Mature Life Features

. . . but it was two weeks ago that

the Super Supper Shuttle launched its maiden trips.

And it’s here again this Friday.

If you haven’t marked down its schedule, do it now.

It’s free and operates on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month

Departure from Verena at Gilbert is at

3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 5 p.m.

Departure from restaurants is at

3:15 p.m., 3:45 p.m., 4:15 p.m., 4:45 p.m., 5:15 p.m, and final pickup at 5:45 p.m.

Be at the pickup point on time or be left behind and wait for the next one.

Restaurants this month are

Wendy’s Hamburgers,

Chili’s Grill & Bar

Texas Roadhouse

Cafe Zupas.

= = = = =

When the cops arrest a mime,

do they tell him or her

that they have the right to remain silent?

= = = = =

Some Things Never Change

With inflation catapulting prices to stratospheric and shoving 401(k)s into the economic mud, it’s a bit comforting to learn that some things have become cheaper.

Take the humble and ubiquitous nail.

A Wellesley College economist has drafted its history from 1695 when it cost about 12 cents, to 2020, when the price per nail was half that. The reasons are a bit convoluted and his history indicates that the price per nail almost hit 20 cents in the late 1700s and sank to a low of 2 cents during World War II.

Until the 1700s, nails were hand-forged by blacksmiths hammering a rod of iron into the proper shape. As late as the 1800s, they could make one nail a minute, compared with modern machines that spit out 2,000 nails a minute.

The first U.S. patent for cut nails – a machine cut them from a thin strip of iron – was issued in 1795. It pumped out 6,000 nails an hour. This mirrored the Industrial Revolution, which saw nail production move from blacksmith to machines progressively powered by water, steam and electricity. 

If you’re wondering why such importance is relegated to such a minor piece of hardware, you might recall how Benjamin Franklin regarded its importance:

For want of a nail, the shoe was lost

For want of a shoe, the horse was lost

For want of a horse, the rider was lost

For want of a rider, the battle was lost

For want of a battle, the kingdom of was lost

…all for want of a nail.

Nails are used to fasten one or more pieces of something together. The most common objects they are hammered into are made of wood. They also are used throughout the construction industry in concert, plaster, plastic and drywall. As proclaimed in the message above, that missing nail would have fastened a metal horseshoe to a horse’s hoof.

What once was a cut piece of metal with one end flattened into a head, has morphed into roofing nails, finishing nails, box nails, flooring nails, masonry nails, two-headed nails and screw nails, among others. But its original design, which has been documented to at least as far back as 3400 B.C. in ancient Egypt, still holds fast.

The description of nails in pennies does not spring from their cost. It denotes their length. For example, a 2-penny nail means its length covers the width of two pennies.