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A fact from Thimble appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know? column on 13 March 2004. The text of the entry was as follows: "Did you know
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During the First World War thimbles were sometimes used for currency. Where? When? How long? Why? Malbi 14:34, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)
I have reread and corrected myself! Sorry, I shouldn't have let it slip in. JubeJube 14:04, 13 Mar 2004 (UTC)
Easy mistake to make, LOL - And what's with the "Women of the Night" prissiness in the intro?! Garrick92 15:41, 31 August 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] Moths?
Can someone substantiate the sandalwood thimble keeps moths away bit? Sounds like a legend. While I don't doubt that sandalwood would keep moths away, the amount of wood in a thimble would make about one good shaving is all, hardly enough to protect a fabric store. --Fenevad 01:10, 28 January 2007 (UTC)
[edit] Origin
It says the thimble was invented in modern times, yet in a recent documentary, "The Town That Time Forgot," one of the Roman artifacts uncovered was a thimble. (Anonymous comment, 8 July 2007 71.99.1.176)
- Indeed, and not only that, but the article itself currently talks about ancient Roman Thimbles.
- So, the comment "Originally created by European inventor Thomas Wicks" is incoherent, in (1) contradicting the rest of the page, and (2) being unsupported by googling on related terms.
- Therefore I am deleting it (changing the wording to simply "Originally"), as apparent Original Research, forbidden by wikipedia convention, and worse, because there is no way of reconciling it with the rest of the page.
- If anyone comes along with an opinion about this "Thomas Wicks", please enlighten us as to exactly what his historical role was, and how that meshes with the rest of this article. Thanks. (P.S. I see this is 1 April UTC, so for the record, I am not making an April Fools joke...if I were, well, the above seems very unfunny...rather boring, in fact.) Dougmerritt (talk) 03:58, 1 April 2008 (UTC)
- Please read e "A Complete Dictionary of Dry Goods" book, by George S. Cole. It claims thimbles are found earlier - with anchient egyptian mummies. Please verify and update if you agree as I want to know who really did invent this. -Chris 144.131.85.30 (talk) 10:02, 22 April 2010 (UTC)
[edit] Etymology
The origin of the word "thimble" presented in this article may be spurious. According to at least one source (the English-Latin dictionary Promptorium Parvulorum) the spelling thymbyl was current in 1440, thus significantly predating Lofting. Kaldari (talk) 23:36, 14 November 2008 (UTC)
- According to OED, "thimble" is derived from "thumb" + the suffix "le", used for the names of instruments - cf. "handle".FrogC (talk) 14:06, 8 July 2009 (UTC)
[edit] First thimbles in England
The third paragraph of this article may be wrong as brass thimbles apparently existed in London as early as 1500. Kaldari (talk) 00:10, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
- If a Roman thimble was found at St Albans, then the first thimble ever seen in England was NOT made in 1695, but was a Roman thimble dating from before approx. 410.
- Why is there no mention in this article of different styles of thimbles? For example, a tailors thimble has no end but is more akin to a metal ring. 87.114.16.126 (talk) 05:02, 7 May 2009 (UTC)
- OED entry for thimble reveals that they existed in England in the Middle Ages. The Parliamentary Army in the Civil War was nicknamed the Thimble and Bodkin Army. The source of the incorrect assertion that thimbles were introduced into England by Lofting is a book called Home and School Sewing by Frances Patton .FrogC (talk) 11:42, 8 July 2009 (UTC)
[edit] Things to Be Added to This Page
(1) I see no mention of Peter Pan, even though the thimble represented a kiss in Peter Pan. Something this culturally-important ought to be mentioned in this article.
(2) I see no mention of engagement gifts, even though the thimble used to be an engagement gift prior to the rise of the engagement ring in the beginning of the twentieth century. Again, something this historically-important ought to be mentioned in this article.
The fact that both of these have something to do with love or intimacy, I am inclined to say that the thimble is a rather interesting symbol. Unfortunately, this side of the thimble is underrepresented in this article. I hope someone will add the information.
173.64.90.41 (talk) 01:52, 25 January 2011 (UTC)
