Buckets

Since I said I would, here it is.

Buckets are mundane everyday objects that are actually quite interesting if you are willing to put some thought into them. Buckets come in a variety of sizes, of course. They come in a variety of materials and colors. The value of a bucket is directly related to the contents of said bucket. For example, I found online a 5-gallon bucket that costs $403. Of course, it is not the bucket itself, but the ATP Re-seal that is included with the purchase of the bucket. Actually, I guess you are really buying the contents and simply getting a bucket as part of the bargain. Which is nice, since buckets can be reused. It is kind of like the free gifts at make-up counters. Spend $35.oo and get a bunch of free samples for, well, free. Spend $403 on some resealing stuff and get a FREE 5-gallon bucket! If you happen to be a person who doesn't want the free gift, you can buy a 5-gallon bucket for under $10 at Wal-Mart.

Another interesting thing about buckets is the number of phrases including the word "bucket". We have all heard "kick the bucket," but what about these others-

• dinner bucket
• drop in the bucket
• bucket along
• bucket seats
• brain bucket
• bucket list
• crud bucket
• bucket baby
• bucket brigade
• bucket biologist
• bucket-load

I am sure there are other "bucket phrases," but those are the ones I found.

In addition, there are apparently lots of buckets that belong to important people, or at least well-known in their hometowns people.

• Bimbles Bucket was an animated cartoon that involved a young male animal (called Foxbits by some fans, as the main character and the other residents of Stiltsville were fox/rabbit hybrids with rabbit ears and fox brushes for tails) named Bimble having a bucket which could grant him wishes.
• Newton's Bucket was an argument by Newton designed to demonstrate that true rotational motion cannot be defined as the relative rotation of the body with respect to the immediately surrounding bodies.
• Bobrinski Bucket is a 12th century bronze bucket originally manufactured for a merchant in 1163. It provides one of the earliest examples of Persian anthropomorphic calligraphy (?). It is named after a former owner, Count Bobrinski and is now in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

Who knew a bucket could be so important?

While on the topic of buckets, what is the difference between a bucket and a pail? Apparently there are a couple.

• the spelling
• Jill didn't fetch a bucket
• the word pail predates the word bucket by 300-1,000 years (depending on the source)
• pails are usually metal
• buckets often have a narrower base and wider top, while pails tend to be pretty cylindrical

In closing, don't overlook mundane everyday items. Who knows what interesting facts you can find about them?

I leave you with this:

There once was a man from Nantucket

Who kept all his cash in a bucket.

But his daughter, named Nan,

Ran away with a man

And as for the bucket, Nan took it.

But he followed the pair to Pawtucket,

The man and the girl with the bucket;

And he said to the man,

He was welcome to Nan,

But as for the bucket, Pa took it.

Then the pair followed Pa to Manhasset

Where he still held the cash as an asset,

But Nan and the man

Stole the money and ran,

And as for the bucket, Man has it.

Of this story we hear from Nantucket,

About the mysterious loss of a bucket,

We are sorry for Nan,

As well as the man—

The cash and the bucket, Pa took it.