“Homes seldom laughed.” [MAZA]       Sherlock Holmes could be deadly serious. As in his encounter with Professor Moriarty, his matter-of-fact explanations, and when Watson wrote "Holmes seldom laughed" in "The Mazarin Stone."   But was Sherlock Holmes really all that humorless? Fortunately, we have decades of Watson's chronicles from which to choose. Let's get into it. After all, it's just a Trifle.          Links / Notes  This episode: ihose.co/trifles259 Data! (Futility Closet) Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Support us on Patreon    Sponsor The Baker Street Journal   Music credits Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0   --    

Did Sherlock Holmes Have a Sense of Humor?

You know the plots, but what about the minutiae? We delve into the Sherlock Holmes stories and answers questions that arise, clarify muddy details, and look into some of the period terminology in this weekly podcast.

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“the flooring was also thoroughly examined” [SPEC]         Cocoanut matting, bearskin rug, carpets — there are a number of notable floor coverings mentioned in the Sherlock Holmes stories. But flooring itself is less notable. Case in point: linoleum, which appears as a passing mention in just three stories, was a popular alternative at the time. What do we know about the history of linoleum, how was it manufactured, and what role did it play in the Canon? It's just a Trifle.    All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.   Find Trifles wherever you listen to podcasts.    Links / Notes  Previous episode mentioned:  Episode 102: Inside 221B: On the Floor  All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.      Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0         

Linoleum

“Vast sections of it have been cleared” [BLAC]         When you're really down in the details about something — something trifling, perhaps — it's difficult to see the forest for the trees, as the saying goes. Well, we've discussed trees in two previous episodes, so we thought it was time to look at the forests. There were scant mentions of forests in the Sherlock Holmes stories, but they're worth a Trifle.  You can make topic suggestions to us — if we choose something you recommend (like the one today!), we'll send you a Sherlockian prize.   All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.      Links / Notes  Forest Row New Forest Weald Previous episodes mentioned:  Episode 274: Trees, Part 1 Episode 276: Trees, Part 2  All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.      Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0         

Forests

“at Maiwand without losing my nerve” [STUD]         Maiwand: Saving the Guns by Richard Caton Woodville, 1883 (Wikimedia Commons)        It is generally accepted that A Study in Scarlet, when Dr. Watson first met Sherlock Holmes, took place in 1881. Watson was just back from the war in Afghanistan, where he had been wounded at the Battle of Maiwand. But in 1940, Edgar W. Smith took a closer look at the timing between the battle, Watson's recovery time, travel to London and hotel stay, and came to a much different conclusion. He wrote it up in a pamphlet and it's just a Trifle.  You can make suggestions as well — if we choose a topic you recommend, we'll send you a Sherlockian prize.   All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community on Patreon or Substack today.   BONUS: a digital scan of Smith's original pamphlet is available to our  Patreon or Substack supporters.        Links / Notes  The Long Road from Maiwand: an examination of the evidence bearing upon the dating of a certain encounter in the chemical laboratory at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, in London by Edgar W. Smith (Abebooks) The eBSJ All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.        Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0          

The Long Road from Maiwand

“Stop at a telegraph-office, cabby!” [SIGN]            Cabbies are everywhere in London – indeed, so common in some cases that they're simply overlooked (we see you, Jefferson Hope!). Could Sherlock Holmes have passed himself off as a cabby? There are certainly points in his career when it would have made sense. And a paper given at a Sherlock Holmes society in Denmark points in that direction. Hop on board with us in this monthly travel series episode! It's just a Trifle.  You can make suggestions as well — if we choose a topic you recommend, we'll send you a Sherlockian prize.   All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community today.    Become a Patron!      Links / Notes  "The Thomas Hogram Letters" by Sven Ranild is an expanded and translated version of a paper delivered in Copenhagen on September 19, 1987, at the Centenary Dinner of the Sherlock Holmes Klubben i Danmark and it appeared in the Summer 1991 issue of The Sherlock Holmes Journal. Episode 124 - Odd Jobs All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.      Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0          

Sherlock Holmes, Cabby

“very curious phraseology” [WIST]            Here's an interesting little subject that ought to intrigue many Sherlock Holmes fans: words. We are a literate bunch, and when we get to learn more about words — especially words with which we're unfamiliar —  that makes us happy.  This topic was suggested by listener Jennifer Cassasanto, who was curious about some of the foreign and antiquated terms in the Canon. Fair warning, though: this is a pun-filled zone. Word nerds unite! It's just a Trifle.  You can make suggestions as well — if we choose a topic you recommend, we'll send you a Sherlockian prize.   All of our supporters are eligible for our monthly drawings for Baker Street Journals and certain tiers receive thank you gifts. Join our community today.      Links / Notes  An Irregular Anglo-American Glossary of More or Less Unfamiliar Words, Terms and Phrases in the Sherlock Holmes Saga by S. Tupper Bigelow  Episode 124 - Odd Jobs All of our social links: https://linktr.ee/ihearofsherlock Email us at trifles @ ihearofsherlock.com Join our community on Patreon or Substack to hear bonus material and be eligible for drawings.        Music credits    Performers: Uncredited violinist, US Marine Chamber Orchestra  Publisher Info.: Washington, DC: United States Marine Band  Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0         

Did Sherlock Holmes Have a Sense of Humor?

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