[HN Gopher] Betty White's shoulder bag is a time capsule of Worl...
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Betty White's shoulder bag is a time capsule of World War II (2023)
Author : thunderbong
Score : 282 points
Date : 2025-10-17 04:28 UTC (7 days ago)
(HTM) web link (americanhistory.si.edu)
(TXT) w3m dump (americanhistory.si.edu)
| macintux wrote:
| (2023)
| CaptainOfCoit wrote:
| Alternatively 1941-1945
| incanus77 wrote:
| Or, if World War-indexed, 2.
| eszed wrote:
| Fun fact: some historians would 0-index this array, with
| the Seven Years War being first truly global conflict.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years%27_War
| dang wrote:
| Added above. Thanks!
| hoofedear wrote:
| Thanks for sharing this, really fascinating stuff. I'm glad her
| estate is willing to donate these sorts of things.
| randomdrake wrote:
| Betty White holds such a highly regarded "Hollywood Star" place
| for me. It was fascinating to see her brought to life through her
| very ordinary belongings. Fun read.
| anigbrowl wrote:
| I worked on a film project with her about 15 years ago and I'm
| happy to report that she was just as great behind the camera as
| she was in front of it.
| bcraven wrote:
| Perhaps there were spares in case anyone lost theirs? I don't
| know enough about the military to say whether that's likely,
| but as sensible chaps it seems a reasonable assumption.
| jacquesm wrote:
| Wrong comment to reply to?
| WillPostForFood wrote:
| One of the lowest moments in human history, but everyone still
| dressed well.
| dcminter wrote:
| I was going to throw in a rather glib "and the other side was
| styled by Hugo Boss" but I figured I'd check if that was
| actually true first and... only kinda:
|
| https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/gysdhn/how_d...
| 1-more wrote:
| Thank you! The Boss meme will not die. It STINKS!
| ares623 wrote:
| Why is this top item with like 8 comments
| jacquesm wrote:
| Because of the # of upvotes.
| pessimizer wrote:
| More comments than upvotes is actually a negative sign. Upvotes
| can be (and will be) gamed, but there's a lot of voting ring
| detection active here.
| tdeck wrote:
| I'm curious how the soldiers had extra insignias and patches to
| give away as souvenirs.
| volkadav wrote:
| I can't say as to what it might've been like 80+ years ago, but
| years back I was with a friend on a trip through a PX and there
| was a rotary display (perhaps like you might see used for
| postcards in other contexts) with rank insignia and other small
| uniform bits for fairly low prices (single-digit dollars iirc,
| though this was 20+ years ago). Even if they had to pay out of
| pocket or deal with an irritable quartermaster, the urge to
| give a small remember-me-by token to a friendly (and let's be
| honest, beautiful) face when facing down imminent chaos and
| barbarity is probably strong. Similarly, I recall hearing of
| troops throwing their coins to kids along the embarkment route
| in the UK as they headed to Normandy; after all, where they
| were going they wouldn't need them.
| iaw wrote:
| I wonder if that display is because they would give them out
| not why.
| ssl-3 wrote:
| The display probably exists just because soldiers need that
| stuff, as a practical matter.
|
| When they're required to be in uniform, then that's a
| requirement.
|
| So if yesterday a uniform got ruined (by whatever mechanism
| that happens -- shit does happen to clothes sometimes),
| then today they can scrounge together another one.
|
| Or they put together a spare one.
|
| Or whatever.
|
| (But it certainly is romantic to think that extra uniform
| parts exist for sale primarily to give as keepsakes to the
| Betty Whites of the world.)
| andyjohnson0 wrote:
| Brings to mind this poem Handbag by
| Ruth Fainlight My mother's old leather handbag,
| crowded with letters she carried all through the war. The
| smell of my mother's handbag: mints and liptsick
| and Coty powder. The look of those letters, softened
| and worn at the edges, opened, read, and refolded so
| often. Letters from my father. Odour of leather
| and powder, which ever since then has meant womanliness,
| and love, and anguish, and war.
| jacquesm wrote:
| Wow. That hits.
| metalman wrote:
| there are generations of these in my keeping right now, going
| back to the american civil war, my mothers and fathers things,
| grand parents, great grand parents, great aunts photo
| collections, momentos and letters, jewlery, old toys, and
| diplomas, passports, handspun clothing, ancient crockery( no
| makers marks....),etc, etc arrow points picked by my great
| uncle john, as he followed a horse drawn plow.....not much else
| to do back there right!
| acedTrex wrote:
| Random thought, but i've always considered poetry to be the
| literary medium that is the most difficult to do in a way that
| resonates with people. To pack so much emotion and meaning into
| such a limited format requires, to me, an unimaginably skilled
| grasp of language and emotion.
| caned wrote:
| I miss the people of her generation. I feel like we could use
| their perspective, experience and fortitude right now. I sure
| miss their music too...even though Bird Lives.
| righthand wrote:
| Even more reason to support the live local arts in times like
| these.
| righthand wrote:
| Okay pathetic downvoters. If the commenter loves music of her
| generation so much then they should actively look to support
| local live arts that play that kind of music. But yeah never
| mind lets only support Big Music Industry instead (or other
| big entertainment industries).
| tracker1 wrote:
| I lost both my grandmothers this past 7 years. One about the
| same age as Betty, the other a few years younger. It's amazing
| how much insight you can glean from one-off comments in passing
| conversation you can pick up, or for that matter drop.
|
| I'm in the middle of Gen-X... kind of the last generation
| raised "tough" so to speak. Also a generation facing massive
| ageism, despite knowing and understanding technology as well or
| better than the younger generations. First generation to make
| less than that which came before. By the same token, I don't
| think my generation has a lot of stand-out leaders in its
| ranks. We've mostly been good by example, but starkly
| independent.
|
| All I know is that I miss both of my Grandmothers deeply.
| iaw wrote:
| Not to be crude but everything they mentioned _inside_ the bag
| was from a serious relationship. I really wonder if the outside
| of the bag was for the less serious relationships that were still
| candidates.
|
| Or was it common for soldiers to give out pieces of their uniform
| to people they just met out?
| metabagel wrote:
| Seems like she was a charmer.
| nineplay wrote:
| I read an article about a similar WWII woman's service and more
| than anything these women's jobs were to be warm and friendly
| to a bunch of young scared solders who far from home and
| wondering if they'd make it back.
|
| So they'd smile and they'd flirt and they'd charm and they'd
| dance and maybe the boys would feel less afraid or less
| homesick and maybe they'd have something to look forward to.
|
| I'd bet just that was enough for some appreciative solders to
| give her a pin, if only to remember them by.
| ashanoko wrote:
| Lubricant for those walking into the void, into a inferno, a
| calming spirit for those society had selected for slaughter,
| a GOAT
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(page generated 2025-10-24 23:01 UTC)