wow.

I was gonna erase that last post, but Erin posted a comment on it before I had time to reread and dump it.

Darn you Erin!!

Well, here we are the day after Independence Day. And what did I do on my extended weekend?

I went to a flea market.

I went to Los Banos and had BBQ and beer with family.

I went to antique shops all over the place and polluted the air.

I had a BBQ at my place and had a few friends over and we had a blast.

I read a book.

And finished it the next day.

Goooood boook!

It was one of the books I found at that thrift shop I mentioned a while back. It was The Cabinet of Curiosites by Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston. It got me curious about cabinets of curiosities or wunderkammer. They were something where amateur collectors or even scientists would display their wares.

I thought they were real cabinets. At first they were, but later the items would be so big they wouldn't fit in a cabinet. Like say an Allosaurus skull. So these collectors would make displays and call them cabinets of curiosites.

Some of these collectors would charge a fee to check out their items. These were in a sense the first museums. P.T. Barnum had a cabinet. You may have heard of it. His cabinet/museum was so popular he had to find a way to get people out. So, he had a sign made that said "This way to the Egress". All the patrons would make a beeline to the Egress and find themselves outside with no way to get back in unless they paid admission again.

Barnum was credited with saying "there a sucker born every minute". According to the Ringling Brothers website, there is no proof that he ever said that.

But you gotta admit, the Egress is pretty funny!

GD

This way to the Egress!