1_cAXFPaHbMGBiS8JXdxAuzplIQQQ7PhtPBGJ01yMYB-q2J-Qdnn0K3bC2OGxXAlrP3gT-X_PDulljFMh8E/s1600/DSCF7923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnQSp3fexaFqQ64Mu_IM7P6mwz_s-u0MNfKNJRtjTksXfhyphenhyphenqui7UFhx8qi1_cAXFPaHbMGBiS8JXdxAuzplIQQQ7PhtPBGJ01yMYB-q2J-Qdnn0K3bC2OGxXAlrP3gT-X_PDulljFMh8E/s400/DSCF7923.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Most of you reading probably deduced that the lamp-like part of the object was used for heat. The flame from the lamp heated up the apparatus above it, which was meant to be filled with Cresolene. Cresolene was a sticky black liquid, made from coal tar, used as a disinfectant. This substance was used these kinds of vaporizers, supposedly meant for medicinal purposes. On the object’s box, it describes Vapo-Cresolene as “a germ destroying liquid to be vaporized.” Here's how it was meant to be used:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAwi4KvYLhu7nI0EL-uD_FMZFfQpTwHRd83_Q4q2y8rYBtTjTh3oyV9VsstBI1TitYneEIz8FG7V5eqx2m7Gk9nqMMPjdORsQFDk2O7Rt226vQkbnXmiUQBmZ4iW4TPpKiCDMIiAy1Ko/s1600/IMG_5800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAwi4KvYLhu7nI0EL-uD_FMZFfQpTwHRd83_Q4q2y8rYBtTjTh3oyV9VsstBI1TitYneEIz8FG7V5eqx2m7Gk9nqMMPjdORsQFDk2O7Rt226vQkbnXmiUQBmZ4iW4TPpKiCDMIiAy1Ko/s400/IMG_5800.jpg" width="373" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Vapo-Cresolene Vaporizer that we have in the collection (actually, we have a few of them) is advertised to aid in relieving a number of ailments such as colds, asthma, whooping cough, croup, catarrh, pneumonia, “the bronchial complications of scarlet fever and measles” and could be used “as an aid in the treatment of diptheria.” Essentially, these kinds of “lamps” were meant to help with any and all respiratory diseases. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">And don’t just think we’re talking about human respiratory diseases! Oh no, it was also advertised that Vapo-Cresolene could be used as help for horses, dogs and “fowls” with various breathing problems. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though the manufacturers would like us to believe that this strange substance, Cresolene, was imbued with extraordinary healing powers, the American Medical Association disproved them in a 1908 report. Even so, there were “Vapo-Cresolene” vaporizers still being manufactured until the 1950s.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQqds2Eb66145BZnqXg_R1u0iBD3VOiiqqjB7i2tn6bgiqbeBJiPcWdYE_aLxtp5PWnjiw0rgg5fPX1H99dBoW2UiSvGdCL7D2BGqUUNHmYQRcgm1G3hAXVxmkEtaaxhuqrgNPmiQ7TA/s1600/%2524_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipQqds2Eb66145BZnqXg_R1u0iBD3VOiiqqjB7i2tn6bgiqbeBJiPcWdYE_aLxtp5PWnjiw0rgg5fPX1H99dBoW2UiSvGdCL7D2BGqUUNHmYQRcgm1G3hAXVxmkEtaaxhuqrgNPmiQ7TA/s400/%2524_1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An electric vaporizer from the '50s!</td></tr>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These days people use humidifiers in much the same way that these vaporizers were used at the turn of the twentieth century. Personally these little machines seem a lot safer to me than inhaling coal tar and sleeping with a lit kerosene lamp next to my bed!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCHGGdJpbu6QfFbrzw43LZI8qk1jhw93rSGtK7dWsw3W8VHlSmeYrLgohrsSSdbaSaOxKDthOKIV7mNAq88k9DijuxlTCGfRaSoKVmShEwdHAa4LimzewKKsNd46GheGv464wAtOdGLI/s1600/Ultrasonic_humidifier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCHGGdJpbu6QfFbrzw43LZI8qk1jhw93rSGtK7dWsw3W8VHlSmeYrLgohrsSSdbaSaOxKDthOKIV7mNAq88k9DijuxlTCGfRaSoKVmShEwdHAa4LimzewKKsNd46GheGv464wAtOdGLI/s400/Ultrasonic_humidifier.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c95f4b2d-d651-56a8-a11e-c62217111168"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope you enjoyed learning about this little artifact as much as I did! </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Stay tuned next week for another mystery artifact! And as always, if you're interested in a closer look at this or any of our recent mystery artifacts, please come visit us and take a look around the museum too! </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">Thanks for reading!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-48970412951986477122016-07-05T12:00:00.000-05:002016-07-05T12:00:08.779-05:00Can you Shed a Little Light on this Mystery Artifact?After that long weekend we are back with another new mystery artifact. Here's what this week's "mystery" is:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvdOhPzE-MQkO3xQul5YgoI506iCgbJuJUaF3gNBFQ_FunD01PX13LOeaBzDxSmjZlG9XWT57cdSTL55K5YkhSZkjg-yvvju-OsEfna5dXYTA5J6sYDcsBZn0g-AzjtEY-3q_f2t7rtE/s1600/DSCF7933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvdOhPzE-MQkO3xQul5YgoI506iCgbJuJUaF3gNBFQ_FunD01PX13LOeaBzDxSmjZlG9XWT57cdSTL55K5YkhSZkjg-yvvju-OsEfna5dXYTA5J6sYDcsBZn0g-AzjtEY-3q_f2t7rtE/s400/DSCF7933.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">This mystery artifact is made of a few parts. The first is a small lamp, with a clear bowl, which you can see a wick inside. It also has a small white glass chimney. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjpWY-x8q13KZCdXs-RNeq0zMvlhF0vuubSrBDx9ZCgMm-JuTD3BXXYlO1PD2mKI4TzwhAucRei948hLmnvAuiLHLekuAFpDnNOWcwoFTmcf9X1zdIVh_c_1kqTZorndXPVsJCFOFdAs/s1600/DSCF7957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjpWY-x8q13KZCdXs-RNeq0zMvlhF0vuubSrBDx9ZCgMm-JuTD3BXXYlO1PD2mKI4TzwhAucRei948hLmnvAuiLHLekuAFpDnNOWcwoFTmcf9X1zdIVh_c_1kqTZorndXPVsJCFOFdAs/s400/DSCF7957.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The second part is the metal stand, which holds the lamp at the bottom. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4beycwEunpIuUAxOryqagRZbgo3dn4mGefhQZuOo52VSjbH_PNzt4q0Jpd4pkLkJpbVjTrHnckEkiETIMS9c2VJpNfnL8GjE_2awuXuAVLBQYaYc43Y4ardTFZv7Fwi2wJM1GKBgky8/s1600/DSCF7952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh4beycwEunpIuUAxOryqagRZbgo3dn4mGefhQZuOo52VSjbH_PNzt4q0Jpd4pkLkJpbVjTrHnckEkiETIMS9c2VJpNfnL8GjE_2awuXuAVLBQYaYc43Y4ardTFZv7Fwi2wJM1GKBgky8/s400/DSCF7952.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The third part is also metal. It is a small bowl at the top. The bowl rests on the top part of the metal stand, and hangs above the top of the lamp chimney. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirknX4k062CI_tqy3s9r_JPwIKN3wRBTULmUQ2jZVEmbUsRsE8EffooJDQjUbmJkTEMjzc-dTh99-b1puyauiQswLRB3E855az5ETTO5OLQgJMw4NUuXDdU_5c1M-mZIO_kXsV8G6Uq_A/s1600/DSCF7923.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirknX4k062CI_tqy3s9r_JPwIKN3wRBTULmUQ2jZVEmbUsRsE8EffooJDQjUbmJkTEMjzc-dTh99-b1puyauiQswLRB3E855az5ETTO5OLQgJMw4NUuXDdU_5c1M-mZIO_kXsV8G6Uq_A/s400/DSCF7923.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">This artifact is actually rather small, measuring only about half a foot tall, and 2 ¾ inches wide. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQMbKNMMGj249ncOj7EYcNYP77tVXmUEVDXwMVWabgPowJS8jf8PUWxQvLnYhVPZyNEUMUK9C266vmRaaRglietYGVLHBWik5UO2T25KWMQycp4ucokK0pqdVPU8dI9HHzX6FY7LwDfQ/s1600/DSCF7919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioQMbKNMMGj249ncOj7EYcNYP77tVXmUEVDXwMVWabgPowJS8jf8PUWxQvLnYhVPZyNEUMUK9C266vmRaaRglietYGVLHBWik5UO2T25KWMQycp4ucokK0pqdVPU8dI9HHzX6FY7LwDfQ/s400/DSCF7919.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you think it is? If you have a guess, let us know by commenting here, on our Facebook page, on our Instagram, or by tweeting the answer at us. We really like to know what your guesses are!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s some writing on this artifact that I tried to keep out of the pictures, so if you want to try to figure that out, you should definitely come check it out in person. There’s also lots of other great stuff at the museum to check out! See you soon!</span><br />
<br />Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-41094859462773541572016-06-27T14:59:00.000-05:002016-06-27T14:59:02.717-05:00Have You Heard? It's Time to Reveal this Mystery Artifact<div dir="ltr" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As I predicted, we got a correct guess on this one! </span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHfIQaZ2tb8NyzoTlSSr6rDnpJYN4T1V0zg0aFkS5hZgJI1KM-S7VGdiYfN1JdxQwGJr0Q8RcqH6WSj0P5ckH4uXn_V83NpNh6GSfml9AQaOhX4Ss_z2DaSF08U8RnhgMTap-QaEvUOk/s1600/DSCF7896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #774c00; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHfIQaZ2tb8NyzoTlSSr6rDnpJYN4T1V0zg0aFkS5hZgJI1KM-S7VGdiYfN1JdxQwGJr0Q8RcqH6WSj0P5ckH4uXn_V83NpNh6GSfml9AQaOhX4Ss_z2DaSF08U8RnhgMTap-QaEvUOk/s400/DSCF7896.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thanks to Nike on Facebook for your guess!</span></div>
