Bucket

Bucket (pronounced buhk-it)

(1) A deep, cylindrical vessel, usually of metal, plastic, or wood, with a flat bottom and a semi-circular bail, for collecting, carrying, or holding water, sand, fruit etc; a pail.

(2) Any container related to or suggesting this.

(3) In earth-moving and related machinery, any of the scoops attached to or forming the endless chain in certain types of conveyors or elevators.

(4) The scoop or clamshell of a steam shovel, power shovel, or dredge.

(5) A vane or blade of a waterwheel, paddle wheel, water turbine, or the like.

(6) In dam design, a concave surface at the foot of a spillway for deflecting the downward flow of water.

(7) In basketball, an informal term for the field goal; the part of the keyhole extending from the foul line to the end line.

(8) In seat design, as "bucket seat", most associated with cars, an individual seat for one person (as opposed to the bench seat for two or more).

(9) In ten-pin bowling, a "leave" of the two, four, five, and eight pins, or the three, five, six, and nine pins.

(10) To lift, carry, or handle in a bucket (often followed by up or out).

(11) In slang, to ride a horse fast and without concern for tiring it; also, used as slang for driving fast, both mostly UK use.

(12) To handle (orders, transactions, etc.) in or as if in a "bucket shop".

(13) In computer operating systems, as download bucket, a unit of storage on a direct-access device from which data can be stacked and retrieved; a storage space in a hash table for every item sharing a particular key.

(14) A unit of measure equal to four (Imperial) gallons (UK archaic).

(15) In Canadian (mostly Toronto) disparaging slang, a suggestion someone uses crack cocaine.

(16) In slang, an old vehicle that is not in good working order (often as rust bucket).

(17) In variation management, a mechanism for avoiding the allocation of targets in cases of mismanagement.

(18) As "bucket bag", the leather socket for holding the whip when driving (horses and sled-dogs), or for the carbine or lance when mounted (cavalry use).

(19) The pitcher in certain orchids.

(20) A type of narrow brimmed hat, and as slang, hats in general; the use as “brain bucket” is specific to crash helmets.

(21) In rowing, to make, or cause to make (the recovery), with a certain hurried or unskilful forward swing of the body.

(22) A pulley (a now obsolete Norfolk dialectical use).

(23) As "bucket bong", an improvised form of drug paraphernalia assembled for the purpose of smoking weed and consisting of a bucket filled with water and a plastic bottle with the bottom surface removed.  Social media platforms host instructional video clips for those who wish to hone their technique. 

(24) As "bucket list", (1) a list of tasks to be undertaken following discussions (the idea of them being put "in a bucket") and (2) a list of the things one wishes to have done before one dies (ie "kicks the bucket"). 

1250–1300: From the Middle English buket & boket, partly from the Anglo-Norman buket & buqet (tub, pail) and partly from the Old English bucc (bucket, pitcher), (a variant of būc (vessel, belly (cognate with the Old High German būh & the German Bauch)) + the Old French –et.  The suffix –et was from the Middle English -et, from the Old French –et & its feminine variant -ette, from the Late Latin -ittus (and the other gender forms -itta & -ittum).  It was used to form diminutives, loosely construed. The Anglo-Norman words (which in Norman had existed as boutchet & bouquet) were from the Old French buc (abdomen; object with a cavity), from the Vulgar Latin būcus (similar forms were the Occitan and Catalan buc, the Italian buco & buca (hole, gap), from the Frankish būk (belly, stomach).  Both the Old English and Frankish terms derive ultimately from the Proto-Germanic būkaz (belly, stomach).  The modern meaning "pail or open vessel for drawing and carrying water and other liquids" emerged by the mid-thirteenth century, the link to the idea conveyed by the Old English buc (pitcher, bulging vessel (originally "belly")) is that buckets were originally crafted from leather before being made of word and later metal.

Lindsay Lohan taking the #ALSIceBucketChallenge on the Jimmy Fallon show, August 2014.  The Ice Bucket Challenge was a viral event to promote awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neuron disease and in the United States as Lou Gehrig's disease) and raise money for research.

