Toggle

Toggle (pronounced tog-uhl)

(1) A pin, bolt or rod placed transversely through a chain, an eye or loop in a rope etc, as to bind it temporarily to another chain or rope similarly treated.

(2) In various types of machinery, a toggle joint, or a device having one.

(3) An ornamental, rod-shaped button for inserting into a large buttonhole, loop or frog, used especially on sports clothes.

(4) In theatre, a wooden batten across the width of a flat, for strengthening the frame (Also called the toggle rail).

(5) In engineering and construction, a metal device for fastening a toggle rail to a frame (also called a toggle iron); a horizontal piece of wood that is placed on a door, flat, or other wooden structure, but is not on one of the edges of the structure; an appliance for transmitting force at right angles to its direction.

(6) To furnish with a toggle or to bind or fasten with a toggle.

(7) In informal use, to turn, twist, or manipulate a toggle switch; dial or turn the switch of a device (often in the form “to toggle between” alternate states).

(8) A type of switch widely used in motor vehicles until outlawed by safety legislation in the 1960s.

(9) In admiralty jargon, a wooden or metal pin, short rod, crosspiece or similar, fixed transversely in the eye of a rope or chain to be secured to any other loop, ring, or bight.

In computer operating systems and applications, an expression indicating a switch of view, contest, feed, option etc.

(11) In sky-diving, a loop of webbing or a dowel affixed to the end of the steering & brake lines of a parachute providing a means of control.

(12) In whaling, as toggling harpoon, a pre-modern (believed to date from circa 5300 BC) harvesting tool used to impale a whale when thrown.

1769: The origin of toggle is murky and the best guess of most etymologists is it was in some way linked with "tug".  In the sense of a "pin passed through the eye of a rope, strap, or bolt to hold it in place" the origin is believed to be nautical (though not necessarily from the Royal Navy) thus the speculation that it’s a frequentative form of “tug” or “to tug” (in the sense of “to pull”), the evolution influenced by regional (or class-defined) pronunciations similar to tog.  The wall fastener was first sold in 1934 although the toggle bolt had been in use since 1994.  The term “toggle switch” was first used in 1938 although such devices had long been in use in the electrical industry and they were widely used in motor vehicles until outlawed by safety legislation in the 1960s.  In computing, toggle was first documented in 1979 when it referred to a keyboard combination which alternates the function between on & off (in the sense of switching between functions or states as opposed to on & off in the conventional sense).  The verb toggle dated from 1836 in the sense of “make secure with a toggle” and was a direct development from the noun.  In computing, the toggle function (“to toggle back and forth between different actions") was first described in 1982 when documenting the embryonic implementations of multi-tasking (then TSRs (terminate & stay resident programs).  Use of the mysterious togglability (the quality of being togglable) seems to be restricted to computer OSs (operating systems) to distinguish between that which can be switched between and that which is a stand-alone function which must separately be loaded & terminated.

The noun toggery (clothing; a clothing shop) is unrelated and was from tog.  It described (in slang), capes, cloaks & coats and (in New Zealand & Australia), swimwear (as a clipping of "swimming togs").  The origin of tog as various garments was as a shortened form of the earlier togemans & togeman (cloak, loose coat), from the Middle English tog, toge & togue, from the Old French togue, from the Latin toga (cloak, mantle).  Togeman(s) was criminal class cant for "cloak or coat" and in the shortened form "tog" it had spread to general use, by the early eighteenth century meaning "coat" and that also underwent mission keep, coming to be used generally of "clothing".  As a verb tog (as both "tog" & "tog up") emerged very quickly.  The special use of tog in fluid dynamics was as a unit of thermal resistance, being ten times the temperature difference (in °C) between the two surfaces of a material when the flow of heat is equal to one watt per m2.  The discipline in the 1940s appropriated the word from its commercial use as a material used in the thermal insulation of clothing.  Tog was also (as a clipping), slang for "a photographer".  Toggle is a noun & verb, toggled & toggling are verbs, toggler, toggery & togglability are nouns and togglable is an adjective; the noun plural is toggles.

The Jaguar E-Type (XKE) and the toggle switch

1964 Jaguar E-Type S1 OTS (Open Two Seater, as the factory at the time described the roadster body-style.

Jaguar’s E-Type (sometimes in North America (NA) informally called XK-E or XKE) deputed in 1961 at the now defunct Geneva Motor Show and it created quite a stir, at once recognized as one of the more seductive shapes ever rendered in metal, a view with which many today agree still.  The impact it made is undisputed but in industry folklore what is contested is whether Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988), attending the show, called it “the most beautiful car in the world”.  The origin of the tale is a recollection by Norman Dewis (1920–2019) who between 1952-1985 was a Jaguar test driver, the website Hemmings reporting him saying of that moment in Geneva: “I always remember Enzo Ferrari coming up to me.  He walked around the car. He said, ‘Norman, it’s the most beautiful car I’ve ever seen.  But there is one mistake on the car.  It hasn’t got a Ferrari badge.’’

1966 Jaguar E-Type OTS.  The cockpit of the "toggle switch E-Types" was one of the classic looks of the analogue era,  Unlike the Jaguar saloons in production at the time, from the start, the E-Type's dashboard had a padded top-rail.    