<span id="docs-internal-guid-5a4b55a9-8ee7-849a-0768-c2cd0318114b" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;"></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Well, if you didn’t know, it’s an ear trumpet. To be more specific, it is a type of ear trumpet referred to as a “conversation tube.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ear trumpets were invented in the 17th century to help people who were partially deaf to hear more clearly. They don’t amplify sound the way that modern hearing aids do. Instead, they collect sound into and lead the sound waves into the user’s ear. There are many different types of ear trumpets, coming in many shapes and sizes, and made of various materials. </span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBOO74xXGNVEB60Jt74BQP0VQSwtP5L57qfjB8omyAuFZRShOuvPv1ulXp-7ek0FNsGPDUOWNdd0kCHgLdsJ9PD4BU2zgMkG1Xrc2ODQS3f6wN1gHy0ypoMZrYCBKieVtbx5VMooDky4/s1600/Horn_shaped_ear_trumpet_Wellcome_L0065052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #774c00; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJBOO74xXGNVEB60Jt74BQP0VQSwtP5L57qfjB8omyAuFZRShOuvPv1ulXp-7ek0FNsGPDUOWNdd0kCHgLdsJ9PD4BU2zgMkG1Xrc2ODQS3f6wN1gHy0ypoMZrYCBKieVtbx5VMooDky4/s400/Horn_shaped_ear_trumpet_Wellcome_L0065052.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The simplest kinds of ear trumpets were basically a tapered tube. The earliest ear trumpets were made of animal horns, and may date back to before the “official” invention in the 1600s. Some may have been hunting horns that someone thought to stick in their ear! Eventually, ear horns were made of other materials, usually metal. The first ear trumpets were fairly big, usually longer than a foot, and sometimes even over 2 feet long. </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Soon, because of the size, smaller versions were developed, including collapsible ones like this one:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkmPdu2VKik_nh8Ze9qbO4HR5UW-mUklhegR4rBDXLgaGHCw2MCRu8_-vvUmhp8VNqUrYtTqz8iCMhHK60DIgE_DstJ0dGfhI25bVEjPBNZPkDA_v6ng0TCtmQpOVCRvA1fcSWsw43No/s1600/A_collapsible_Victorian_ear_trumpet_made_of_tin_Wellcome_L0035640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #774c00; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWkmPdu2VKik_nh8Ze9qbO4HR5UW-mUklhegR4rBDXLgaGHCw2MCRu8_-vvUmhp8VNqUrYtTqz8iCMhHK60DIgE_DstJ0dGfhI25bVEjPBNZPkDA_v6ng0TCtmQpOVCRvA1fcSWsw43No/s400/A_collapsible_Victorian_ear_trumpet_made_of_tin_Wellcome_L0035640.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There were also small, portable ear trumpets called “London Domes.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These were used from the mid-1800s to around 1930. They were popular mostly because of the small size. The shape of these are certainly a little strange. But the wide mouth and parabolic shape of the dome focus the sound into the ear tube. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re wondering about the name, these were named after the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Apparently, the shape is similar enough that people determined the name appropriate.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ2p8U2P-0igly9lVSJT1_2bfj6hmeDvCCz0ql5cevgas3EtXJYeGeApkMu8bPsFwV7p8O2d1gArpuIovdNnthBTKauNtVwAr7JKvkidT58MzXrAce3YuKsd6NMcnK8GJP9oEeRVTmOso/s1600/St_Paul%2527s_Cathedral_Dome_from_One_New_Change_-_Square_Crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #774c00; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ2p8U2P-0igly9lVSJT1_2bfj6hmeDvCCz0ql5cevgas3EtXJYeGeApkMu8bPsFwV7p8O2d1gArpuIovdNnthBTKauNtVwAr7JKvkidT58MzXrAce3YuKsd6NMcnK8GJP9oEeRVTmOso/s320/St_Paul%2527s_Cathedral_Dome_from_One_New_Change_-_Square_Crop.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ah, but I am going off on a tangent! As I said before, our Mystery Artifact is actually a “conversation tube,” also known as a speaking tube. The point of conversation tubes is that the bell end (the end that receives the sound) can be moved around easily to direct the listener’s attention to specific things. Most often they would be used directly, having one person speak straight into the receiving end. These didn’t pick up far off sounds as well as the other examples did, instead they were made to be able to hear sounds very close up. So, as the name indicates, they were effective when having conversations. Or, as this listing from the 1895 Montgomery Ward catalogue states, it "suits the most obstinate cases of deafness."</span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAUCJLCcLq71xsWhXCegirg_z-YkKCyZ0SvHYu8hwSRmZn-Is5qX5mvyMrxHvGB4AGifYKJctLSAbQHI7sOuAbMjmruwhqFkxlYzVlSUbzGAoQq_x5qBuKNwfMzeD4iHa1ju0QFcZPkY/s1600/hearinghorns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #774c00; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilAUCJLCcLq71xsWhXCegirg_z-YkKCyZ0SvHYu8hwSRmZn-Is5qX5mvyMrxHvGB4AGifYKJctLSAbQHI7sOuAbMjmruwhqFkxlYzVlSUbzGAoQq_x5qBuKNwfMzeD4iHa1ju0QFcZPkY/s400/hearinghorns.jpg" style="border: none; position: relative;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 11.88px;">Bonus: There's also a London Dome listed!</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventually, in-ear hearing aids were invented, and these strange contraptions were mostly a thing of the past. Though some people still swear by them, I have learned while researching this. Which would you prefer? A hearing aid or a conversation tube? If you want a look at more ear trumpets (I know I do), <a href="http://phisick.com/items/ent/?s=&sub=hearing" style="color: #774c00; text-decoration: none;">here's a great collection</a> of vintage hearing apparatuses (I barely scratched the surface on all the different kinds)!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Thanks for reading this mystery artifact reveal! </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 14.85px; line-height: 20.79px;">We'd love it if you came to visit to check out all our previous artifacts in person, or just to have a look around the museum. All summer long, we are open 10 am - 5 pm Monday through Saturday, and 1 pm-5pm on Sundays. </span></div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-86258535797099745302016-06-20T12:00:00.000-05:002016-06-20T13:02:26.890-05:00Circle Around this Mystery Artifact...<div class="p1">
Hello again!</div>
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Here’s this week’s artifact.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIsaTBeOpRs_KisaUGF318qodKJ230CrsZTAAau7rdYna6fQWDyNCXe73_-tZSHrjE9zf3tm-ehSvQxs1rfHFXYPNop5syJr9ID_0-nN07mDOJGECclFjDhcIWDwQtDW-LEzsn24CyvM/s1600/DSCF7896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIsaTBeOpRs_KisaUGF318qodKJ230CrsZTAAau7rdYna6fQWDyNCXe73_-tZSHrjE9zf3tm-ehSvQxs1rfHFXYPNop5syJr9ID_0-nN07mDOJGECclFjDhcIWDwQtDW-LEzsn24CyvM/s400/DSCF7896.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The majority of the artifact is a woven cord made of mohair, according to our records. It measures about 3 feet long. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwEW6N4s1Z716JWEmwZ8lin__mODo4bP7_QOV7H4rQ9iLFd2PV27ixe0Pp5vkex8Jq6upjxnMcyrwsjT-h1oA5xq_yp_8ONEtt7aXklb8CWgWucRZgqARmQ_S4hhrD5gBwGUsuzw4Tlg/s1600/DSCF7875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvwEW6N4s1Z716JWEmwZ8lin__mODo4bP7_QOV7H4rQ9iLFd2PV27ixe0Pp5vkex8Jq6upjxnMcyrwsjT-h1oA5xq_yp_8ONEtt7aXklb8CWgWucRZgqARmQ_S4hhrD5gBwGUsuzw4Tlg/s400/DSCF7875.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The cord connects the two end pieces, which are both made of hard rubber. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8vfU6bodKL-N3y-LvTPh2RYCNJJsS3oQ_XyV6nWtAy0c1ofjgJfneCRHqL1XU6EpcPMA-Ulww86SqA6natXyiN1-VwvAVnhuPnnbBimXWLXnbJHPhGjx_qMIdGi672FwFtLp22kwnio/s1600/DSCF7877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8vfU6bodKL-N3y-LvTPh2RYCNJJsS3oQ_XyV6nWtAy0c1ofjgJfneCRHqL1XU6EpcPMA-Ulww86SqA6natXyiN1-VwvAVnhuPnnbBimXWLXnbJHPhGjx_qMIdGi672FwFtLp22kwnio/s400/DSCF7877.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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One end is black and bells out. The other end is small, thin, and slightly curved, with a hole in the end. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqzIXs0yxTdOXQkYnqwMtGYUJS4bpp-dtCCQ7gYx4KdwGWW-zgP6x8FFkPJP9srn72KBjBQwvYYGkeKtSVnMfK6HdHC6XTm9n9pWpvY_yCANuKCDagbFhqePw4CCAJPs_ymAbOgMSE5I/s1600/DSCF7902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGqzIXs0yxTdOXQkYnqwMtGYUJS4bpp-dtCCQ7gYx4KdwGWW-zgP6x8FFkPJP9srn72KBjBQwvYYGkeKtSVnMfK6HdHC6XTm9n9pWpvY_yCANuKCDagbFhqePw4CCAJPs_ymAbOgMSE5I/s400/DSCF7902.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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There are times when it seems to me that these artifacts are not <i>actually </i>such great mysteries but they’re fun to look at nonetheless. So if you know what this one is, let us know! You can comment here, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Museum-of-the-Grand-Prairie-122468977814451/">on our Facebook page</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/musgrandprairie">tweet</a> the answer at us, or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/museumofthegrandprairie/">comment on Instagram</a>! Of course, you can always come see us and take a look in person!</div>
