Those of us of a certain age will fondly remember going to school with and assortment of items in our pockets ready for the lunchtime break. Those arriving at school a little early could also take advantage of the extra time to talk and play with friends.
So what did little boys keep in their pockets in past years? One favourite in the autumn was a conker. The conker, or more correctly the nut of the horse chestnut tree, would be threaded on a string through a hole made down the centre, and used as flail to smash your opponent’s conker. Various rumours of how to make conkers harder abounded, including pickling in vinegar, heating in an oven and coating in clear nail varnish. Treating conkers in this way was generally regarded as cheating and in the 2005 conker championships held on the Isle of Wight contestants were forbidden from supplying their own conkers for this reason. Talking of the Isle of Wight the first recorded conker competition was held here in 1848. Today the World conker Championships are held on the second Sunday in October.
Also tucked away under your handkerchief might be a yo-yo. The yo-yo constructed of two discs of metal, plastic or wood with a central axle with string wrapped around was patented in the US in 1866. Belief that it was once a Philipino weapon has now waned since the American Yo-yo Association refuted this. The yo-yo was relatively unknown until 1928 when the Yo-yo Manufacturing Company opened in California. The company was bought by Donald Duncan and was sold by the Duncan Toys Company to great effect in the 1930’s and 1940’s
Basic yo-yoing involves dropping the yo-yo to its full length the by flicking the wrist returning it to hand. However those who are accomplished with the yo-yo perform tricks, which include the terms freehand, sleeping, off-string and looping.
For many little boys the main aim of school breaks was to scare little girls. There were a number of was to do this. Some items such as sneezing or itching powder had to be bought. Some items such as spiders, beetles and worms were free. In most cases the object of the exercise was to drop one of the offending articles down the back of an unsuspecting little girls neck. For some reason the distress this caused was a source of great fun to little boys. This usually ended when the boy was caught and kept in the school as punishment.
The above is intended to be only a small glimpse of what little boys carry around with them. Chewing gum, football cards, toy cars and catapults have as equally likely been in there through the generations. For the little boy who lives in your dolls house we have a selection of items on our web shop, so he too can be ready for the school lunch break.