In idiomatic use, a “drop in the bucket” is a small, usually inadequate amount in relation to what is needed or requested.  To “kick the bucket” (dating from 1785) means “to drop dead” which may be from the unrelated (1570s) bucket (beam on which something may be hung or carried), from the French buquet (balance), a beam from which slaughtered animals were hung (by the heels or hooves).  This may also have been reinforced by the notion of suicide by hanging after standing on an upturned bucket (apparently once a most popular choice for the purpose).  The related “bucket list” is the list of things one should do before dropping dead dates only from 2007 but had earlier been used in coding to describe algorithm sorting.  To “drop the bucket on” is (mostly Australian slang) to implicate, incriminate, or expose, used also in the form to “give (someone) a bucketing”..

Wet & Dry: Lindsay Lohan takes the #ALSIceBucketChallenge on the Jimmy Fallon show, August 2014.  

Showing a concern for public opinion (an under-researched aspect of the dynamics of totalitarian systems), comrade Stalin (1878-1953; Soviet leader 1924-1953) used the phrase in this sense in 1939 during the negotiations for the Nazi-Soviet Pact when he observed it would be wise to tone down the effusive language describing the friendship between the two dictatorships which were, at least on paper, ideologically opposed (although the various similarities between the two were, even then, acknowledged as quite striking): "For many years now, we have been pouring buckets of shit on each other's heads, and our propaganda boys could not do enough in that direction. And now, all of a sudden, are we to make our peoples believe that all is forgotten and forgiven? Things don't work that fast."  In most of the English-speaking world, bucket is the preferred term.  Both bucket and pail are used throughout the US, pail most popular in the north, bucket more common elsewhere, especially in the mid-west and the south.  Bucket is a noun, verb and (less commonly) an adjective, the present participle bucketing and the past and past participle bucketed; the noun plural is buckets.  To say the rain is “bucketing down” suggests hard rain or anything in great quantity and later Nobel literature laureate Bob Dylan included the track Buckets of Rain on his album Blood on the Tracks (1975).  Presumably untypically in popular song, the word from the title appears in the first four lines and not thereafter:

Buckets of rain
Buckets of tears
Got all them buckets comin' out of my ears
Buckets of moonbeams in my hand

More ominous was the use in 1997 by Tim Fischer (1946–2019; leader of the National Party of Australia 1990-1999).  In Wik Peoples v Queensland [1996] HCA 40-187 CLR 1, the High Court of Australia (HCA) had handed down a judgement which, in certain limited circumstances, granted to certain indigenous peoples (the “traditional owners of the land”) a “native title” which could exist concurrently if events since European settlement had not “extinguished” that status.  In September 1997, John Howard (b 1939; prime minister of Australia 1996-2007) introduced to the parliament his government’s legislative response to the decision: the Native Title Amendment Bill (1997 and known as the “Ten Point Plan”) which proposed to broaden the power of governments to extinguish native title, remove the right to claim over urban areas and make the initiation of claims more burdensome.  Mr Howard explained things thus: “My aim has always been to strike a fair balance between respect for native title and security for pastoralists, farmers and miners.  The fact is that the Wik decision pushed the pendulum too far in the Aboriginal direction.  The 10 point plan will return the pendulum to the centre.”  Mr Fischer was earthier, telling the National Party faithful the purpose of the Ten Point Plan was to deliver “…bucket loads of extinguishment.”

Mercedes-Benz 220 SE Coupé (foreground) & cabriolet (background) with standard rear bench seats, Frankfurt, September 1961 (left) & 1965 220 SE coupé with safari seat option (right).

