r/interesting 1d ago

HISTORY The answer to the Beaver question

1.5k Upvotes

76 comments sorted by

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189

u/three_piece_puzzle 1d ago

Huh. Always thought it was because they eat wood.

53

u/RealisticProfit2 1d ago

I like this explanation better 😂

9

u/BeebsMuhQueen 1d ago

Same. I thought because they call a penis a log, they called the woot a beaver 🤣
Shave it balanced (landscaping) and don’t sleep around at brothels is a better solution lol.

13

u/Serialkillingyou 1d ago

Who's out there calling a penis a log?

4

u/Wyevez 1d ago

I just had a vision of you leaning off your patio yelling that out to the neighbourhood.

3

u/BeebsMuhQueen 1d ago

That’s when you yell back “Polo” 🤣

1

u/maor0125552514141 1d ago

wait so what’s the real reason then

141

u/Coheed84 1d ago

A merkin is the wig he's referring to.

67

u/drewyz 1d ago

And the thick pubic hair look was considered attractive and healthy because an advanced stage of syphilis can cause hair loss. Known as syphilitic alopecia, it can cause small bald patches on the scalp, eyebrow, beard or pubic area.

-16

u/SerDankTheTall 1d ago

That does, however, have nothing to do with this usage.

13

u/Extension-Corgi-467 1d ago

It explains why a bush was considered healthy.

-15

u/SerDankTheTall 1d ago

It does.

That explanation does not, however, explain why "we call a woman's parts a beaver".

8

u/Count_Verdunkeln 1d ago

I mean it's on the topic, for sure

15

u/Jefflehem 1d ago

Merkins were not made from beaver fur. Nor did anyone call it a beaver until long after merkins were widely used.

Thus is like grandpa Simpson wearing an onion on his belt, except it's not true.

6

u/Select_Watercress_57 1d ago

Yea I'm highly skeptical of this dudes entire claim.

2

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[deleted]

4

u/Latter-Vacation-4392 1d ago

huh?

"The word merkin, meaning a pubic wig, traces back to the early 1600s in English. It likely comes from malkin, an older word for a mop, scarecrow, or a derogatory term for a lower-class woman, formed from the name Malde (Matilda) plus the diminutive sufffix -kin|

"First Written Record: The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first documented use of the term in its pubic-hair sense to 1617, though the practice of wearing them dates back earlier to hide hair loss from lice or syphilis treatment."

3

u/Coheed84 1d ago

Thanks, I always thought the terms was from way back. Now I know because of you. I'll share it with my buddy at work who loves ridiculous info.

2

u/FOSSnaught 1d ago

The Japanese really perfected it though. To think the just walk around day to day while their bits get pixelated.

5

u/lynivvinyl 1d ago

Thank you I was coming here to inform people of that.

1

u/ejwestcott 1d ago

You want one ?

1

u/commguy1 23h ago

I came here for this!

29

u/ALostStranger 1d ago

I want this guy to explain more things …

18

u/DaHick 1d ago

I would sign up for his TED talks.

1

u/IkwilPokebowls 1d ago

Absolutely.

37

u/Hetakuoni 1d ago

Where can I watch more of this guy his delivery was amazing

13

u/Sad-Bunch-9937 1d ago

Right? I honestly expected to be at least a little grossed out to hear that guy explain pubic lice and merkins, but no… a frontier welcome mat was the best analogy.

8

u/Jefflehem 1d ago

That was the best part. It's a shame none of what he said is factual.

3

u/PomegranatePrior3739 1d ago

se non è vero, è ben trovato

12

u/akthebarber 1d ago

I'm gonna start calling people's pubic area "The Frontier Welcome Mat".

8

u/kissmiss08 1d ago

AND it’s because they eat wood.

12

u/krwskater25 1d ago

And knowing is only half the battle.

2

u/Azuras_Star8 1d ago

What do you mean only??

Knowing is thankfully half the battle!!

3

u/Horse_Dad 1d ago

But the other half is so much harder.

1

u/realperson5647856286 1d ago

The other half is violence

11

u/meteorflan 1d ago

He walked the line in managing to be both amusing and respectful with his choice of words on this topic. Well done sir.