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Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-66098587888353053252016-06-13T12:00:00.000-05:002016-06-13T12:00:39.495-05:00Tickled "Pink" about this Mystery ArtifactThis mystery artifact is a pinking iron, alternately called a pinking chisel. So, the guess of "chisel" from Brent on Facebook was partially correct!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHrsdEr8oYViS6v51uxMTHcvMqmKdjrJt22xIIyyBBn9n9udnwkYWY2vU1_ivC_zoceyQrXPRhzOsALNEUQJ1g1rplLKvyBN_TOKZ1TDGFmkjH8hJTe-JTipI-QDVEoi0Td-Yyxcx0Mg/s1600/DSCF7037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHrsdEr8oYViS6v51uxMTHcvMqmKdjrJt22xIIyyBBn9n9udnwkYWY2vU1_ivC_zoceyQrXPRhzOsALNEUQJ1g1rplLKvyBN_TOKZ1TDGFmkjH8hJTe-JTipI-QDVEoi0Td-Yyxcx0Mg/s400/DSCF7037.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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What is that and what does it do? Pinking irons are tools that would cut a notched or scalloped edge into fabric that may have looked something like this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zyUOL0yiMG1l1wJBnuZIn3R4M-s-28KK22Wg9ErstXIUOjyKfqWWfoHNVj5wTdh7DvitI3yk4mtRpywSwfl5hqZwbNhrex5Y6Tbnpd5mvf0GUZuR_1DJVQbNORizhF3pigliTmnGzn8/s1600/il_570xN.679398754_peqk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-zyUOL0yiMG1l1wJBnuZIn3R4M-s-28KK22Wg9ErstXIUOjyKfqWWfoHNVj5wTdh7DvitI3yk4mtRpywSwfl5hqZwbNhrex5Y6Tbnpd5mvf0GUZuR_1DJVQbNORizhF3pigliTmnGzn8/s400/il_570xN.679398754_peqk.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">[Source: https://www.etsy.com/listing/227670110/handforged-pinking-tool]</td></tr>
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These edges are very much a decorative choice for clothing, however, these edges do also serve a practical purpose. The zig-zag or scallop pattern makes unfinished edges less likely to fray than a straight-cut edge because every single cut is on a bias, making it harder to pull the individual threads out of the fabric.<br />
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To use a pinking iron, you would put the sharp edge with the design onto the fabric and strike the other end with a mallet to apply pressure and cut through. You may be familiar with the more common modern tool that achieves the same general purpose, pinking shears (as a child I just thought these were cool scissors to cut my construction paper with).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovE1XX2FxVeaRdjktFLCUvaQwIP83hTR3SnSOiJR_2JAlxEI8erQqYPQAi2e7WnbnFBCL9OguLad3cdzDfXzJ8Ia07ObOUzx1o4osQXeNR1xN8HB7wZDeMIj405EoJcCUoRvTS5joQPg/s1600/Zackenschere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovE1XX2FxVeaRdjktFLCUvaQwIP83hTR3SnSOiJR_2JAlxEI8erQqYPQAi2e7WnbnFBCL9OguLad3cdzDfXzJ8Ia07ObOUzx1o4osQXeNR1xN8HB7wZDeMIj405EoJcCUoRvTS5joQPg/s400/Zackenschere.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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You might be wondering: “Why are they called <b>pink</b>ing irons?” The verb “to pink” is related to the color “pink” but in a rather roundabout way. The verb “pink” seems to have come first, from an old word that means to pierce or to stab. Which is essentially what pinking irons, and now pinking shears do. They cut in to fabric. From this definition of the word “pink” we might have gotten the name of this type of flower:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAjt7HNX7DUIN74w-pJthgtrIeaaMhfunE34676H_qf4Y_VMec9j9elC9w80eYixFfIye_pDEGMw1jAAJ7_pq4KyKrCqoqM-cTahOH_3TXCNfXerh4gmKUBpUdF_-EEHtkSxGZsi9cnI/s1600/Nelken_8_Juni_2003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAjt7HNX7DUIN74w-pJthgtrIeaaMhfunE34676H_qf4Y_VMec9j9elC9w80eYixFfIye_pDEGMw1jAAJ7_pq4KyKrCqoqM-cTahOH_3TXCNfXerh4gmKUBpUdF_-EEHtkSxGZsi9cnI/s400/Nelken_8_Juni_2003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Which are called, simply, Pinks (and are related to Carnations). As you can see in the picture, they have notched edges like the cuts made by a pinking iron. The name of the flower may have given us the word for the color pink, as many of them are in that color family. It's unclear which word came first, but what is clear is that they're all connected.<br />
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Stay tuned next week for another mystery artifact! And as always, if you're interested in a closer look at this or any of our recent mystery artifacts, please come visit us and take a look around the museum too! Thanks for reading!<br />
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<br />Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-16994525622169330672016-06-06T13:57:00.001-05:002016-06-06T14:00:56.906-05:00This Mystery Artifact is Making WavesHello and Happy Monday! Here we are again with another mystery artifact!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSR7KbRUzF_uhkXAAfVwMZ7opHckXbfDSy30JtIaUgoBAOwQGSdeeh_NungGIhhd5p03MLIozmTu6w4CWKt6gqEnIvyl2ba8X5oVHUa3wty1EemGmQAMTcd8PTH-iIbA5IOpL9G_FFiA/s1600/DSCF7030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSR7KbRUzF_uhkXAAfVwMZ7opHckXbfDSy30JtIaUgoBAOwQGSdeeh_NungGIhhd5p03MLIozmTu6w4CWKt6gqEnIvyl2ba8X5oVHUa3wty1EemGmQAMTcd8PTH-iIbA5IOpL9G_FFiA/s400/DSCF7030.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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This one is rather small, measuring a length of about 3 ½ inches and a width of about ½ inch.<br />
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One end of this small metal tool fans out to a head with many grooves, making it look somewhat like a wavy semicircle.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqsyK1UFmh3lU0BiK8HSTd_hkXQKafbrtLMIOw9BBdAbQqqmLqhYKTZaRzV_JyBy8PqtkXaaNckQumWtVgTFFf4hJdEwvZyVs6iFhN8GB1ylYvOzVAZzuHozS1yS6yOBbswGR-Z-PnTQ/s1600/DSCF7035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqsyK1UFmh3lU0BiK8HSTd_hkXQKafbrtLMIOw9BBdAbQqqmLqhYKTZaRzV_JyBy8PqtkXaaNckQumWtVgTFFf4hJdEwvZyVs6iFhN8GB1ylYvOzVAZzuHozS1yS6yOBbswGR-Z-PnTQ/s400/DSCF7035.jpg" width="290" /></a></div>
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The other end of the tool is flat with notches cut into the corners of its rounded rectangular shape.<br />
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That’s about all I can say about the artifact at the moment! So, do you know what it is at first sight? Do you have a guess? You can comment here, on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Museum-of-the-Grand-Prairie-122468977814451">Facebook page</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/musgrandprairie">tweet</a> the answer at us, or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/museumofthegrandprairie/">comment on Instagram</a>! Of course, you can always come see us and take a look in person!Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-86999349904605116942016-05-31T10:00:00.000-05:002016-05-31T10:00:11.443-05:00It's a Trap! No, it's a Mystery Artifact. Well, it's both, really. Today we get to tell you what this mystery artifact is:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9rAK8CnRyzEHJPXuWstkGiWcs7-2tWgVOcEtLMeakWwAcmF1J6VQnVxx-Q9688NiQkZxqP38uZ7q2xtvfixJYjn6fubQDeoT7l8UruwQNnVZ_1MJ0G2vpaEsHfgGf0EmkI5PFJZejWA/s1600/DSCF7803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk9rAK8CnRyzEHJPXuWstkGiWcs7-2tWgVOcEtLMeakWwAcmF1J6VQnVxx-Q9688NiQkZxqP38uZ7q2xtvfixJYjn6fubQDeoT7l8UruwQNnVZ_1MJ0G2vpaEsHfgGf0EmkI5PFJZejWA/s400/DSCF7803.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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We had a few guesses saying that this one was some sort of trap, And they were right!</div>
