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Bust magazine loves me!
Bust, "The voice of the new girl order," published in New
York City, made its cover story "Men We Love," and I'm one of
'em, because of this museum. (It later folded, I hope not because of me.)
Many thanks, Bust! I'm flattered to be in such fast company. I've loved
magazines all my life and now, one loves me!
23 September I'm in Hollywood; next update is 1 October
A woman is challenging my running this Web site and future physical
museum (because I'm a man) on an episode of a new television program, Moral
Court, starting in the fall in the U.S.A. We're also debating some other
menstruation issues. Warner Brothers tapes it Saturday, 23 September.
I'll tell all if this indeed takes place
(it did). Some site visitors may remember that
a "Roseanne" TV show that was to include a guided tour of the
physical Museum of Menstruation was canceled the day before; the same thing
happened to an appearance of board member Miki Walsh and myself in January
on the quiz-show revival "I've Got a Secret" on the new Oxygen
network.
Darn it! Why didn't someone tell me it's hard to break into show biz
when your shtick is menstruation?
Letters to your MUM
When did people discover the ovulation cycle?
Hi.
I'm trying to find out when society knew about the ovulation cycle.
Specifically, whether ancient Near-East societies
between about 2,000 BCE and 200 BCE understood anything about the ovulation
cycle.
I know your museum is about menstruation, but I thought perhaps you
could help me find this out.
This is connected with the biblical instructions
about telling the difference between a normal menstrual flow and an unnatural
flow that might be due to illness. [Read some
biblical mentions of vaginal bleeding.]
Any guidance you can give would be most appreciated! [Mail
me and I will forward it.]
Thanks,
What are the odds of getting two letters about menstruation
spoiling tomatoes in one week?
You can't can tomatoes during your period
in southern Italy!
Hello again, Harry,
[Her name] here, your Italian Web site admirer and friend from Seattle.
:-)
I have another interesting M[useum] of M[enstruation] tidbit for you.
My sister was in Italy visiting our parents for three weeks this August.
She was there at a time when the tomatoes had ripened and all the women
in our town make and can tomato sauce. Well, my poor sister got suckered
into helping not just my mom, but two other women making the sauce. And
why, you ask? Because these women's daughters were
having their periods and you can't help can tomatoes while you're having
your period! It will affect their acidity [the tomatoes', not the
women's] or something like that. Ain't that a hoot?? The women of Italy
seriously believe this. Mind you, this is southern Italy, they're a lot
more superstitious there. [There are many similar beliefs in the world
today, including the United States.]
Well, that was it.
Best regards,
An American grandmother warned his wife
not to can tomatoes while menstruating!
Dear sirs,
Let me put this as delicately as I can.
My wife, a well-educated woman of 38 years., still remembers her grandmother's
advice in the kitchen. She also remembers her advice
to never can tomatoes while she is menstruating, believe it or not!
I realize that this is a ridiculous notion, but what I was wondering is
if you in all your research have come across this "taboo"? I
suppose that there could have been a "genuine" reason for this
tactic hundreds of years ago, but how this myth survived to the recent
day is beyond me! Have you ever heard of this or something similar? Do
you have any historical documentation of this practice? Please let me know
at your earliest convenience, if possible.
Thanks in advance!
[This and similar beliefs about about spoiling food and ruining crops
probably go back thousands of years in Western society and were supported
and spread by respected writers. I don't know the origins, which may be
multiple, but they seem a bit anti-woman.
[As Dr. Elsimar Coutinho writes in his recent book Is
Menstruation Obsolete? (read
about it), as recently as 1952 Harvard researchers Olive
and George Smith maintained that there was a toxic substance in
menstrual blood - menotoxin (read also today's
humor page) - that killed animals when menstrual blood was injected into
them. Another researcher showed that by using antibiotics the animals survived,
demonstrating to most peoples' satisfaction that what killed the animals
was an infection caused by bacteria from the vagina. Many bacteria grow
very well in blood, and the vagina normally contains good and harmful bacteria,
but the latter in small quantities; blood can help increases their number.
[By the way, there has been at least one doctoral dissertation about
menotoxin: "Sulfur metabolism and menstruation.
A contribution to the question of menstrual poison [menotoxin],"
my translation of "Schwefelstoffwechsel und Menstruation. Ein Beitrag
zur Frage des Menstruationsgiftes," University of Munich, by Walter
Senninger, in 1926.]