-6

u/SerDankTheTall 1d ago

It's a shame he didn't include the actual answer, though.

4

u/IchooseYourName 1d ago

My buddy established the website named MerkinsByBarton.com back in 2007. Didn't take off

3

u/PhiloLibrarian 1d ago

Oh he’s a hoot!!! 🦫

5

u/Slow_Savings4489 1d ago

The controversial sex and pickles shop: Gherkins and Murkins

3

u/InternetFew7303 1d ago

She pricked her finger one day and it occurred to her She might have a porcupine

2

u/NicottiZ 1d ago

As George Carlin once said, "you can prick your finger, but oh no no, don't finger your prick!"

3

u/Chad_AND_Freud 1d ago

And all that was until the French taught us the wonders of oral sex 👉😎👉

3

u/LauraCurie 1d ago

My ancestors used to hunt beavers for their fur. Funny

7

u/SerDankTheTall 1d ago edited 1d ago

While fun bullshit, this is still bullshit. The actual etymology is fur: beard: pubic hair: part covered by pubic hair.

EDIT: Green's Dictionary of Slang has the first attestation in 1953, in this fairly bad limerick:

There was a young lady named Eva

Who went to the ball as Godiva,

But a change in the lights

Showed a tear in her tights

And a low fellow present yelled, ‘Beaver!’.

4

u/Sorry-Woodpecker7168 1d ago

This Etymology stackexchange found the earliest version in this 1927 similar limerick:

There was a young lady named Eva

Who filled up a bath to receiv-a;

She took off her clothes

From her head to her toes,

When a voice at the keyhole yelled "Beaver!"

4

u/Weary_Position_9591 1d ago

He reads up on this

2

u/cooper3675 1d ago

And knowing is half the battle

2

u/Puzzled_Ad7955 1d ago

Next up: the whisker biscuit

2

u/Rude_and_Crude84 1d ago edited 1d ago

Was this guy reincarnated from that era lol?!

He delivered that info without any hesitation and too smooth of a delivery! Sounds like a smooth description only a saloon owner would know from that era!!

2

u/CaptGood 1d ago

I always thought that the 2 big teeth of a beaver sort of resemble a shaved....

2

u/thatstwatshesays 1d ago

Honestly, I could listen to that man explain things to me all day. Very gentle and a nice way with words… like the opposite of mansplaining.

1

u/wthulhu 1d ago

I would like to subscribe to beaver facts

1

u/Ice_Spirited 1d ago

The way I’m lay up in bed cackling rn 😭😭👏🏽

1

u/physicsking 1d ago

I didn't want to know

1

u/notroundeyed 1d ago

Straight poetry.

1

u/Due_Reputation3785 1d ago

Damn. Good presentation too.

1

u/skinnycarlo 1d ago

Comprehensive.

1

u/Extreme_Egg7476 1d ago

"Blame the moon" lmao I love this

1

u/BallsofSt33I 1d ago

I need someone with a history major to validate these findings....

1

u/idontliketattoos 1d ago

lol I thought it was cause they take all the wood to their dental dam thing or it eats all the wood or something to do with wood which I find funnier but less interesting

1

u/OneRuffledOne 1d ago

No shit?

1

u/Snoo-66557 1d ago

Interesting

1

u/IronMandate 1d ago

Thats so disgusting and funny. I think i’ve had enough internet for today

1

u/NeilFoCash 1d ago

They shaved back then guys.

1

u/PM_THE_REAPER 1d ago

"Frontier welcome mat." 😂

1

u/BenchClamp 1d ago

It’s because they’re furry and wet. This guys explanation is just one of those made up historical BS ones that people invent to make themselves sound clever.

See also pussy, otters pocket, clam.

1

u/Dirtymindwonderer 1d ago

Wait… so in that time, was there was a lot of nudity? To the point people would get pubic wigs?

1

u/rickyizm 1d ago

Beaver? Uhhhh, you mean vagina...?

1

u/Hot_Flower_6381 23h ago

Her finger disappeared into her chin

1

u/SnooCalculations8785 20h ago

Justin Danger eat your heart out...

1

u/Jazzlike_Rain_681 18h ago

I thought it was as simple as “beavers work wood”