Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Rugged Red Raptors Racing Robust Robins



ABC Wednesday is a word meme with participants from around the world. This fabulous meme was created and hosted by Mrs. Denise Nesbitt who hails from Great Britain. Over time, others have joined in to help host this wonderful and informative meme. We are now in our TENTH round! Some of the participants have been with this from the very first round; others have joined in along the way. Each week we are taken across the globe to see the varied and exciting contributions people have taken the time to discover and capture. We start with the letter, "A" and each week we post something in regards to the next letter of the alphabet. This week's letter is, "R".


Roly Poly Bugs

 (image from Wikipedia)

Were you the kind of kid that liked to bug bugs? Or, were you the one that would rather not get near them? I know that my brothers and i could not pass up getting a twig to nudge one of these bugs when we saw them just to see them curl up.  And, they curled up every time!

I think everyone in the United States call them roly poly bugs. What do they call them in other countries, I wonder? If you want to show off to someone, you can call these by their scientific name: Armadillidiidae. It's just a wood louse by any other name...




Raggedy Ann and Andy




Raggedy Ann and Andy was created by an American writer, John Gruelle around 1915.

From Wikipedia:

"Gruelle created Raggedy Ann for his daughter, Marcella, when she brought him an old hand-made rag doll and he drew a face on it. From his bookshelf, he pulled a book of poems by James Whitcomb Riley, and combined the names of two poems, "The Raggedy Man" and "Little Orphant Annie." He said, "Why don’t we call her Raggedy Ann?" [1]
Marcella died at age 13 after being vaccinated at school for smallpox without her parents' consent. Authorities blamed a heart defect, but her parents blamed the vaccination. Gruelle became an opponent of vaccination, and the Raggedy Ann doll was used as a symbol by the anti-vaccination movement.[2]
Raggedy Ann dolls were originally handmade. Later, PF Volland, a Gruelle book publisher, made the dolls. In 1935 Volland ceased operation and Ann and Andy were made under Gruelle's permission by Exposition Dolls, and without permission (during legal limbo) by MollyE's Dolls, resulting in Gruelle v (Mollye) Goldman."

Bet most of you (and I include myself too) did not know that Raggedy Ann was a symbol for anti-vaccination. I sure as heck didn't! 


10 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Great captures for the R Day, Paula! And, no, I didn't know that about Raggedy Ann! Learn something new every day! I love it! Hope your week is going well!

Sylvia

Meryl said...

I didn't bug bugs, but liked watching them. I love the raggedy Ann and Andy!

Gerald (SK14) said...

That's lovely - thanks for the comment on Hyde DP - if you really want to see inside the cemetery - click on the tag "cemeteries" and you'll find several posts of interest.

photowannabe said...

Wow, I had no idea about the anti-vaccination reason. Fascinating and really quite sad when I think about it.
Roly-Poly bugs...I remember doing the same thing as a kid. lots of fun to play with. I didn't know that they were wood louse though.

The Poet said...

I must admit that I don't like bugs...but that picture was interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Roger Owen Green said...

When I was at a timeshare, someone had left about a dozen and a half books featuring the Raggetys and other toys. Read them to the Daughter.
ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Carver said...

Great R day choices. I've always loved Raggedy Anne and Andy dolls. Thanks for telling me about National Train Day. I didn't know about that. Carver ABC-Wed. Team

Black Jack's Carol said...

No, I had no idea she was a symbol of anti- vaccination, and also didn't know how she came to be named. Fascinating. Thank you!

I couldn't bear to see anyone harass bugs when I was a child. Sorry :) In the end, I became vegan. Not sure where I came from. The rest of my family is normal :)

Chubskulit Rose said...

Both of my kids love any kind of bugs. My son is obsessed of that one in your picture.

Rose, ABC Wednesday Team

jill said...

Love raggy dolls I had them as a child andso did my daughter x

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