One rarely specified option on the early Mercedes-Benz W111 (1961-1971; 220 SE, 250 SE, 280 SE & 280 SE 3.5) & W112 (1962-1967; 300 SE) coupés and cabriolets was the fitting of two individual (bucket) seats in the rear instead of the usual bench.  Individual seats in a car’s rear compartment had actually been not uncommon in the early days of motoring but by 1961, when the W111 coupé was released at the Geneva Motor Show, except for a few coach-built rarities, the option was unique.  The factory called then “safari seats”, the source of that being their special metal frame which actually permitted them to be removed and placed on the ground outside, the implication presumably that this would be handy for those on safari who wished to sit outside and watch the zebras.  Whether many of these machines were taken on safari isn’t known but the concept was transferrable to those going on picnics or watching the polo.  On both sides of the Atlantic, the fitting of individual rear-seats caught on for some high-end models but other than in some utility vehicles intended mostly for off-road use, no manufacturer made them removable.

Top row left to right: 1973 Ford (Australia) Landau, 1975 Lamborghini Jamara S and 1976 Jensen Interceptor.  Bottom row left to right: 1986 Ferrari 412, 1988 BMW M6 and 2014 Bentley Continental GTC Speed.  The sheer volume of the surface area can make the four-seat machines expensive to restore, something the Jensen Interceptor demanding five hides, a high-quality re-trim in the US costing usually in excess of US$20,000.   

As a marker of the things which increase appeal as the price rises (extravagance, exclusivity, impracticality) rear bucket sets became popular in the 1970s, installed increasingly with the full-length consoles which offered an accessible housing for cigar lighters & ashtrays (then still a thing) and stowage compartments though nobody had yet thought of cup-holders.  Like many forms of design they represented one implementation of the trade-off inherent in engineering: optimizing one aspect can be achieved only at the cost of compromising another.  The Ford Australia’s 1973 Landau was based on the humble Falcon which, configured with bench seats front and rear, was designed to seat, in reasonable comfort, six adults.  The Landau was strictly a four seater but both comfort and visual impact greatly were enhanced.

1966 Dodge Hemi Charger.

One mainstream manufacturer which anticipated the adoption of the motif was Dodge which in 1966 released the first generation (1966-1967) of the Charger, an intermediate-sized fastback which suffered in the market because (1) the price was high and (2) the ungainly slab-sided styling.  Still, the aerodynamic qualities of the fastback’s lines worked well (after a few tweaks) at high-speed on the NASCAR ovals so at least one department in Dodge division was happy.  In an attempt to stimulate demand, Dodge “de-contented” the 1967 models, one sacrifice being the rear bucket seats which were replaced by a more utilitarian (and cheaper to produce) bench.  The market didn’t respond but it did in 1968 when a sleek new body debuted with the second generation (1968-1970), sales increasing more than three-fold.  Unfortunately (in another example of trade-offs), the stylish shape which persuades so many buyers didn’t impress the laws of physics and it proved quite unstable at racing speeds, something it would take the corporation two attempts (and the assistance of genuine rocket scientists who became available as one unintended consequence of Richard Nixon’s (1913-1994; US president 1969-1974) arm-control initiatives, a prelude to the later police of détente with the Soviet Union) to resolve.  The 1966 Charger possessed a most unusual combination of virtues, able to be ordered with the 426 cubic inch (7.0) Street Hemi V8 (a slightly detuned version of the one used in NASCAR competition) yet the twin rear bucket seats could be folded down to create a large space for cargo (a la station wagon), accessible from the truck (boot).

Cockpit of a replica Porsche 907K (Kurzheck (short tail); note the balsa-wood gearshift knob, a weight-saving measure which made the car a few grams lighter and while that may not sound worthwhile, by 1968 competition in Group 6 was fierce and nobody was giving anything away.

The Porsche 907 competed under the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile’s (the FIA; the International Automobile Federation) Group 6 (Prototype class) in the World Sportscar Championship and one rule was the cars have “two seats”.  Accordingly, just about every Group 6 Machine on the grid had bolted to the floor a lightweight, shell-like “bucket seat” (the Group 7 (unlimited displacement) Can-Am cars also used the trick) although, as the lack of seat belts and the location of the fire extinguisher suggest, it wasn’t a seat in which someone was intended to sit.  The approach had a long tradition, as early as the 1970s, cars used in European racing were sometimes fitted with tiny doors just conform with the rules which demanded they be in place; some were even “fake doors”, blatant cheating being another long tradition in motorsport.

