# Gavels (and maces) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 16, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gavels-and-maces/810663 "2018-03-16T13:40:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gavels-and-maces/810663/21 "2018-04-25T22:00:41Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Some zany hijinks recently with the Nigerian Senate’s mace: [https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/19/africa/nigerians-senate-mace-found/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/19/africa/nigerians-senate-mace-found/index.html) And then the mace was found again “under an overpass”. Not like the mace of the “senate” of Vic.Aus, which was stolen in 1851 and never recovered. A formal inquiry found that it was /not/ taken across the road to a brothel :), (The parliament building is in what used to be in a rather grotty part of the CBD) Technical notes: actually just made of wood (like any hammer), and can’t be just melted down for money. And that big “warhead” is actually the counter-weight/pommel/ “other end”. The hammer end shrunk to nothing when it became a symbol of office, then the pommel bulked up. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gavels-and-maces/810663/22 "2018-05-02T23:50:19Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Thumping a staff on the floor three times is a tradition at the Comédie Française in Paris, as that was what used to be done to announce the start of theatrical performances in the 17th (and 18th?) centuries. It was also the way orchestras were conducted (the composer Lully died as a result of an infection when he managed to thump his staff on his own foot). Served him right for what he did to the soprano who told him she was pregnant. I’d say his set of priorities was baroque, but I understand **elucidator** looks in on the forum from time to time, and I’m already on thin ice with him… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2018, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gavels-and-maces/810663/23 "2018-08-24T18:10:06Z")
During a recent visit to Norfolk, Va., I saw the municipal mace, said to be the only pre-American Revolution city mace still in use: [https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant\_Review-g50470-d8036243-Reviews-Slyman\_s\_Tavern-Independence\_Ohio.html](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g50470-d8036243-Reviews-Slyman_s_Tavern-Independence_Ohio.html) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gavels-and-maces/810663/24 "2018-08-25T00:15:36Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > During a recent visit to Norfolk, Va., I saw the municipal mace, said to be the only pre-American Revolution city mace still in use: [https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant\_Review-g50470-d8036243-Reviews-Slyman\_s\_Tavern-Independence\_Ohio.html](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g50470-d8036243-Reviews-Slyman_s_Tavern-Independence_Ohio.html) I think that’s a link to a moderately-priced restaurant in Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gavels-and-maces/810663/25 "2018-08-25T05:18:06Z")
D’oh! Try this: [Norfolk's Historic Mace & Seal | City of Norfolk, Virginia - Official Website](https://www.norfolk.gov/index.aspx?NID=2409) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gavels-and-maces/810663/26 "2018-08-26T11:55:00Z")
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