The Guide to Laughter
Feb. 22nd, 2010 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magog_83I just wanted to share this hilarious excerpt from my 1930s book 'Everything Within: A Library of Information for the Home' which I leant to a friend and finally got back this afternoon. BEHOLD the Guide to Laughter. And I bet you thought a laugh was just a laugh. But no! It has Meaning. Or at least it did in the 1930s.
Other information for the home includes - What your doorbell ringing style says about You. Collar Lore for Men, and Pencil Points and their Meaning (clue: too pointy? You're a skinflint).
Yes, I do have many crazy old books with random stories and pictures - why do you ask?
Personal Highlights
Beware of the man who has cultivated the laugh in “A” and who gives vent to it often. This laugh is frequently acquired by the man of business who is sharp but not really clever. He wants to convey the impression that he is a jolly good fellow.
Distrust the very loud laugh too, for this is abnormal. But an honest person, weighed down by a secret grief, may cultivate this loud laugh almost unconsciously.
Beware of the man or woman who cannot laugh. When these people are not dangerous, they are very trying. They are the folk who say “I told you so” when things go wrong and who never help to put them right.
Beware of the man who has a sneaky little laugh; he has the heart of a worm and the spirit of a sheep. The woman who has a hoarse, animal laugh may be, and generally is, perfectly honourable, but she has no feminine charm.
There is a short, sudden, low laugh which one may only hear once or twice in a lifetime. This is the laugh of an enemy, who knows how to “hate and wait.” Watch this rarely heard laugh and steer clear of him who utters it, if you can. He is dangerous. [Ven wisely suggested this may the laugh otherwise known as MWAHAHAHA]
Other information for the home includes - What your doorbell ringing style says about You. Collar Lore for Men, and Pencil Points and their Meaning (clue: too pointy? You're a skinflint).
Yes, I do have many crazy old books with random stories and pictures - why do you ask?
Personal Highlights
Beware of the man who has cultivated the laugh in “A” and who gives vent to it often. This laugh is frequently acquired by the man of business who is sharp but not really clever. He wants to convey the impression that he is a jolly good fellow.
Distrust the very loud laugh too, for this is abnormal. But an honest person, weighed down by a secret grief, may cultivate this loud laugh almost unconsciously.
Beware of the man or woman who cannot laugh. When these people are not dangerous, they are very trying. They are the folk who say “I told you so” when things go wrong and who never help to put them right.
Beware of the man who has a sneaky little laugh; he has the heart of a worm and the spirit of a sheep. The woman who has a hoarse, animal laugh may be, and generally is, perfectly honourable, but she has no feminine charm.
There is a short, sudden, low laugh which one may only hear once or twice in a lifetime. This is the laugh of an enemy, who knows how to “hate and wait.” Watch this rarely heard laugh and steer clear of him who utters it, if you can. He is dangerous. [Ven wisely suggested this may the laugh otherwise known as MWAHAHAHA]
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Date: 2010-02-22 11:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-22 11:18 pm (UTC)My other favourite, and a very important one to bear in mind I think, is "The person who is always losing his umbrella is unlucky. Be cautious. Do not lend him money." Also, "It is a bad sign when people walk silently. But in these days of rubber heels, we must not prognosticate too rashly." GOOD TO KNOW.
God, I love this book :D
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Date: 2010-02-23 12:36 am (UTC)CAPSLOCK NINJA~~~
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Date: 2010-02-23 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-23 12:13 am (UTC)Love some of the old books - they will either make you laugh or tell you quite a bit about the people and beliefs of the time.
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Date: 2010-02-23 10:40 pm (UTC)My book advises a hair tonic made up of tincture of cantharides, spirit of rosemary, acetic acid (!), rum and water. To be rubbed in every night.
Hmmm. Apparently I shouldn't be bothering myself with that when there are more important hair questions to consider,
the question with which the average woman is faced is, "how shall I wave my hair?" :D
I adore old books - I have various books of etiquette and social letter writing guides and a great Careers for Girls book from the 1960s (Yes, YOU TOO can have a career.
just not quite as good as a man's)no subject
Date: 2010-02-23 01:47 am (UTC)What does your mystical book say about that kind of laugh, huh?
I'm not too proud to admit that I went through every one of these laughs and tried it out as I read about it. Yes, I'm a special snowflake. ^_^ And just as soon as I find my tuning fork, I'll be cultivating the 'key of A' laugh.
I leave you with a mwahahahahaha and inform you that I am hating and waiting. I may also have the heart of a worm, the spirit of a sheep and no feminine charms - worst chimaera ever. *g*
Thanks for sharing, hon!
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Date: 2010-02-23 10:49 pm (UTC)I am practising my Very Loud Laugh so people will think I am weighed down by a secret grief. Maybe I will strike a few attitudes too, while I'm at it. I am also working on my handshake, since the firm but easy handshake of a true friend and well wisher sends a thrill to the heart apparently (good to know for job interviews).
I shall leave you with some advice from the Mystical Book...
If, when you open a tin of fruit, the juice splashes up into your face, something good is coming for you.
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Date: 2010-02-23 08:39 am (UTC)It reminds me a bit of the Devil's Dictionary.
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Date: 2010-02-23 10:55 pm (UTC)My poor book would probably be horrified to know I was making fun of it, since it takes itself so very seriously :D But anything that analyses the sharpness of your pencil deserves it in my opinion!