I believe that the master would do well to look beyond the US borders when he cites historical “facts” such as this:
“Covering a wooden bridge is easy. The trusses already form a boxlike framework. Tack on some rafters and shingles and siding, and there you go. OK, it’s not brain surgery, but somebody had to think it up, and the somebody usually credited is Timothy Palmer, who built the prototypical American covered bridge in Philadelphia between 1800 and 1804.”
In particular, take a peek at this web site, that shows a picture of the famous covered bridge in Luzern (Switzerland), originally built in 1333. Die Kapellbrücke, le Pont de la Chapelle, à Lucerne
Or is Cecil trying to say that Timothy Palmer came up with the idea of the siding, in addition to the roof? If so, he should state that clearly.
Well, taking the quote from Cecil’s column you used, and adding a bit of bolding:
it seems that Unka Cece is referring to the more American fully enclosed bridges.
Did he think of Luzern bridge? I dunno, but he’s not neccessarrily discounting it - Just explaining the - to most of his audience - more familiar fully enclosed bridges.
I would also point out that Cecil did NOT say that the inventor of the covered bridge is Timothy Palmer. He said that ‘the person usually credited’ with thinking up the American covered bridge (siding included) is Timothy Palmer, who appears to have built the first version of one in America. Nothing about this statement by Cecil shows that he was confirming this tendency to credit the idea to Mr. Palmer.
As usual, someone wants to show they are smarter than Cecil, and proves they simply don’t take the time to read what he said.
DSYoungEsq, my understanding of your post is that you’re defending Cecil by saying:
a) He says that Timothy Palmer is usually credited with thinking up the American covered bridge. Cecil’s words are: “Covering a wooden bridge is easy. … somebody had to think it up, and the somebody usually credited is Timothy Palmer, who built the prototypical American covered bridge” Your reading of the sentence is “Timothy Palmer thought up the American covered bridge and built the first one.” My contention is that a more natural reading would be “Timothy Palmer was the first person to think of covering a bridge, and he built the first American one.”
b) In any event, Cecil says “I read somewhere…” instead of stating it as fact. That’s true, and you will notice that nowhere in my post did I say Cecil was wrong, I’m saying he did insufficient research and/or was not precise enough in his statement. In particular, the bridge I mentioned in my example is one that is widely known and viewed by a majority of American tourists who go to Switzerland.
And in no way did I intend to prove that I was smarter than Cecil Adams. I just happened to be in possession of a fact that seemed to contradict a statement in one of his columns.