The Dorset Ooser is a wooden head that featured in the nineteenth- century folk culture of Melbury Osmond, a village in the southwestern English county of Dorset. The head was hollow, thus perhaps serving as a mask, and included a humanoid face with horns, a beard, and a hinged jaw. Although sometimes used to scare people during practical jokes, its main recorded purpose was as part of a local variant of the custom known as "rough music", in which it was used to humiliate those who were deemed to have behaved in an immoral manner. It was first brought to public attention in 1891, when it was owned by the Cave family of Melbury Osmond's Holt Farm, but it went missing around 1897. In 1975 a replica of the original Ooser was produced by John Byfleet, which has since been on display at Dorset County Museum in Dorchester. This mask retains a place in Dorset folk culture, and is used in local Morris dancing processions held by the Wessex Morris Men on Saint George's Day and May Day. The design of the Ooser has inspired copies used as representations of the Horned God in the modern Pagan religion of Wicca in both the United Kingdom and United States.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorset_Ooser
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1773:
On James Cook's second voyage, his ship HMS Resolution became the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_voyage_of_James_Cook
1912:
Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition reached the South Pole, only to find that Roald Amundsen's team had beaten them by 33 days. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Nova_Expedition
1946:
The United Nations Security Council, the organ of the United Nations charged with the maintenance of international peace and security, held its first meeting at Church House in London. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council
1961:
Three days before leaving office, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered a farewell speech to the nation, in which he warned about the dangers of the military–industrial complex. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower%27s_farewell_address
2010:
The first spate of violence between Muslims and Christians began in Jos, Nigeria, and would end in more than 200 deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Jos_riots
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
knuckle sandwich: (slang) A punch to the face, especially to the mouth. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/knuckle_sandwich
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
It is our fundamental belief in the power of hope that has allowed us to rise above the voices of doubt and division, of anger and fear that we have faced in our own lives and in the life of this country. Our hope that if we work hard enough and believe in ourselves, then we can be whatever we dream, regardless of the limitations that others may place on us. The hope that when people see us for who we truly are, maybe, just maybe they, too, will be inspired to rise to their best possible selves. --Michelle Obama https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michelle_Obama