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Last week’s mystery artifact was a<i> fly trap</i>! Or a fly catcher, depending on who you ask. </div>
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Though one of those refers to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_flytrap">a plant</a> and the other to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_World_flycatcher">a bird</a>, both of which eat flies, our artifact is simply a trap to keep pesky flies away. They were made popular around the turn of the 20th century. Mostly they are used on farms or places like that where there are large conglomerations of pesky flies. </div>
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How to use it is pretty simple. Some sort of bait is placed underneath the cone part of the trap, and flies are attracted to it. Most sources say that a bit of rotten fish or meat, or even old fruit could be placed under the trap. After the flies are done eating, they fly up into the top of the cone. Why? They're flying towards light. Once they fly up the cone, they can’t figure out the way back out of the trap, and eventually die there.<br />
If you're curious to know more about how these look in use, the video below addresses using them from 1:14-2:00. </div>
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Though our artifact is made of both metal and wood pieces, many similar traps have been made solely out of metal like this one: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhNOOlqpyers9qZw8E_ak-iArSDcVGFR2sLMfcJDbiX58-NJIK4ATKTtwuZ1MoMjDAykCaQDtSa7I_7bKPpLIAJMHXcLJAQkL1vs9KoFuMk3bgKIj_LrOc8dlBE2OzwKiADyL1D1sD9o/s1600/flytrapscreencone2thb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOhNOOlqpyers9qZw8E_ak-iArSDcVGFR2sLMfcJDbiX58-NJIK4ATKTtwuZ1MoMjDAykCaQDtSa7I_7bKPpLIAJMHXcLJAQkL1vs9KoFuMk3bgKIj_LrOc8dlBE2OzwKiADyL1D1sD9o/s400/flytrapscreencone2thb.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As you can see, with the one seen in the picture, the cone in the bottom can be removed for disposing of the flies. But with our trap, the flies were disposed of by opening the little lid at the top.</div>
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There are also glass fly traps that work in a similar way. They look like this: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirw8hkdER4466NxffCk_BPjiCL1jzwpPxjlwZboN8DJp5DQSf61tBG9MRjNXxEeYCFRtWY06TaDWQYKjYOdjuzTLidpl2w77kPffO3lePHxvdt6VVEmNVtYzfqIlHDO4RwvELX1IGLzlo/s1600/3_fly-bottles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirw8hkdER4466NxffCk_BPjiCL1jzwpPxjlwZboN8DJp5DQSf61tBG9MRjNXxEeYCFRtWY06TaDWQYKjYOdjuzTLidpl2w77kPffO3lePHxvdt6VVEmNVtYzfqIlHDO4RwvELX1IGLzlo/s400/3_fly-bottles.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Interestingly enough, these kinds of fly traps are still being used. Some people use ones that work the same way but are made of plastic. But it seems that it is also common for people to build their own of the screened variety. There are a number of sites like <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Industrial-Fly-Trap/">this one</a> that give instructions to make your own! Do you think you'll give it a try? Or maybe just stick with some flypaper? </div>
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Thanks for reading this week's reveal! We'd love it if you came to visit to check out all our previous artifacts in person, or just to have a look around the museum. Starting this week, and all summer long, we will be open 10 am - 5 pm Monday through Saturday, and 1 pm-5pm on Sundays. </div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-16166564555316315292016-05-23T07:14:00.000-05:002016-05-23T13:09:03.043-05:00Think Outside the Box for the Newest Mystery Artifact<div>
Good Afternoon and Happy Monday! </div>
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This week we have a new mystery artifact, that looks like this:</div>
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It's essentially a box. The sides of the box are made of wire mesh, attached to thin pieces of wood by nails.<br />
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The bottom of the box has a large hole, from which a wire mesh cone protrudes up into the center. At the top of the cone, there is a small opening.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie976rgWzh0hJ1lmy8pzk-7yRMMzqq9fSNb4weiCAhlSS9letRHiDXQB2Yws5DQk1GKT7mhhGDp7gUt2NyBjV7oPMMna0_gjMhVXKr9Tb2peDCwTOK8uWpZQ-UU9S7iYYm5i09fMK0xlM/s1600/DSCF7784.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie976rgWzh0hJ1lmy8pzk-7yRMMzqq9fSNb4weiCAhlSS9letRHiDXQB2Yws5DQk1GKT7mhhGDp7gUt2NyBjV7oPMMna0_gjMhVXKr9Tb2peDCwTOK8uWpZQ-UU9S7iYYm5i09fMK0xlM/s400/DSCF7784.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The whole box is about one foot tall, 8 inches wide, and 7 1/2 inches deep. The cone inside extends about 8 inches up from the bottom of the mesh. </div>
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And finally, in the middle of the (solid wood) top to the box, theres a small lid, held onto the box with a few small pieces of wood. Those spin to allow this lid to be removed. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRkFdvXKUcKm2ShIONjwYVTjspiwgIU9_WOwKybYSVt6ZvtIYN7tmyzUINeuuHaz4QHtFyTmDIXzJDRPZ7rTBbdylox2rn5rq4FV1mT0QG9M9DUVGVhqCNMkckYYiAhIdwdLlE0ftE7k/s1600/DSCF7798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWRkFdvXKUcKm2ShIONjwYVTjspiwgIU9_WOwKybYSVt6ZvtIYN7tmyzUINeuuHaz4QHtFyTmDIXzJDRPZ7rTBbdylox2rn5rq4FV1mT0QG9M9DUVGVhqCNMkckYYiAhIdwdLlE0ftE7k/s400/DSCF7798.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This one might be obvious to some (we've already had a few correct guesses at the museum), so let us know what you think it is! You can comment here, on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Museum-of-the-Grand-Prairie-122468977814451/?fref=ts">Facebook page</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/musgrandprairie">tweet the answer at us</a>, or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/museumofthegrandprairie/">comment on Instagram</a>! Of course, you can always come see us and take a look in person! </div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-1097660937706485192016-05-16T13:08:00.001-05:002016-05-16T13:08:35.124-05:00A Mystery Artifact Reveals the Fifty Ways to Churn Your Butter<div class="p1">
This week’s mystery artifact (seen below) was a butter dasher! Does that name still confuse you? Well, the <i>dasher</i> is the part inside of a butter churn that moves and agitates the cream. The constant agitation of the cream in a churn separates the butter from the buttermilk.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscK6CGNaM7LLhVICOxlHlE73A5q3fJ4ZbKv36vs8eN8693YImKPgOqOUD4N2hk3fm8t2dKnw9VsoH5uRBwJ64d2l18w3LmZhvdDx9UbqfhObQJk1_lj6DjgwCb3_AR4dJ7sdWYXVrXVw/s1600/DSCF7683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscK6CGNaM7LLhVICOxlHlE73A5q3fJ4ZbKv36vs8eN8693YImKPgOqOUD4N2hk3fm8t2dKnw9VsoH5uRBwJ64d2l18w3LmZhvdDx9UbqfhObQJk1_lj6DjgwCb3_AR4dJ7sdWYXVrXVw/s400/DSCF7683.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Our mystery artifact does not look like the normal dashers you usually see in the “plunger” or “dash” type butter churn. Those mostly look more like the examples below. However, our records do claim that this particular artifact of ours is homemade, so that may explain why it seems unorthodox.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5hEf0UHBmjQg8K74KjqJV7SutZf4aSEncpoj8ao2wdZUrx634bghCxiB8Oy8hPr_8Bz4IZ45hVi5I9kbvoV3FgQFqLoc0tG4A4VSQ_wyZo9zPOZuiZU9pCIzlX41KMjtQIw7TLj-teE/s1600/Antique-WoodButterChurn-1890-VG_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb5hEf0UHBmjQg8K74KjqJV7SutZf4aSEncpoj8ao2wdZUrx634bghCxiB8Oy8hPr_8Bz4IZ45hVi5I9kbvoV3FgQFqLoc0tG4A4VSQ_wyZo9zPOZuiZU9pCIzlX41KMjtQIw7TLj-teE/s320/Antique-WoodButterChurn-1890-VG_02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Butter has been around for a <a href="http://www.webexhibits.org/butter/history-intro.html">long long time</a>. The word itself, seems to have come from an ancient Greek word "bou-tyron," which means "cow cheese." However, the Greeks mostly had goats and sheep, whose milk did not make butter. Most scholars think that they borrowed the word from the Scythians, who herded cattle. <br />
