# Old timey photography flash lamps: Did the tray have any specific name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874 "2014-11-17T18:19:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/1 "2014-11-17T18:19:36Z")
[For reference](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash-lamp#mediaviewer/File:Crop_of_patent_636492.png). The whole apparatus would have been called a ‘flash lamp,’ but did the little tray containing the powder have a specific name? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/2 "2014-11-17T18:28:57Z")
I’ve only heard them called a generic “flash powder holder.” ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/3 "2014-11-17T19:13:27Z")
OMG, I know this one! And only because I found a new show on TV called ‘How we got to ‘Now’’. Very similar to an old favorite show by James Burke; ‘Connections’. It’s called - a - wait-for-it… flashgun And I can tell you that they used a layer of gunpowder and a layer of ground manganese. The gunpowder was put in first. It both lifted the manganese and set it off. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/4 "2014-11-17T19:20:39Z")
> [@HipGnosis](#): > > {…} And I can tell you that they used a layer of gunpowder and a layer of ground manganese. > The gunpowder was put in first. It both lifted the manganese and set it off. Manganese not magnesium? At least at some point “flash powder” was in fact [flash powder,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_powder) a mixture of oxidizer and metallic fuel. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/5 "2014-11-17T20:14:21Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Manganese not magnesium? Hmmm.. is there a name for the phenomenon when you think one word and somehow your fingers type a slightly different word? A lesser man might blame spellcheck ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/6 "2014-11-18T01:25:51Z")
Thanks, all! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/7 "2014-11-18T01:29:43Z")
A [hod](http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hod). Typically larger, used by masons to carry [wet cement or bricks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_hod) or other such masonry material. But could be used for the OP’s meaning too. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/8 "2014-11-18T04:40:20Z")
> [@HipGnosis](#): > > Hmmm… is there a name for the phenomenon when you think one word and somehow your fingers type a slightly different word? > > A lesser man might blame spellcheck It’s sort of like a brain fart, but it happens in your fingers. How about calling it a “Finger Fart”? 🆒 Or you could say “I just washed my hands and can’t do a damned thing with them.” ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/9 "2014-11-18T06:57:07Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [For reference](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash-lamp#mediaviewer/File:Crop_of_patent_636492.png). The whole apparatus would have been called a ‘flash lamp,’ but did the little tray containing the powder have a specific name? Flash pan, which I am assuming gave rise to the saying a flash in the pan. Declan ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/10 "2014-11-18T09:02:14Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Flash pan, which I am assuming gave rise to the saying a flash in the pan. > > Declan No, that is part of a blackpowder gun. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/11 "2014-11-18T11:40:29Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [For reference](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash-lamp#mediaviewer/File:Crop_of_patent_636492.png). The whole apparatus would have been called a ‘flash lamp,’ but did the little tray containing the powder have a specific name? The text of the patent you linked to simply calls it a “trough”. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/12 "2014-11-18T12:43:50Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Flash pan, which I am assuming gave rise to the saying a flash in the pan. As **MrDibble** said, this comes from a flintlock weapon. Here are the parts of a flintlock (the pan is under the frizzen): [![](http://thearmsguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Flintlock-Mechanism.jpg) ](http://thearmsguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Flintlock-Mechanism.jpg) A “flash in the pan” occurs when the powder in the pan ignites but fails to ignite the main charge in the barrel. You get the big flash in front of your face (the flash in the pan, literally), but the weapon doesn’t fire. This is a fairly common type of misfire with a flintlock. Here is a video of a real flash in the pan: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pUaCMP0RyUE/maxresdefault.jpg ".50CAL FLINTLOCK FLASH IN THE PAN") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUaCMP0RyUE) ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-timey-photography-flash-lamps-did-the-tray-have-any-specific-name/704874/13 "2014-11-18T20:26:34Z")
> [@Declan](#): > > Flash pan, which I am assuming gave rise to the saying a flash in the pan. > > Declan As others noted, perhaps not for the saying but the term “flash pan” is good. This [link](http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/07/from-the-great-pyramid-to-toy-trains-early-flash-photography) points out that an earlier light source gave us the term “in the limelight”