Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Breakaway Paddle


In 1953 George F. Jorgenson invented a paddle with a breakaway handle, for use by overzealous disciplinarians. He explains in his notes, "A primary object of this invention is to provide a paddle for use in disciplining...the paddle having means for preventing accidental injury...by striking too hard a blow." The paddle was "light in construction, sturdy and durable, and inexpensive to manufacture."

No need to exercise restraint and moderation; the paddle will do it for you. Apply the paddle with too much force and the handle will give way, I assume at numbers 43 and 38. (Patent number 2645488)


From Hermione's Heart

19 comments:

Fondles said...

wow... seriously? where DO you find these things...

thanks for sharing!

Bas said...

It is probably noteworthy that the inventor announced this invention as a paddle for disciplining children.
Naughty grown ups clearly warranted no such protection.
Now I wonder why he got this patent, just a few weeks before I was born!

Bas said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anastasia Vitsky said...

I believe that was the idea behind the original British school canes, too. They broke easily because it was thought better to break them than soft bottoms.

But back to the adult use. If I were the spanker, I'd be annoyed at having to keep putting it back together! ;)

Unknown said...

I wonder who did the field testing to determine what was too hard.

Ami Starsong said...

Very handy for packing away though! I just wish they'd invent a "quiet" paddle. Our leather one seems very loud - it hits with a real SLAP! very difficult at this time of year with the house full! Hugs, Ami

Unknown said...

I wonder what force would be needed to break it... A: it would be annoying if it broke too easily, but B: knowing My Man he would keep trying harder and harder until it broke, so it could be bad for little girls like me. ;-)

Aimless Rambling said...

How come we don't see those things anywhere. I think they would be pretty popular for the spanknos out there.

Michael M said...

Now if they made a bathbrush with a similar "kinetic energy" regulator that would be a blessing.

When my wife gets into her stride she can get carried away and it is painful beyond words.

ronnie said...

I wonder if any were actually made.

Love,
Ronnie
xx

Hermione said...

Fondles - The internet is a treasure trove of information - useless or otherwise.

Bas - I don't think he would have gotten the patent if he had said it was for naughty wives.

Ana - I didn't know that. I thought the canes were quite durable.

TL Bucko - Probably his long-suffering wife:)

Ami - Paddles can be noisy. I think you need to go for something very thin, like leather shoelaces or venetian blind cords.

Young Lady - It would be so much fun to try and find the breaking point then go almost there but no harder.

Sunnygirl - Have you tried Wal-Mart?

Michael - There's an idea. Bath brushes can be so evil!

Ronnie - I presume so, but I'm not sure.

Hugs,
Hermione

Anonymous said...

Ingenious... but I doubt this paddle would meet with my wife's approval!

L.

kiwigirliegirl said...

what a great idea - i wonder if I can "improve" the paddle we have - i have an appointment with it tomorrow :( and its been a while since it was used and it hurts.
kiwi xx

Stormy said...

I'm all for that invention..lol.

ricky said...

I've never understood why you want
to use a paddle, when you can use
the hand.
Mmmmmm . . .
Oh, excuse me, perhaps I've missed
the point.

elle :) said...

Lol, wow :) maybe that's a paddle I won't be afraid of? Lol

Hermione said...

L - Too gentle, huh?

Kiwi - You could try, but you might get extra strokes for tampering.

Stormy - It's quite creative.

Ricky - The point is, a paddle makes a bolder statement.

Elle - It's for tender bottoms.

web-ed said...

Fascinating history - I wonder what the boys in the U.S. patent office thought at the time? The round shape is a design flaw, however, as it's too "tall" in proportion to its length.

As to canes, no, I don't believe the fact they break, which is due to rattan's inherent structure, was considered a virtue. A lot of those old-time headmasters and prefects administered some perfectly brutal beatings with them. In fact, the cane probably replaced the birch because it was more durable, and perhaps because Victorian morality was not comfortable with bare buttocks and wanted an implement that was highly effective even over trousers.

Hermione said...

Web-ed - You're the expert on this subject.

I understood that canes were used because they could inflict maximum pain without the need for too many strokes. It was much more efficient if you had to punish a large number of boys in a day.

Hugs,
Hermione