The earliest devices used to make butter were simply animal skins. They were used as bags, and cream could be agitated within those bags simply by shaking them around. Some were swung on an apparatus made of sticks, like the one in the picture below:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaW6iGij956NQeCjbCbp4EZIN2S6UEaqdbJBZU1oBuad3isCfYoiDhCZSBFSYJUrXRR0ljleUFqmaAIhH9_mGuwo6mI09yRUg-hfJxwdJVPD4QuCzjzjTVyMRIinXcSS0kQyQ0lRKaVMw/s1600/goatskinchurn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaW6iGij956NQeCjbCbp4EZIN2S6UEaqdbJBZU1oBuad3isCfYoiDhCZSBFSYJUrXRR0ljleUFqmaAIhH9_mGuwo6mI09yRUg-hfJxwdJVPD4QuCzjzjTVyMRIinXcSS0kQyQ0lRKaVMw/s400/goatskinchurn.jpg" width="338" /></a></div>
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The dash or plunger kind of butter churn (the type our mystery artifact might have been used in) has only been around since the sixth century according to most. <a href="http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-100-103-159-C">This artifact, found in Scotland</a>, which has been determined to be a butter churn's lid, seems to confirm that fact. </div>
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The plunger type churn, while it probably the most well-known and identifiable type, it is not the only device used to churn butter. Other machines used to make butter were invented after hundreds of years using the plunger-type churn. They made the process a lot easier, and a lot less work. Here are a few examples(though there's not fifty ways, like this post's title suggests):</div>
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If you've been to our <i>Prairie Stories </i>event in September you may have seen someone using a <i>paddle churn.</i> With these guys, there's a crank on the top that spins around a paddle on the inside of the jar (or whatever the cream is put into). The paddle works much like a dasher, moving the cream to separate it. These are mostly small, and were likely much more convenient to keep around the house. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwRG0qZAjiy-UadBo7OTgCMEL7UNg10UEgQOi2_xfKM46dfy0jpjwftO3RpSi0rpMntfN5iHWl1BOfhz6khU1gpXfASgKZgXCFjTO8eFOv8qySg7DkKKpfNCbCo6w-kTctStqUTd6aL4/s1600/Butter1web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwRG0qZAjiy-UadBo7OTgCMEL7UNg10UEgQOi2_xfKM46dfy0jpjwftO3RpSi0rpMntfN5iHWl1BOfhz6khU1gpXfASgKZgXCFjTO8eFOv8qySg7DkKKpfNCbCo6w-kTctStqUTd6aL4/s400/Butter1web.jpg" width="322" /></a></div>
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Another variety of butter churn is the <i>barrel churn</i>, which agitates the butter without a paddle or dasher moving around within it.These, as you can see, were named for their appearance, and were mostly used during the 19th century. One kind of this churn works like a paddle churn in that a paddle moved the cream around inside of the barrel to make the butter. These could perhaps be seen as a much larger, less household-friendly version of the paddle churn.<br />
Another kind of barrel churn turns end-over-end with the use of a crank on the side. They provided a much quicker way to make butter. They also did so without the use of anything like a dasher or paddle agitating the cream within the churn.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2DxSaFU1PtRf9IrVLeblCS676DWNNo_ZKiMcxHfulVUxU3qGETnHzZuTOnv2rvgFLLq_jNkCITLO3RPSaxxoM9roHMnaRCZo8DJUkay_-sEem5rZM1cDmBqgKCE6Z9eWx_c72MfvSvE/s1600/endoverendchurn+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu2DxSaFU1PtRf9IrVLeblCS676DWNNo_ZKiMcxHfulVUxU3qGETnHzZuTOnv2rvgFLLq_jNkCITLO3RPSaxxoM9roHMnaRCZo8DJUkay_-sEem5rZM1cDmBqgKCE6Z9eWx_c72MfvSvE/s400/endoverendchurn+%25281%2529.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An end-over-end barrel churn. </td></tr>
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One last type of butter churn is the <i>rocker churn. </i>These also did not require anything to move the cream around. They can really be seen as a more modern and sophisticated version of the ancient animal skin method of churning butter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJZ4XDhuV6t_MGVS4ExEW35qzn7fPyNITMOwhjY3hOLJzVBmiOXSw6K5F4eG2zXpMGqwUQ0Eu4XsOXZDA7g11H6vqkxL8sQcFFQOhGPP0Geq3Z1v7oZl8ozpbErt6XTbWgThfv6QF21s/s1600/54ea5a4eae05a_-_butter-churn-aa1005-de.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJZ4XDhuV6t_MGVS4ExEW35qzn7fPyNITMOwhjY3hOLJzVBmiOXSw6K5F4eG2zXpMGqwUQ0Eu4XsOXZDA7g11H6vqkxL8sQcFFQOhGPP0Geq3Z1v7oZl8ozpbErt6XTbWgThfv6QF21s/s400/54ea5a4eae05a_-_butter-churn-aa1005-de.jpg" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These rocked back and forth with the help of the wires on either side. </td></tr>
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I could go on and on about <i>all</i> the different types of butter churns there are in the world(yes, there's more!), but you probably get the idea. People had many ideas about how to make this food, and they all worked on the principle of moving things around to separate the buttermilk from the butter fat. Still, the most ubiquitous type is the kind the mystery artifact would be used in.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6UFMRcG1-O8ov6P7L0mozLsVyTr3I77gH_4QDK9ayDFRoBwAkSfA3SAFlLIdcfk5Z2OdRhl_45XuTQAPwqo7LsqUfXG2mBR_oGMmvxm6xYCkSioi4ONeDyubrm_4U8IhFTav0iy9YpeE/s1600/2741c75ed497f80fdf1410137ac25be1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6UFMRcG1-O8ov6P7L0mozLsVyTr3I77gH_4QDK9ayDFRoBwAkSfA3SAFlLIdcfk5Z2OdRhl_45XuTQAPwqo7LsqUfXG2mBR_oGMmvxm6xYCkSioi4ONeDyubrm_4U8IhFTav0iy9YpeE/s400/2741c75ed497f80fdf1410137ac25be1.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
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Thanks for reading this week's reveal! We'd love it if you came to visit to check out all our previous artifacts in person, or just to have a look around the museum.<br />
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<br />Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-53173139099822224202016-05-09T12:00:00.000-05:002016-05-09T13:27:15.933-05:00Do You Have This Mystery Artifact Pegged? <div class="p1">
Happy Monday, readers! </div>
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Here’s the mystery artifact for this week!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWlJu4yMl7R3A8YUR8EeYuEsB3NJdjGm9RXrlJdgy-ATvOuEUq27m9NViqhe8p73JmLGiUa28nOd4eZsIbIDpw3eFpIm8yhyphenhyphenHbSRPDqlRJrmkRVovJLLagJHNyFWTbsTsiiurfDImVKA/s1600/DSCF7685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWlJu4yMl7R3A8YUR8EeYuEsB3NJdjGm9RXrlJdgy-ATvOuEUq27m9NViqhe8p73JmLGiUa28nOd4eZsIbIDpw3eFpIm8yhyphenhyphenHbSRPDqlRJrmkRVovJLLagJHNyFWTbsTsiiurfDImVKA/s400/DSCF7685.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This artifact measures just a little more than 27 inches long and is made of wood. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTf_9G9O49TIO6aUqCiKtfJBIqPTJJDmhK-pJZZqXaaYXr4m_tVWSMPFHzHBZ4N_R6b_a3c2IkuL538gazIMUA8V6Q7C-z1S79Crt9yV6NgV4DuS43KLlULlBANTCnoldi-XghHNiW2SA/s1600/DSCF7676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTf_9G9O49TIO6aUqCiKtfJBIqPTJJDmhK-pJZZqXaaYXr4m_tVWSMPFHzHBZ4N_R6b_a3c2IkuL538gazIMUA8V6Q7C-z1S79Crt9yV6NgV4DuS43KLlULlBANTCnoldi-XghHNiW2SA/s400/DSCF7676.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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At the bottom of the artifact, there are 7 pegs, also wooden, running through and sticking out of the shaft. Four go one way, and the other three run perpendicular to them. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLyI9gfO11M2ga-f2XjxrZS5j3fe6gfkhLiPORZG-KWfBoUHrCdN94zAo15uaaa8DOYjHsoq9LJ3AXL0J9jC6ZoY88OSoz9N2PTVm6EJW3Y2RqvRtMzglG3uzW-oXT1Ry6RZaDrimcqg/s1600/DSCF7680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzLyI9gfO11M2ga-f2XjxrZS5j3fe6gfkhLiPORZG-KWfBoUHrCdN94zAo15uaaa8DOYjHsoq9LJ3AXL0J9jC6ZoY88OSoz9N2PTVm6EJW3Y2RqvRtMzglG3uzW-oXT1Ry6RZaDrimcqg/s400/DSCF7680.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The opposite end is a little darker and shinier, most likely worn down from use. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcMn3bOEXSkBp0m_zFg3W_PkQWt8_Hb4whLpkjNNBc081kuGkrOklHK8CndXExuhvsaxdlF_kpgLLG2dNL6fdS3jyCRA7t-mmiO8duRyo5rVp6aifpcpFuD0hYiPjRdzbQY4vjMwcFAw/s1600/DSCF7683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcMn3bOEXSkBp0m_zFg3W_PkQWt8_Hb4whLpkjNNBc081kuGkrOklHK8CndXExuhvsaxdlF_kpgLLG2dNL6fdS3jyCRA7t-mmiO8duRyo5rVp6aifpcpFuD0hYiPjRdzbQY4vjMwcFAw/s400/DSCF7683.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Do you know what it is? Do you have a guess? </div>