Porsche 907 K (left) and Porsche 907LH (right).

Built in 1967-1968 and victorious in 12 Hours of Sebring and the Targa Florio in 1968, the 907K was used on circuits where really high speeds couldn’t be attained, the rear bodywork designed to increase the down-force most beneficial in places with lots of corners.  The companion 907LH (Langheck (long-tail)) was allocated to the high speed tracks where the long straights put a premium on top speed, the drivers having to adjust their techniques to compensate for the increased tendency for the LH in certain circumstances to lift.  That approach (again, trade-offs in action) proved manageable, even with speed the 907s could attain (Kurzheck: 302 km/h (188 mph) & Langheck: 330 km/h (205 mph)) but the instability inherent in Langheck shape became apparent in 1969 when the much more powerful 917 was released: At the 386 km/h (240 mph) it could reach on the longest straights, the fluid dynamics of the airflow made the long tail behave more like the way an aircraft’s wing creates lift, something discovered only when the first cars reached the circuits because Porsche had no access to a test track where such a speed could be reached, computer simulations then decades away.

Subaru BRAT with “outdoor bucket seats” in use.

It wasn’t only machines made for Group 6 & 7 racing which were fitted with lightweight, plastic seats to comply with the letter of the law.  The Subaru BRAT was (depending on linguistic practice) (1) a coupé utility, (2) a compact pick-up or (3) a small four wheel drive (4WD) ute (utility) and the name an acronym (Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter), the novel idea of “bi-drive” (4WD) being the notion of both axles being driven, something dictated by the need to form the acronym.  Although now in some places a cult vehicle (especially in Japan where it was never sold), the BRAT is now most remembered as a “Chicken Tax car”.  Tax regimes have a long history of influencing or dictating automotive design, the Japanese system of displacement-based taxation responsible for the entire market segment of “Kei cars” (a clipping of kei-jidōsha (軽自動車) (light automobile), the best known of which have been produced with 360, 600 & 660 cm3 (22, 37 & 40 cubic inch) engines in an astonishing range of configurations ranging from micro city cars to roadsters and 4WD dump trucks.  In Europe too, the post-war fiscal threshold resulted in a wealth of manufacturers (Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, BMW, Ford, Maserati, Opel et al) offering several generations of 2.8 litre (171 cubic inch) sixes while the that imposed by the Italian government saw special runs of certain 2.0 litre (122 cubic inch) fours, sixes & even V8s.  The US government’s “Chicken Tax” (a part of the “Chicken War”) was different in that it was a 25% tariff imposed in 1963 by the Johnson administration on potato starch, dextrin, brandy and light trucks; it was a response to the impost of a similar tariffs by France and the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany, the old West Germany) on chicken meat imported from the US.

Two 1987 BRATs with retro-fitted seats, the one on the right also with an after-market roll-bar, something which, all things considered, seems a sensible addition.  Of the physics, those familiar Sir Isaac Newton's (1642–1727) First Law of Motion (known also as the Law of Inertia: "An object at rest will remain at rest, and an object in motion will continue in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced external force") can ponder the possibilities while wondering whether to bother buckling up the seat belt or just rely on the "grab handles" (and probably never was that term used more appropriately).  Although the seats weren't factory-fitted after 1985, the parts could still be ordered and many later models have been retro-fitted.  The adjustable headrests were a nice touch although some did note they could be classified also as "rear window protectors".

In Fuji Heavy Industries’ (then Subaru’s parent corporation) Ebisu boardroom, the challenge of what probably was described as the “Chicken Tax Incident” was met by adding to the BRAT two plastic, rear-facing jump seats, thereby qualifying the vehicle as a “passenger car” subject in the US only to a 2.5 and not a 25% import tax.  Such a “feature” probably seems strange in the regulatory environment of the 2020s but there was a time when there was more freedom in the air.  Subaru’s US operation decided the BRAT’s “outdoor bucket seats” made it an “open tourer” and slanted the advertising thus, the model enjoying much success although the additional seating wasn’t available after 1985 and the model was withdrawn from the US market after 1987.

