EVEN PIANISSISSIMO, ppp, WASN’T ENOUGH for knitters back in 1915. This, from History Facts, which reports, “The New York Philharmonic had to ask audiences not to knit during concerts.”
It’s a perfect topic for this website: a fact not generally known, but even more important, one that leads to other facts in a natural way. Here are tidbits gleaned as well as encouraged from Interesting Facts.
Those Noisy Needles. History Facts recounts that back in 1915, “People knitted everywhere, from buses to courtrooms and even while attending shows at Carnegie Hall. However, the clacking of needles proved distracting to performers and audience members alike, prompting the New York Philharmonic to take action. A program dated February 7, 1915, stated, ‘the Directors respectfully request that [knitting], which interferes with the artistic enjoyment of the music, be omitted.’ ”
Why So Much Knitting? “At the time,” History Facts says, “knitting was promoted as a patriotic act to support soldiers fighting in World War I. Even though the United States didn’t officially join the war until 1917, organizations such as the American Red Cross encouraged U.S. citizens to knit warm clothing to aid in the Allied war effort.”
Supporting the Boys “Over There.” History Facts describes, “In 1917, future President Herbert Hoover, who was then head of the U.S. Food Administration, pondered ways to supply soldiers with heartier meals. Hoover asked Americans to participate in ‘Meatless Tuesdays’ and ‘Wheatless Wednesdays,’ leading to more than 10 million households pledging to use potato flour and chicken instead of wheat flour and beef.”
History Facts continues, “The Hoover administration later published a cookbook titled Victory Recipes of the Great War, featuring dishes such as a ‘camouflage roast’ made of peanuts, and a lima bean ‘mock sausage’ for ‘Porkless Saturday.’ ”
Poster c. 1918. Image from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration via Wikipedia.
Hmm… This got me thinking of rationing in general. Wikipedia notes, “Although the United States did not have food rationing in World War I, it relied heavily on propaganda campaigns to persuade people to curb their food consumption. Propaganda was targeted disproportionally towards middle class white women and their organization provided some of the most substantial support to Hoover’s program to limit consumption.”
Later, Across the Atlantic. “Eating Brit-Style, the 1940s” describes how “Britain was especially challenged in that Hitler had plans of starving the people into submission. Britain’s rationing of food and fuel began in 1939.”
U.S. Gas Rationing? Not Until WWII. Curiously, car ownership was still relatively rare during WWI: 5.6 million passenger cars for a U.S. population of 103.2 million in 1918. Apparently this meager number precluded any WWI gas rationing.
Tires, the Critical Commodity. It wasn’t until World War II that gasoline and more critically tires were rationed. The government’s Office of Price Administration began rationing tires on December 11, 1941. Wikipedia notes, “Throughout the war, rationing of gasoline was motivated by a desire to conserve rubber as much as by a desire to conserve gasoline.”
Back to History Facts and the NY Philharmonic. History Facts notes, “The New York Philharmonic is a legendary institution founded in 1842, making it the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States. It’s also among the historic “Big Five” orchestras around the country, along with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (founded in 1881), Chicago Symphony Orchestra (1891), Philadelphia Orchestra (1900), and Cleveland Orchestra (1918).”
NY Philharmonic musicians. Image from History Facts.
“Despite this prestigious history,” the website notes, “it can’t claim the title of the oldest orchestra in the world: That record belongs to the Royal Danish Orchestra, a European musical giant that first recruited musicians in 1448 and continues to perform today.”
By the Numbers. History Facts adds interesting tidbits in its “By the Numbers” feature: “Years that Gustav Mahler served as the New York Philharmonic’s music director— 2.” “Countries where the New York Philharmonic has performed—63.” “Length (in inches) of the world’s largest knitting needles—174.33.” And “Year the first knitting union was founded in Paris—1527.”
Gee, I wonder if the clatter of Madame Defarge’s knitting interfered with…. No, let’s not go there. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2024