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Let us know in the comments here, on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Museum-of-the-Grand-Prairie-122468977814451/?fref=ts">our Facebook page</a>, on our <a href="https://twitter.com/musgrandprairie">Twitter</a>, or even on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/museumofthegrandprairie/">our Instagram</a> (yes, we have one of those now)! And as always, please feel free to come to the museum to check it out yourself!</div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-73387507789603210202016-05-02T12:00:00.000-05:002016-05-02T12:55:35.458-05:00Great Balls of Fire! A Mystery Revealed<div class="p1">
If you visited the museum to look at this little guy or perhaps if you had <i>really </i>good eyesight and could read the labels in the pictures in the first post, you might have been able to tell that this mystery artifact calls itself a “fire ball.” What a strange name, right? What that really means is that it is supposed to be used to start fires. Most likely those fires would be in a fireplace in one’s home. Essentially, this “fire ball,” is a replacement for traditional kindling, and supposedly it is meant to be much less fussy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbSwLsWeHL_5GXlKHKXPRjkQrnvO2AdJGVtrrM2pA9KhDDQe_3Q2QQcHBwEmMuq51vRtSQj1K4KMnUDT1YjgDNZ_gvXB_mMPibuVS3F1QKlWzeO2EJF2IZnvGz1c7RHyy5faaBPB9YeA/s1600/DSCF7661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfbSwLsWeHL_5GXlKHKXPRjkQrnvO2AdJGVtrrM2pA9KhDDQe_3Q2QQcHBwEmMuq51vRtSQj1K4KMnUDT1YjgDNZ_gvXB_mMPibuVS3F1QKlWzeO2EJF2IZnvGz1c7RHyy5faaBPB9YeA/s400/DSCF7661.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The full text on the label is as follows:</div>
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“For Kindling fires without Kindlings, shavings, paper, or any combustible matter. Costs but 25 cents and lasts a life time.<br />
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Directions for Use: Place the Fire Ball in a Wide mouth bottle and fill with Kerosene Oil, above the ball, no…ing the cork so that the wire may extend out of the bottle, and keep corked so that the oil may not evaporate. If oil is objectionable Turpentine or alcohol may be used in the same way, when lighted, hold the ball <i>point down</i> until completely on fire, then hold or place under the fire with moderate draft, and in three minutes it will produce a brilliant fire. <b>Chinese Fire Ball Co., Sole Prop’rs, Augusta ME.</b>”</div>
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While researching, I couldn’t find anything about this particular name referring to the firestarting item (I found a lot about a kind of dragon in the Harry Potter series). Instead, this artifact could be called a “Cape Cod Firestarter.” </div>
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Many Cape Cod firestarters like this were made with pumice stone, which is porous, so it could hold a lot of the oil it needs to start the fire.<i> </i> Others are made of soapstone, which we believe our “Fire Ball” is as well. Soapstone is a soft stone, so it would easily be shaped into the “ball” at the end of the wire on our artifact. It is also a very heat resistant substance, so it can be soaked in a flammable liquid, and the stone itself will not be harmed, even at very high temperatures, which is why the Fire Ball claims it will “last a life time.”<i> </i></div>
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Other examples of these objects look a lot fancier than our example, with their own little pot, kept by the hearth, and some are still being sold and used today!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqmT2pG8FKizylICAUFSjy2QHUNxS4W5SJkEiREd-FTl5qXt4MqESLvLwHXs_m1negZ33kNO89uWC9EUKsSaPn6eoPkvR_k5xm1NGmF0yFVBcj2QzfhXzIVscBOGUKyRJWLtLn-9K2BU/s1600/DSC_0282%252520copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDqmT2pG8FKizylICAUFSjy2QHUNxS4W5SJkEiREd-FTl5qXt4MqESLvLwHXs_m1negZ33kNO89uWC9EUKsSaPn6eoPkvR_k5xm1NGmF0yFVBcj2QzfhXzIVscBOGUKyRJWLtLn-9K2BU/s400/DSC_0282%252520copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzMs11yRumhrIvNu-y8CkOt9qV19wghKwSeK6qD_SxWvIXm0otBBdrY-FQtO9YAAj0YxlZjxGs4Al3BzRXecyguLsXmb43mo7oZRWSCZcOk7CNhnDfwTdpEBb4b6sfMpvYFYgta4chiR0/s1600/s-l1000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzMs11yRumhrIvNu-y8CkOt9qV19wghKwSeK6qD_SxWvIXm0otBBdrY-FQtO9YAAj0YxlZjxGs4Al3BzRXecyguLsXmb43mo7oZRWSCZcOk7CNhnDfwTdpEBb4b6sfMpvYFYgta4chiR0/s400/s-l1000.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Hrp8P81qWglzc5x8a2UVNsikZygNqFd69-IaVLv-vmgPESY5PUI6_D0TlcU_TWJBsFuAMG3W3mks_HprblB7Drup-HrQU_ytpTTAoRkKAQrpEhPmdTkxhoe0d2u5vfOX1nOLtM-Zb3w/s1600/Fireplace-Toolset_55963.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Hrp8P81qWglzc5x8a2UVNsikZygNqFd69-IaVLv-vmgPESY5PUI6_D0TlcU_TWJBsFuAMG3W3mks_HprblB7Drup-HrQU_ytpTTAoRkKAQrpEhPmdTkxhoe0d2u5vfOX1nOLtM-Zb3w/s400/Fireplace-Toolset_55963.jpg" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What it looks like in use!</td></tr>
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I hope you enjoyed learning about this unique artifact as much as I did! If you're curious, you can come see this artifact and tons of other cool stuff at the museum.<br />
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Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-61611652858798607772016-04-25T12:00:00.000-05:002016-04-25T12:00:04.345-05:00Will We Stump You with This Mystery Artifact?<div class="p1">
Hello everyone!</div>
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Here’s the newest mystery artifact!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhHPivumEMBTzG9UlQ-bNSfo2m5O87D9v8sNuNXe-nPZb5HQQbGrIqRXdw1fNtAQMvPIfGil6RYphgSbX4J7WZdfpRj-LDxOkRA9P81t_swHFSg67hqTWSeHBziJ7Y-9N6d93f5nW-YEo/s1600/DSCF7643.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhHPivumEMBTzG9UlQ-bNSfo2m5O87D9v8sNuNXe-nPZb5HQQbGrIqRXdw1fNtAQMvPIfGil6RYphgSbX4J7WZdfpRj-LDxOkRA9P81t_swHFSg67hqTWSeHBziJ7Y-9N6d93f5nW-YEo/s400/DSCF7643.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cvAGDYt1Ym4eDFWR_Zgj1hGg26RzTzrXaanQZWvEVbYZpfq0XyVVYu0KGdSbMxRArIdlj8DAPeGlMXnXdL2TlLnEvOIrx_OQ3jzsTCw4IHUZ0bZc2e8y-VBWAZrnCCjJhCcgOWWkASw/s1600/DSCF7673.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cvAGDYt1Ym4eDFWR_Zgj1hGg26RzTzrXaanQZWvEVbYZpfq0XyVVYu0KGdSbMxRArIdlj8DAPeGlMXnXdL2TlLnEvOIrx_OQ3jzsTCw4IHUZ0bZc2e8y-VBWAZrnCCjJhCcgOWWkASw/s400/DSCF7673.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It’s a pretty simple artifact, as you can see. It consists of a thin metal handle, and a piece of cylindrical stone at the end of the handle.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju04NERGRyMu4PNUD2NSzvHwxbzvDvVehHGzPvn3AwzRqBkaxE_5We3EEzgmjw98G7OQhLnJLGySh7CiN5J6hMiQCtKekrwJdecVMOIhE81NshVkZmylcHoWdcBu_U0sF6tMOkPxD2wwk/s1600/DSCF7646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju04NERGRyMu4PNUD2NSzvHwxbzvDvVehHGzPvn3AwzRqBkaxE_5We3EEzgmjw98G7OQhLnJLGySh7CiN5J6hMiQCtKekrwJdecVMOIhE81NshVkZmylcHoWdcBu_U0sF6tMOkPxD2wwk/s400/DSCF7646.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The length of this object is about 7 1/2 inches, and the head is about 1 1/4 inches wide. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cvAGDYt1Ym4eDFWR_Zgj1hGg26RzTzrXaanQZWvEVbYZpfq0XyVVYu0KGdSbMxRArIdlj8DAPeGlMXnXdL2TlLnEvOIrx_OQ3jzsTCw4IHUZ0bZc2e8y-VBWAZrnCCjJhCcgOWWkASw/s1600/DSCF7673.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cvAGDYt1Ym4eDFWR_Zgj1hGg26RzTzrXaanQZWvEVbYZpfq0XyVVYu0KGdSbMxRArIdlj8DAPeGlMXnXdL2TlLnEvOIrx_OQ3jzsTCw4IHUZ0bZc2e8y-VBWAZrnCCjJhCcgOWWkASw/s400/DSCF7673.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Ours has a label that explains how it works, but that would be removed prior to use. </div>
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Do you know what it is? Do you have a guess? Let us know in the comments here or on our Facebook page!</div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-66346639726952542262016-04-18T14:53:00.002-05:002016-04-18T14:55:44.410-05:00Shedding a Little Light on this Mystery Artifact<div class="p1">
