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Message |
    
Rudeaberry
New member
Username: Rudeaberry
Post Number: 10
Registered: 01-2011
| | Posted on Saturday, March 26, 2011 - 09:04 am: | 
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I once heard it said that the phrase "rule of thumb" has it origins in spanking. It seems that a few centuries ago, when men were legally entitled to discipline their wives, a rule decreed that the implement used to punish a lady should be no thicker than her husband's thumb.
Even if this was observed, it must have been cold comfort for women who were punished by their husbands with the approval of the legal system. |
Mrscleaver
New member
Username: Mrscleaver
Post Number: 11
Registered: 03-2011
| | Posted on Saturday, March 26, 2011 - 09:17 am: |
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Probably it was a comfort! It was accepted at that time for a man to actually beat his wife, so any kind of legislation set in place for the woman's safety was some improvement. I have heard that story too. I wonder if it is true! |
Rudeaberry
New member
Username: Rudeaberry
Post Number: 11
Registered: 01-2011
| | Posted on Saturday, March 26, 2011 - 12:19 pm: |
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Enforcing any such legislation would have been difficult, of course. If a man used a thicker-than-permitted implement, would male-dominated authorities uphold a complaint by a woman? Probably not, and she might only be risking further punishment.
While the legislation dealt with the severity of the implement a husband could use, I'm not sure it if set limits to the number of strokes he could inflict on his wife. |
Shubcj
New member
Username: Shubcj
Post Number: 1
Registered: 03-2011
| | Posted on Saturday, March 26, 2011 - 07:12 pm: |
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Hello I'm new here.
 |
Mrscleaver
New member
Username: Mrscleaver
Post Number: 14
Registered: 03-2011
| | Posted on Saturday, March 26, 2011 - 09:41 pm: |
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Welcome Shubcj! |
Chuck
Spanko
Username: Chuck
Post Number: 49
Registered: 07-2005
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 - 09:50 am: |
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Computer magic-just GOOGLE "rule of thumb" This will explain history and correct misconseptions. |
Mrscleaver
New member
Username: Mrscleaver
Post Number: 15
Registered: 03-2011
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 - 10:19 pm: |
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I did, Chuck, but I found just as many pages saying it was true as those saying it was a misconception. The problem then is, who to believe? Then I decided in the grand scheme of things it was not something I wanted to spend much more time on!  |
Buttpain
Spanko
Username: Buttpain
Post Number: 17
Registered: 05-2012
| | Posted on Thursday, August 23, 2012 - 09:41 pm: |
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Regardless of the bona fides of this standard, it would seem to me that if beating wives were to be sanctioned by the society, even unenlightened ones would probably specify that the rule of thumb would apply to the wife's thumb, not her husband's. This would be unfair to those wives much smaller than their husbands and favour large women married to those with small boned men. In addition to the sanctioned beating in the first place, this rule seems irrational. |
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