I have a transcription from an 1894 Kansas newspaper saying my great-uncle Otto was annoyed because a gang of kids put “tick tacks” on his windows on Halloween. He kicked the wind out of one of the kids and broke two of his ribs. The article goes on to say the victim was more scared than hurt. What were tick tacks? I can’t find anything on Google.
Here you go: Halloween Traditions
Seems to have been a wooden spool and nail rigged to make a loud annoying sound against someone’s window.
Taking a huge stab in the dark, here - maybe tying a small stone to a window with a string, in such a way that when the wind blows, it taps at the window, with a ‘tick-tack’ noise.
Like I said, just a guess. Or…
Maybe they were leaving him tiny breath mints, as a ‘subtle’ hint… 
I see from MsWhatsit that I wasn’t TOO far off, as in it was a noise maker…
Probably an empty thread spool with notches filed into the rims, placed on a stick or long nail and wound with a piece of string. Wind the string around the spool, hold against a windowpane with the stick or nail, and yank the string, making a most unpleasant noise.
At least, that’s what they were in my parent’s day.
Funny that back then they could describe a kid with two broken ribs as “more scared than hurt”.
Unless they were talking about Otto?
Thank you!
The article clearly says it was the victim who was more scared than hurt. Amazing, huh?
I learned how to make and use these things from my dad who told me they used to do this for halloween.
I made and used them myself back it the '70’s. I used a pencil instead of a nail. I still can’t walk past an empty spool without thinking about making one…even though wooden spools are hard to find nowadays
What an oddly elaborate contraption for a minor noise maker.
And you have to hold it against the glass?
Wouldn’t a handful of gravel tossed at the window be just as loud and annoying?
Or simply rapping with the knuckles?
Not to mention offering much better opportunity for escape…
It’s certainly possible. If he was very, very scared.
When I was a kid (late 80’s/early 90s) “tick-tacking” involved throwing pop corn kernels at neighbors windows. People used to come out and yell as we high-tailed it out of their yard, but looking back they must not have minded too much - it’s not like they couldn’t recognize us and we rarely got in trouble. The only time I remember getting busted was when someone reported that we used gravel instead of corn - we were told that gravel could break/scratch windows, and was off-limits. I’ve heard of the string and spool devices, but plain old corn worked fine.
Intruder alert! Intruder alert!
Get the humanoid. *
So, AllShookDown’s great-uncle was Evil Otto?
But who is the victim, according to the article? Otto? It seems redundant to say a person was more scared than hurt, if the person was not hurt at all. Unless a tick-tack isn’t what we think it is.
I think it has to do with having more time on your hands and fewer toys to play with 75-100 years ago.
Sure you can just throw gravel, but the spool makes a very satisfying BRAA-AA-AA-AT sound, plus you get to spend 15 minutes of your life giggling while you make it. The other thing is that its more exciting to be sneaking up to a window to do the crime…anyone can just throw gravel across the yard, but it takes a double dog dare and real testicles to sneak up to the window and do it.