I thought I might stump our readers with this week's mystery artifact, but we got a correct answer from Brent on Facebook! Thanks to everyone for their guesses.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbhRoOwJC5QGbzcfquGq3_PrUMOVY2DlaFWVDPg-x8UbI1enBFllBX3HguHKGhqkJkFBaJN89wUmsDpRy9mjeeDXCLK7Z70P0cgTpIdMVBZcxtBYN97RBQeyOrw0UgaMQE9EZHfciJJc/s1600/DSCF7437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsbhRoOwJC5QGbzcfquGq3_PrUMOVY2DlaFWVDPg-x8UbI1enBFllBX3HguHKGhqkJkFBaJN89wUmsDpRy9mjeeDXCLK7Z70P0cgTpIdMVBZcxtBYN97RBQeyOrw0UgaMQE9EZHfciJJc/s400/DSCF7437.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is a head lamp! As in the kind that is worn on one’s head(not <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headlamp">the car kind</a>), and it was mainly used by miners. So, essentially, it is a very old version of this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWt3pWEqOPFrPKNMA5CngCkA-Jo_Dk0boTJTVJXo-BYWqi8cnHikIiaBX6BPkGUxp4PqQWsCtgzxwfEntGu-F2ZqSU5WINCgmVwpxCuNsjG-53V1csNuC2tQvdrxA-H45zFUDwCp6TJU/s1600/Koehler-GEN-II-on-Helmet-720x477.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWt3pWEqOPFrPKNMA5CngCkA-Jo_Dk0boTJTVJXo-BYWqi8cnHikIiaBX6BPkGUxp4PqQWsCtgzxwfEntGu-F2ZqSU5WINCgmVwpxCuNsjG-53V1csNuC2tQvdrxA-H45zFUDwCp6TJU/s400/Koehler-GEN-II-on-Helmet-720x477.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This kind of lamp is also sometimes called a teapot lamp (for the teapot-like shape), a sunshine lamp (for “Sunshine Wax,” a specific type of fuel made of paraffin wax mixed with oil) or an oil-wick lamp. The oil of the “oil-wick” goes in the center part of this lamp, and a wick would be inserted in the spout-like part of the lantern. And, as it is a head lamp, you might ask, “how does it go on your head?” Well, the hook on the back of the lamp hooks onto a hat or helmet. That would look a little like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCY9pJcUwEts5M9DOWQA5S355JJXITkVEpFP6WpmpKEoUAtJFyjfEixXhcEgnnLa_b6pSjZUZxenGifsQSq_eW_odPYRZl-yaA7prbFQ1zyO0kxKao4ASSc55sMdYCIY__hKwPQ-zy6I/s1600/WVMWM_minershat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCY9pJcUwEts5M9DOWQA5S355JJXITkVEpFP6WpmpKEoUAtJFyjfEixXhcEgnnLa_b6pSjZUZxenGifsQSq_eW_odPYRZl-yaA7prbFQ1zyO0kxKao4ASSc55sMdYCIY__hKwPQ-zy6I/s400/WVMWM_minershat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The first kinds of lighting in mines were candles or small lamps that were usually affixed to timbers or walls near where there were working. Since this didn’t always give precise illumination miners needed, candles were sometimes also affixed to hats. Eventually, oil lamps were created to fill these needs.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qtLJLmWMdL4T1zjy_I2Z2WI2JwQrppnCDwtVkbo8nUCFarNL8VDFyowv2q0gUyEEUV3MTUjQvL55gPElyNzjxpT3AHPWU3J29guCF4OUeMROuNsXw3K5OQPoHFYvt7GyrdCnFlvnv-I/s1600/miners_candle_holder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1qtLJLmWMdL4T1zjy_I2Z2WI2JwQrppnCDwtVkbo8nUCFarNL8VDFyowv2q0gUyEEUV3MTUjQvL55gPElyNzjxpT3AHPWU3J29guCF4OUeMROuNsXw3K5OQPoHFYvt7GyrdCnFlvnv-I/s400/miners_candle_holder.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The long spike was jabbed into the wood of support beams or crevices in the wall. The hook is for hanging on a hat.</td></tr>
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The oil lamps burned brighter than candles did, and they were easier to carry around while working. However, the burning of the wick also created much more smoke than the candles had, which could make working in a small space very difficult. Also, the open flame was susceptible to igniting flammable gasses inside the mines. This could cause explosions, which often had disastrous consequences.<br />
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Eventually, a new type of lamp, the carbide lamp, became more popular for the fact that it consumed less oxygen and provided cleaner, brighter light. These lamps had two chambers inside, one with water and the other filled with calcium carbide. When these substances mixed, they created a flammable gas which burned with a clean white flame. They usually looked like this:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmSqsbyTFYt1cmL5QsblAVILEYNzbgzrYsnIj895pttXHuO5Pz8NPJULu0ts6_d1R-5kJLJGJHuaW2gMAWXkrYZNSSwvZ0atxYY-kplopPYCaZfTKliKg8XYZXH_rSW-8fmIDgW2XNIA/s1600/Carbide_lamp_lit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSmSqsbyTFYt1cmL5QsblAVILEYNzbgzrYsnIj895pttXHuO5Pz8NPJULu0ts6_d1R-5kJLJGJHuaW2gMAWXkrYZNSSwvZ0atxYY-kplopPYCaZfTKliKg8XYZXH_rSW-8fmIDgW2XNIA/s400/Carbide_lamp_lit.jpg" width="361" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reflective surface made the flame even more effective.</td></tr>
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Even carbide lamps were short-lived, since battery-powered, electric lamps soon became widespread, and were much safer (since there isn’t the nasty problem of having an open flame anymore). If you want to know more about mining lights and hats, <span id="goog_1373252066"></span><a href="http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object-groups/mining-lights-and-hats">here's a site<span id="goog_1373252067"></span> all about them from the National Museum of American History</a>.<br />
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Thanks again for your guesses! And as always, come visit us, check out our exhibits and take a look at the mystery artifacts if you do! </div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-91684372073291118822016-04-11T12:00:00.000-05:002016-04-11T12:00:02.489-05:00A *Little* Mystery<div class="p1">
Hello again, and welcome to the mystery artifact of the week.</div>
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Here is this week’s artifact:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8G3T23kL_1hQiL3u0w0MtPuTFj16dSmSzfPYG8c2TkTCeFc9CnFy2C9P_TshIt4jxkNX9t9bIGSIXCexvsKoXkOX61V8TlzWwplkVGbjsEQ38VATyafGJls3Y5FiWs368aOYS53IE9Oo/s1600/DSCF7437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8G3T23kL_1hQiL3u0w0MtPuTFj16dSmSzfPYG8c2TkTCeFc9CnFy2C9P_TshIt4jxkNX9t9bIGSIXCexvsKoXkOX61V8TlzWwplkVGbjsEQ38VATyafGJls3Y5FiWs368aOYS53IE9Oo/s400/DSCF7437.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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As you can see it is a cylindrical copper object with a front that looks like a spout, and a downward-facing hook on the other side. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1HSaekh0P89hJtAm_oG-TM7rkIduMCAbYwWoBM9ASlvCFUw999RtoSFcX2JOJ3fG65N-6qXcFC1mnKSivJgMgdc3yclDbPBXllXmmjY_mVVNzGS5RbSPXn5nMh8uiNNMspVxvYeAm-U/s1600/DSCF7442.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1HSaekh0P89hJtAm_oG-TM7rkIduMCAbYwWoBM9ASlvCFUw999RtoSFcX2JOJ3fG65N-6qXcFC1mnKSivJgMgdc3yclDbPBXllXmmjY_mVVNzGS5RbSPXn5nMh8uiNNMspVxvYeAm-U/s400/DSCF7442.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0UAeQUCJUYfCDEERjAOaKwNSElriIelYgn47rQtr0L7ShFmJDyc7rvIa_2ZIdJIzEat8-6bwnKFYqGRMn_wUnhAkhX48laxR9LMQl6G-xW183snn1IIwKjboJfJpqxSWP1Upd9pRVwg/s1600/DSCF7449.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0UAeQUCJUYfCDEERjAOaKwNSElriIelYgn47rQtr0L7ShFmJDyc7rvIa_2ZIdJIzEat8-6bwnKFYqGRMn_wUnhAkhX48laxR9LMQl6G-xW183snn1IIwKjboJfJpqxSWP1Upd9pRVwg/s400/DSCF7449.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">What may surprise you is the size of the artifact. It is only 2 1/4 inches tall at the center, and 4 inches wide from the end of the spout to the end of the hook. It is 6 inches around the base. So....it's pretty small! </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMErmS9BGk70pKq24Tw0JH6HCMJIbFQYZ19K1FLfIKIJYhftgDTb19FZOD0oLKuHcyoKxgGDtrMV5uV_17FpehxdO78HY5akNLYEqpm7h_OFE3WDkuGP2IwW5oFcOzscs5mZFxyOBsqlg/s1600/DSCF7456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMErmS9BGk70pKq24Tw0JH6HCMJIbFQYZ19K1FLfIKIJYhftgDTb19FZOD0oLKuHcyoKxgGDtrMV5uV_17FpehxdO78HY5akNLYEqpm7h_OFE3WDkuGP2IwW5oFcOzscs5mZFxyOBsqlg/s400/DSCF7456.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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What do you think it could be? Please leave a comment on the blog here or on our Facebook page with guesses or questions about the artifact. </div>
Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1973759702677855239.post-3009770842352322772016-04-04T14:02:00.001-05:002016-04-04T14:02:42.703-05:00A Sweet Mystery Reveal<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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In case you missed it, here's what our mystery was this week:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTN6t5BfSZIJYUoz_w0rII1pTJFBcW3MLYx8-cc1AWpKJvTEmpGaJrLCgU_MU5qDP5AhejXmeJxORP2bNVp6QYURcP-CasNh3PFY3JwWsgrE7-F_n0U8xLFzCEWfhlZTHXgnOe4fHeME0/s1600/DSCF7474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTN6t5BfSZIJYUoz_w0rII1pTJFBcW3MLYx8-cc1AWpKJvTEmpGaJrLCgU_MU5qDP5AhejXmeJxORP2bNVp6QYURcP-CasNh3PFY3JwWsgrE7-F_n0U8xLFzCEWfhlZTHXgnOe4fHeME0/s400/DSCF7474.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As some of you readers probably knew, these are </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>spiles</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, used for tapping maple trees. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>Tapping</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s that? Well, I suppose you need to know how to tap a tree first. What “tapping” means is making a hole in the tree so sugary water (sap) can come out. This is done in late winter and very early spring because the sap freezes on colder nights. Then, during the day, the temperature is above freezing, the sap melts and can run freely out of the tree. Let the collecting begin! Later in the spring, trees begin to bud, which creates a chemical reaction within the trees. This usually makes for lower quality maple syrup. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>A Brief History of Maple Sugaring</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">The earliest instances of collecting maple sap were done by native North Americans, who made slits in the sides of the maple trees and stuck a hollow twig or thin piece of bark into it. The sap would flow down into a wooden bucket placed on the ground.</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One “legend” explaining the discovery of maple syrup says that an Iroquois chief threw an axe into a tree, and the next day the tree leaked liquid. That day, the liquid was used to cook meat in, and they discovered it to have a sweet taste. Another story says that a branch of a maple tree broke off. From that fracture, sap flowed out and created an icicle, or “sapsicle,” which they realized had a sweet taste.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eventually, instead of using an axe, which hurts the tree quite a bit (and can kill it if done too much), people started using augers to drill holes into the sides of trees. Our mystery artifacts were most likely used in conjunction with an auger. The hole is cut, and the narrow end was inserted into the tree. The sap then ran down into a container which was set underneath the spile, or in some cases hung directly onto the spile (which is why some of our mystery artifact examples have a metal hook on them).</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is what a modern one might look like, although many people also use plastic spigots and tubing to guide the sap to its collection container:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobH-3qGYsg_YN8QJAMEmq6cEkeWPi5sWRtJA1ZihIPlAGWjHrC8UOvzymm_wLFP_6hPb-N0vr1Fd5m8FjB3uI9dtk4kzq_vuxPTGhuw5SleyP0v38vimEHicyKeVle23yecpx2HTceys/s1600/Maple_syrup_bucket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobH-3qGYsg_YN8QJAMEmq6cEkeWPi5sWRtJA1ZihIPlAGWjHrC8UOvzymm_wLFP_6hPb-N0vr1Fd5m8FjB3uI9dtk4kzq_vuxPTGhuw5SleyP0v38vimEHicyKeVle23yecpx2HTceys/s400/Maple_syrup_bucket.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>From Sap to Sugar</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From that you can make maple syrup. How? Heat. The clear, watery sap that comes out of the tree has to be cooked down to make the brown, sticky syrup we know and love on our waffles and pancakes. Native Americans heated up rocks and put them into the sap to heat it up. Eventually, people moved on to cast iron pots. These days, there are specialized “evaporator pans” which continually heat and cook down large amounts of sap, making them more efficient when making a lot of syrup (hundreds of taps-worth, for example). It takes a long time to cook the sap that a tree produces down to the maple syrup that we put on the table at breakfast. In general, 40 gallons of sap makes about 1 gallon of maple syrup. Why do all that work just for maple syrup? </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">What makes it different from store bought? Well, a lot of the time, the syrup that they sell at the grocery store isn’t even made from real maple syrup. It’s usually corn syrup, sometimes with “maple flavor” added. And in my opinion the real stuff from the trees is far superior. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><i>Maple Sugar Days at CCFPD</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did you know that this particular mystery artifact has a connection to our very own <a href="http://ccfpd.org/">CCFPD</a>? We have Sugar Maple grove (or “sugar bush” as they are sometimes called) at Homer Lake that was tapped commercially from 1890-1942. At one point, around 400 trees were tapped!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.38; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;">In fact, for years we have held a program at Homer Lake Forest Preserve called Maple Sugar Days where families can learn a little bit about the process of tapping trees and making maple syrup. I'll leave you today with a few pictures with one such program.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHecX-dtZv7932ZYNjeETIx52aiLvgl7y0M5GX3MrputzNgsO0-_BVmHSQE1_9o1u0soP3JxI4o-oM5oPY3frIqyIsgoUwlHpsJsyw2_x89K_PcM3fqlHn_CL2MI0uAAseqEjyT_YD6k/s1600/IMG_0993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHecX-dtZv7932ZYNjeETIx52aiLvgl7y0M5GX3MrputzNgsO0-_BVmHSQE1_9o1u0soP3JxI4o-oM5oPY3frIqyIsgoUwlHpsJsyw2_x89K_PcM3fqlHn_CL2MI0uAAseqEjyT_YD6k/s400/IMG_0993.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sap in a sap bucket!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitY7_Cq5SNXOC0drZ5U4pAhnpjGe2vKfge92Iyiqt3CN2AtbLg0Ejt_a0TrqvqdH-l0BuNv_1XON0c2lZd9EQUsYKaFxX6Y2vx5hpZ2kAPvWFdBuFY3pW6wm01T7R95HcRH6bGp_0Sw2g/s1600/IMG_1005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitY7_Cq5SNXOC0drZ5U4pAhnpjGe2vKfge92Iyiqt3CN2AtbLg0Ejt_a0TrqvqdH-l0BuNv_1XON0c2lZd9EQUsYKaFxX6Y2vx5hpZ2kAPvWFdBuFY3pW6wm01T7R95HcRH6bGp_0Sw2g/s400/IMG_1005.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKDhNvASvcp-5gPPOppJ2oudb0h9xPMHq93U81Uc-f-_RCuzcK5yyE5OCGT-4NAMjsWt89N_KwmYToC_TFMykrL5CIGk0dR0Hsejaf0aIkuDNwx250YDj9zJEHqBwdenYZ-QqcxymtuE/s1600/IMG_0997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKDhNvASvcp-5gPPOppJ2oudb0h9xPMHq93U81Uc-f-_RCuzcK5yyE5OCGT-4NAMjsWt89N_KwmYToC_TFMykrL5CIGk0dR0Hsejaf0aIkuDNwx250YDj9zJEHqBwdenYZ-QqcxymtuE/s400/IMG_0997.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boiling sap down into syrup.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRQLN7qhTyrsYDWsrX3l_10dCMUW4ezn_qu0xBwKvm0ydwVcmQY_H5u5DJhGeA5ihVvJ4r3XXEKm-T5bQmht_fx1cSjG3GH1fFYN2MBuPWoga9ij5pViWztLhIz7zjOSwp_ifJdWbxOU/s1600/IMG_1027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRQLN7qhTyrsYDWsrX3l_10dCMUW4ezn_qu0xBwKvm0ydwVcmQY_H5u5DJhGeA5ihVvJ4r3XXEKm-T5bQmht_fx1cSjG3GH1fFYN2MBuPWoga9ij5pViWztLhIz7zjOSwp_ifJdWbxOU/s400/IMG_1027.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drilling the tap hole. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyJRRD6_QvW0SNQawfqXpWiZpUy8ts2IS4GGrJy-Io1c0F40iK9Qy5LGDAfkIx865YqCg2QM6zsKCZmuBjoB5BEPqZp1EvMhtDU3vChPpWFkC9YlOyRpp2daWw2EnMCE0jqG5nzpmgdg/s1600/IMG_1024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWyJRRD6_QvW0SNQawfqXpWiZpUy8ts2IS4GGrJy-Io1c0F40iK9Qy5LGDAfkIx865YqCg2QM6zsKCZmuBjoB5BEPqZp1EvMhtDU3vChPpWFkC9YlOyRpp2daWw2EnMCE0jqG5nzpmgdg/s400/IMG_1024.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hammering the tap in.</td></tr>
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As always, please come check out the mystery artifacts at the museum. And while you're at it, check out our great exhibits too!<br />
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Museum of the Grand Prairie Collectionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16035202634557139957noreply@blogger.com0