The pad for thong underpants from Scandinavia
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Hello, it's me again, "14-year-old Norwegian girl." [Read
her last letter, about Muslim
girls.] Just wanted to tell you about the latest sanitary napkin in Scandinavia,
for STRING UNDERPANTS!!! It's true.
Here it is [she kindly e-mailed the picture at left]. As you can see,
it is designed to fit string underpants, and is meant to be used when having
normal/little menstrual flow. I think this is really stylish! The company
behind this invention is Libresse, a part of the SCA Mölnlycke company
[read some history of the company].
What do you say? My grandmother knitted her sanitary napkins (!) [see Norwegian knitted pads from the 19th century]
and had to wear a skirt because it was too easy to see if she wore jeans
- and now . . . well, things change, that's for sure!
Love,
Norwegian girl
[Here's the site's first report
of the pad.]
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Menstrual expressions and e-mail privacy
Dear Harry,
Yes, I think it's a phrase men use more than women [the male writer
sent She's got the painters in as an addition
to the English menstrual words list]
- but I'm sure you can find out for sure by asking on your site.
[Anyone know?]
I will send along others as and when they occur to me, though most
phrases used in Britain seem to be under the U.S.A. heading on your list.
I don't think my name adds anything to my contribution, so don't post
it, though I shall have to do some deeper thinking about just why I say
that. [I don't put names or addresses with mail,
contributions, etc., unless otherwise instructed, or unless it's obviously
desired, as in the case of a company. Menstruation is a troubling subject
for many people.]
What does o.b. mean?
Dear Reader,
I have a very urgent question. Does anybody know what the meaning of
the initials o.b. is? And who the **** was so clever to not write it down
in the discription? Please help me and write me back soon.
Yours sincerely
[Six years ago I didn't know either and phoned Johnson & Johnson,
which owns the brand. After one person after another hadn't the foggiest
idea, I reached a woman in the technical library. She promised she would
ask oldtimers who were there when J & J bought the company from the
German company, Dr. Hahn GmbH.
[Two weeks later the librarian called back and reported that someone
said it stood for "ohne Binde," which the she said meant "without
a belt" in German. Well, "Binde" looks like the English
word "bind," making us think of a belt, but it really means "pad."
So it means "without a pad," a tampon.
[So even J & J folks didn't know what it meant in English, and
almost not in German! Look at a clever French ad
for o.b.]
Pap art exhibit starts 21 September in
Delray Beach, Florida
I am writing to request your participation and assistance in an exciting
and important project regarding women's health issues.
The world-renowned scientist and lover of the arts Dr.
George Papanicolaou, better known as Dr. Pap, inventor of the Pap smear
test, will be the subject of a special exhibition at the Cornell Museum
of Art in Delray Beach, Florida, beginning September 21, 2000. The
gala opening and artist's reception will be held on Thursday evening September
28, 2000. The foremost patient advocate and director of the Center For
Cervical Health in the United States, Carol Ann Armenti, will be the keynote
speaker.
The exhibition will run through November 12, 2000, and will feature
recent works by international artist Olga Stamatiou,
Dr. Papanicolaou's niece. Stamatiou's works will be available for
acquisition and the profits will go toward:
1. The creation of "PAP MOBILES," vehicles that would be
used to provide testing for under-served women in areas, with the highest
incidence of cervical cancer.
2. The creation of a traveling multimedia art exhibition.
3. The production of a documentary film based on the life, work and
scientific legacy of Dr. Papanicolaou and his wife Mary.
4. The Center for Cervical Health.
5. The Papanicolaou Woman's Corp.
Our organization "PAP" - Prevention and Protection - will
have as its goal to raise awareness about women's health issues, including
the importance of having regular Pap smears and the provision of information
on new and existing methods for detecting cervical cancer.
The traveling exhibition, to be viewed in public spaces and museums,
will be a multimedia environment drawing on and inspired by Dr. Pap's love
of the arts and sciences. This environment will include permanent built-in
units that will provide creative spaces for national and local women's
health organizations to inform women on what is available involving health
care.
The September 28th opening reception will also include international
guest artists and feature a wide range of styles and media. A percentage
of their work will benefit the above-mentioned projects.
Olympus Corporation of America will provide working microscopes and
monitors along with technicians on opening night to demonstrate how Pap
smears are read.
Washable-pad company for sale
Gayle Adams, owner of Feminine Options, wants
to sell the company to someone willing to put time and energy into it.
The Food and Drug Administration has already approved its products.
Call Gayle at (715) 455-1652 (Wisconsin, U.S.A.).
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