A full bucket of VPOTUS.

In the US during the nineteenth century there was a joke about two brothers: "One ran off to sea and the other became vice-president; neither were ever heard of again."  That was of course an exaggeration but it reflected the general view of the office which has very few formal duties and can only ever be as powerful or influential as a president allows although the incumbent is "a heartbeat from the presidency".  John Nance Garner III (1868–1967, vice president of the US 1933-1941), a reasonable judge of these things, once told Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; US president 1963-1969) being VPOTUS was "not worth a bucket of warm piss" (which is polite company usually is sanitized as "...bucket of warm spit").  In the US, a number of VPOTUSs (Vice-President of the United States) have become POTUS (President of the United States) and some have worked out well although of late the record has not been encouraging, the presidencies of Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; VPOTUS 1961-1963, POTUS 1963-1968), Richard Nixon (1913-1994; VPOTUS 1953-1961, POTUS 1969-1974) and Joe Biden (b 1942; VPOTUS 2008-2017, POTUS 2021-2025) 1963-1968, all ending badly, in despair, disgrace and decrepitude respectively.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 1.0 (1995).

Microsoft's Internet Explorer (usually referred to as IE (IE7, IE8 etc by nerds) was in June 2022 officially retired.  It was released in 1995 as part of the Plus! package for Windows 95 which, remarkable as it now seems, shipped to an expectant and receptive market without any vision of it being a platform for internet access, Microsoft's preferred model their proprietary walled-garden the Microsoft Network (MSN).  The public’s reaction meant corporate belief in that model didn't last and MSN was soon re-positioned as just another place to go on the internet.  IE had its early controversies because of the use of code belonging to other companies and subsequently because it was given away or bundled with Microsoft's operating systems, thereby undermining the business model of competing companies which had developed browsers as shrink-wrap products to be sold for a profit.  With a few twists and turns, those issues worked their way (slowly) through US and European courts, Microsoft often using what had become the industry's preferred  solution: Throw money at the problem and it goes away.  That approach was applied too to product development and sometimes it needed to be, Windows 95, IE4 and the then mysterious “Active Desktop” ensemble resisting many attempts to secure stability.

Lindsay Lohan in bucket hat.

Still, most competition thus eliminated, IE went on to great things and early in the century enjoyed a market-share which at its peak exceeded 90%, the penetration assisted greatly by IE being the choice of many corporations which began using the browser as their default interface for internal as well as external access.  However, this very success was what ultimately doomed IE as Microsoft was compelled to retain much legacy support within the browser to accommodate the corporations which generated so much of Microsoft’s revenue.  Newer competitors were able to offer faster, more flexible browsers with modernized interfaces and gradually gained critical mass, IE by 2020 confined mostly to those corporations using legacy applications with a specific dependence.  Indeed, although noting IE’s retirement, for the affected corporations Microsoft is retaining a small subset of software support on Windows Server 2019 and the Windows 10 LTSC (Long-Term Servicing Channel), the latter in five and ten year programmes.

Pol Roger Champagne ice bucket by Argit of France in nickel plated brass, circa 1920.

Unfashionable though it became, there was one aspect of IE which for years worked better than the implementation on other browsers: The handling of download buckets.  Download buckets are the places on operating systems which permit users to tag files for downloading as a batch, rather than having to download each individually.  For whatever reason, IE’s download buckets seemed for years always more stable than the newer entrants.  Even today, Microsoft’s own update catalogue offers support for a download bucket on IE but not on other browsers although, helpfully, Microsoft’s own (Chromium-based) Edge browser can be configured with an “IE mode” which continues to support the bucket, the “Add” and “Remove” options appearing as before.

Microsoft Update Catalog on IE (and Edge in IE mode).

Microsoft Update Catalog on Chromium-based browsers (and Firefox) in native mode.