Helmets indeed!
After my
post yesterday, I received an email from
Leon Brooks. Since he could
be called a poster child for wearing helmets - given that wearing a helmet
on the day he was attacked saved his life - I feel sorry for having not
thought of him in the first place. Helmet proof
indeed![1].
[1] - I tried to find
the etymology of "bullet proof", which I was told came from late fifteenth
century armoury when muskets were in use. Armourers had to step up from
shiny, fluted armour (designed to present diagonal surfaces to arrows and
deflect them) to thicker, heavier armour capable of stopping a small lead
shot fired at high velocity. The armourer would fire a ball at a corner
of the armour, and the dent made was proof that a bullet would not penetrate;
hence 'bullet proof'. But I can't find an authorative reference - my
Google-fu is not strong today. And since I've now gone past the limit of
sanity for footnote length, I should quit now.
posted at: 11:16 | path: /society | permanent link to this entry
All posts licensed under the CC-BY-NC license. Author Paul Wayper.