# Untouched, unerased school blackboards from 1917 discovered **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 7, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932 "2015-06-07T23:20:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/21 "2015-06-08T21:24:38Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > If I’d found them I’d have to look back behind them, because of the ending of **Thunderbolt and Lightfoot** That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the photo of the blackboard with holes in it. _Hey, maybe something’s behind this blackboard! Where’s the sledgehammer?_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/22 "2015-06-09T01:51:44Z")
The thing that got me is I remember when lower case "m"s were written with three humps, but had forgotten I ever knew that. this may be my recent mini-stroke talking. Are they still? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/23 "2015-06-09T02:15:31Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > The thing that got me is I remember when lower case "m"s were written with three humps, but had forgotten I ever knew that. > > this may be my recent mini-stroke talking. Are they still? I never stopped writing them that way. FWIW, none of my students write in cursive, but they have no trouble reading mine. What really fascinates them is for me to write them a pass in cursive with a fountain pen. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/24 "2015-06-09T02:27:50Z")
**Becky2844** , in the Palmer Method, as you and I and that teacher were taught, they are. To increase speed and fluidity, lower-case letters start and end on the baseline. That means that letters that start with a vertical down stroke need to get the pen up to the top first, causing the double up-down stroke. Taller letters, like **h** or **k** , turn that into a loop, but the first strokes of **m** and **n** don’t have room for it. **Scumpup** , my teachers banned ballpoint pens because no civilized person uses them for serious written communication. Some of our desks had holes in the top right corners for inkwells, but cartridge pens were allowed. **Mr Shine,** face it: You’re an uncivilized illiterate. Just ask my third-grade teacher, if she’s still alive. Or get a fountain pen and get ready for a bout of automatic writing. You just won’t be able to read it. (BIG 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/25 "2015-06-09T02:32:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Really? How old are you? I find the writing completely legible, but I grew up using cursive. Scratching my head about that post too. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/26 "2015-06-09T05:17:32Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > The handwriting was all but unreadable. > [@Colibri](#): > > Really? How old are you? I find the writing completely legible, but I grew up using cursive. Kinda weird when I think about it. I too am old enough to read that blackboard easily, but I know that cursive is fast disappearing ( or has already disappeared ) from the American curriculum. Which means I am conversant in a dieing script. It’s like being able to speak Welsh or something :). ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/27 "2015-06-09T13:53:00Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Whats the deal with the weird spelling on the calendar? > DELEMAER You are misreading it. What you think is an L is a C written like three sides of a rectangle. The top line is very close to the line surrounding the calendar, so it’s harder to see. After the M is the letter B (not an A), written like the way the number 8 shows up on old digital lettering (two squares stacked). Again, the bottom line looks missing (making you think it’s an A), but it’s just close to the line above the days. It clearly says DECEMBER ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/28 "2015-06-09T14:36:20Z")
Now they only need to find the 98 year old rascal that shirked blackboard duty. ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/29 "2015-06-09T14:57:00Z")
Why wasn’t there a Dec 2nd or 3rd in 1917? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/30 "2015-06-09T15:21:26Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > Why wasn’t there a Dec 2nd or 3rd in 1917? The number association with the days of the week doesn’t actually work for December, 1917, but it does for November. The “1” in the top week just needs to shift over to Thursday, then you’d have your 2 and 3 for Friday and Saturday. Apparently they first constructed that calendar month in November and later erased the “November” and rewrote “December”. They also moved the “1” then to Saturday as it should be but had not yet changed the rest of the numbers in subsequent weeks for that month. The cursive was perfectly legible for me, an ‘old timer’. Just of matter of when you were in school I guess. Loved the figure drawings and math wheel, especially the little _E = MC2_ next to it. Not really. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/31 "2015-06-09T16:08:10Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > **Scumpup** , my teachers banned ballpoint pens because no civilized person uses them for serious written communication. Some of our desks had holes in the top right corners for inkwells, but cartridge pens were allowed They must not have had any left-handed people in their classes. If I write with a pen that doesn’t dry immediately, everything turns into an illegible smear. My only experience with using a fountain pen was cutting myself with one when my sister was learning calligraphy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/32 "2015-06-09T16:59:29Z")
> [@Catamount](#): > > They must not have had any left-handed people in their classes. They may have been left-handers when they came into school, but by Jove they weren’t going to be left-handed when they left if the teachers had anything to say about it! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/33 "2015-06-09T18:03:04Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > Why wasn’t there a Dec 2nd or 3rd in 1917? There was, but The Kaiser stole them! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/34 "2015-06-10T00:03:33Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > They may have been left-handers when they came into school, but by Jove they weren’t going to be left-handed when they left if the teachers had anything to say about it! ☹ Damn straight. There was a reason I mentioned that the inkwells were in the RIGHT (double meaning intended) corner… ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/35 "2015-06-10T01:15:59Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > They may have been left-handers when they came into school, but by Jove they weren’t going to be left-handed when they left if the teachers had anything to say about it! ☹ Certainly one of the more sinister comments I’ve heard on the SDMB lately. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/36 "2015-06-10T17:12:23Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > :o I haven’t seen block letters in ages. I had even forgotten they ever existed. Now, I can make out December. thanks > > block letters were for really young kids? before they learned to print, then they learned cursive? > > printed letters > [http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading\_genie/alpha.jpg](http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/alpha.jpg) Dang, I haven’t seen printed letters in forever, I damn near forgot about them. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/37 "2015-06-10T19:33:42Z")
> [@Frazzled](#): > > Why wasn’t there a Dec 2nd or 3rd in 1917? > [@lieu](#): > > The number association with the days of the week doesn’t actually work for December, 1917, but it does for November. The “1” in the top week just needs to shift over to Thursday, then you’d have your 2 and 3 for Friday and Saturday. Apparently they first constructed that calendar month in November and later erased the “November” and rewrote “December”. They also moved the “1” then to Saturday as it should be but had not yet changed the rest of the numbers in subsequent weeks for that month. I’d guess that’s when the new blackboards went up. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/38 "2015-06-10T19:49:27Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > I’d guess that’s when the new blackboards went up. Thank you, Sherlock Holmes. It would be too geeky to admit that is pretty cool thinking. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/39 "2015-06-10T21:37:12Z")
Interesting to find out that Thanksgiving was celebrated in December, back in 1917… > [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I wonder what’s up with the Stars of David at the top of the board, above the multiplication wheel? Wondering if it was related to the time of year (Chanukah) or the year itself (1917, Israel formed) or if some kids just liked drawing stars that way with colored chalk. One ventures to guess that children who are learning to multiply aren’t going to be drawing along the top of the board. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932/40 "2015-06-10T21:43:38Z")
The [Balfour Declaration](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration) was 1917. Israel became a country in 1948. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/untouched-unerased-school-blackboards-from-1917-discovered/721932.md?page=3)