Back scratches
The back scraper is a stick that ends in a differently designed edge suitable for lasting scratching (i.e. not sharp), often designed in the form of a stylized scratching hand. It makes it easier for people to scratch when itching, especially on those parts of the body that are difficult to reach with the fingers, mainly in the area of the spine from the acnestis above down to the coccyx .
The backscratcher (back scraper hump scratches ) is not to be confused with a long-handled brush back (Frottierbürste) for cleaning the back.
Use for itching
In fled rich 18th century the tools in was courtly nobility (especially for ladies spread) and correspondingly jewelery designed. It was then taken over by the bourgeoisie in the 19th century . Itching can be triggered at any time by other causes besides parasite infestation and then at least temporarily relieved with a back scraper. Back scrapers are made of only moderately hard materials, mostly wood, but also plastic or metal, and always with rounded edges to avoid injuries.
There are similar devices for farm animals and domestic animals, for example scrub trees .
In China has been out of the back scratcher rather than the decorative Talisman serving Ruyi Scepter developed.
literature
- Robert Chambers : The Book of Days. A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar, Including Anecdote, Biography, & History, Curiosities of Literature, and Oddities of Human Life and Character . W. & R. Chambers, London and Edinburgh 1869. The Book of Days. Chapter The Scratch-Back (English)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Acnestis in the dictionary at Merriam-Webster
- ^ Johann Georg Krünitz : " Oekonomische Encyklopädie ", Volume 7, Page 409.