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Reading old newspapers is an intoxicating cocktail. One part smugness of hindsight and one part affinity for the common struggle. My favorite random book purc

Reading old newspapers is an intoxicating cocktail. One part smugness of hindsight and one part affinity for the common struggle. My favorite random book purchase was from a multi-generational bookstore in San Francisco. Like many, it had succumbed to the pressures of rising rent and declining interest in musty parchment. In their going-out-of-business clearance pile, I happened upon an oversized binding of newspapers from Manchester, England. Partially water damaged on the edges but perfectly legible. Upon opening the book, curiosity quickly escalated to bibliophilic euphoria. This collection turned out to be from the early 1940's during The Blitz when the Nazis were bombing the shizer out of England. The best part... the Ovaltine ads. Apparently, Ovaltine used to be sold as a health elixir to calm your nerves before bed. I'm not sure how a chocolate malt drink aids sleep, but they must have sold well because the half and full page ads were in every paper. I've never had the pleasure of speaking with someone who grew up in Manchester during that time. What strange association they must have for Ovaltine. Comfort or terror? Hard to say.

alexpotato 4y ago
Old books as well. I recently read some books written during the late 1800's through to World War 1 about sniping (aka long distance military shooting). It was fascinating on so many levels: - The language was completely readable. On the one hand that makes sense but on the other it's wild to read something from over 100 years ago and still find it enjoyable and get a lot of the jokes etc - Seeing a discipline still relatively in its infancy develop in combat conditions was incredibly interesting. One book in particular mentions the psychology and persuasion required to convince command to adopt new technologies and tactics At the end of the day, you realize "we're all just people" spending a large amount of our time dealing with other people. The clothes and technologies change but we still stay largely the same.
adammarples 4y ago
My grandmother would swear that Ovaltine would help you sleep. She was from Sheffield.
- natmaka 4y ago
  AFAIK Ovomaltine is charged with magnesium, which a muscle relaxant.

alexpotato 4y ago

Old books as well. I recently read some books written during the late 1800's through to World War 1 about sniping (aka long distance military shooting). It was fascinating on so many levels: - The language was completely readable. On the one hand that makes sense but on the other it's wild to read something from over 100 years ago and still find it enjoyable and get a lot of the jokes etc - Seeing a discipline still relatively in its infancy develop in combat conditions was incredibly interesting. One book in particular mentions the psychology and persuasion required to convince command to adopt new technologies and tactics At the end of the day, you realize "we're all just people" spending a large amount of our time dealing with other people. The clothes and technologies change but we still stay largely the same.

adammarples 4y ago

My grandmother would swear that Ovaltine would help you sleep. She was from Sheffield.

natmaka 4y ago
AFAIK Ovomaltine is charged with magnesium, which a muscle relaxant.