Il Commendatore seems never to have confirmed or denied expressing the sentiment and there’s no mention of it in Le mie gioie terribili (published in English as “My terrible joys: the Enzo Ferrari memoirs” (“My Terrible Joys” must be one of the finest titles for a memoir)).  So, in the absence of a denial the story stands and the E-Type clearly made an impression because after concluding the sleek shape was likely to confer great aerodynamic advantage, signor Ferrari returned to Modena and ordered the development of the 250 GTO, the three dozen-odd built now among the highest-priced collectables.  It’s not unknown for a statement of perhaps dubious provenance to gain an aura of authenticity if the subject decides it reflects well on them.  In the 1961 Australian general election, as the counting concluded, the government and opposition had won equal numbers with a single seat still to be called; on that one seat rested the fate of the election.  That one seat was held by the conservative Jim Killen (1925–2007) and ultimately he prevailed, ironically because of the “leakage” of a handful of preferences from the Communist Party candidate.  Elated, Killen told the press he’d received a congratulatory phone call from Robert Menzies (1894–1978; prime-minister of Australia 1939-1941 & 1949-1966) who’d said “Killen, you’re magnificent”.  The quip had come from Killen’s imagination and later, ruefully, he would reveal that at the first post-election meeting of Liberal Party members, Menzies “didn’t even offer me a drink.”  Still, Menzies never disowned the comment and one of his press secretaries confirmed he’d been happy for it circulate.

1961 Jaguar E-Type S1 roadster with toggle switches and aluminum trim panels.

Ergonomically, while an aesthetic delight, the layout was not wholly successful though toggle switches are thought more sexy than the later rockers (although, sardonically, in the E-Type community they are sometimes described a "suicide switches") which were adopted to comply with US safety regulations.  There are two different stamping patterns for the aluminum trim pieces and the one used on the very early cars is much prized; it has never been available as a re-production.  In 1963, as a running change (the factory bulletin indicating it was done to reduce glare), the panel's covering was changed to black vinyl.  The use of aluminum facia plates in a Jaguar was untypical and the designers later recalled it was done just to provide that "race car look" rather as some of today's manufacturers and tuning houses will use carbon fibre (real and fake).  The factory certainly was aware of the significance of the ambiance in cockpit design.  The earlier XK120 (1948-1954) had been available as a FCH (fixed head coupé), DHC (drop head coupé (ie a cabriolet)) and OTS but while the first two received the traditional burl walnut veneer, the "sportier" OTS's facia was covered in leather & leathercloth.  The latter was thought a more modern look which increasingly was used on the successor XK140 (1954-1957) & XK150 (1957-1961) with only the saloons using timber exclusively (which remained an option for the XK150).

Custom timber veneer fittings by Madera Concepts for Jaguar E-type in burl walnut (left) and Carpathian elm (right). 

Unlike the XK150, the timber fittings were never a factory option but some owners found the look irresistible and commissioned specialists to create the pieces.  Although the total area is not large, some disassembly and reassembly is required and with a few curves around which the veneer must be made to curl, it's a job which demands expertise.  The fine craftsmen at Madera Concepts in California report having done sets in both burled walnut and Carpathian elm, the results looking exactly as one imagines the factory might have produced had there ever been a Daimler version of the E-Type.  Of course, however much those commissioning the work might be delighted, the originality police are unlikely much to be impressed.  Views change and by 1985 timber had re-appeared in the cockpit of the E-Type’s nominal replacement (the XJ-S (1975-1996 and in 1991 named XJS during Jaguar's time as subsidiary of Ford) so walnut in the one-off “notchback” Daimler XJ-S prototype was not a novelty.

Erected soft-top on 1969 E-Type S2.

Jaguar devoted time and resources to testing the E-Type but one thing which slipped through the pre-production process (as well what must have been indifference to the glare from the dashboard) was a buffeting the OTS's fabric soft-top suffered at certain speeds.  It seems an obvious thing not to notice but, like the HST's (Hubble Space Telescope) mis-shaped mirror, it was just one of those things.  With the E-Type's release date locked-in, it was too late to redesign the components and it was a hint at the machine's intrinsic unsuitability for mass-production.  The factory had not expected demand to exist in anything close to what instantly emerged (they'd expected to sell at most a few thousand but not some 72,000 over 14 years; the world was however seduced and to this day the E-Type remains the definitive Jaguar).  The consensus among the cognoscenti seems to be if Jaguar had anticipated what a huge seller the E-Type would become they might have (1) devoted a few more months to the development and (2) on the production line spent maybe another £40 per car, meaning many of the E-Type's inherent problems might have been solved and adding £40 to the price would likely not much have affected demand.    

The fix.

Jaguar's Q&D (quick and dirty) solution for the buffeting was to weigh-down the affected area with a chain of lead-shot, sewed into the fabric in effectively the same way weighted hems are used in fashion.  Just over a half inch (14 mm) in diameter, the lead-shot bag was wrapped in a sisal cord with two 12 inch (300 mm) draw-cords to permit it easily to be pulled through the pocket in the top.  It was such a rush-job Jaguar never allocated a part-number and it’s only ever been part of hood cloth assembly (#BD20582 for the Series 1; 159.854 for the Series 2).  Both the S1 (1961-1968) and S2 (1968-1971) E-Types had the lead-shot bag, even though the soft-top’s frame was re-designed for the later cars (the S1 with three bows, the S2 two and the clamps securing the mechanism to the windscreen header rail were strengthened) and for the S2, the size of the shot-bag was reduced slightly to accommodate a change in placement, now beneath the centre strap between the bows.  Interestingly, despite presumably having at least slightly different aerodynamic properties, there seems to have been no difference in the buffeting suffered by the early cars with mohair fabric and the later which used Everflex (a tough, high quality synthetic used by Rolls-Royce during it's unfortunate "vinyl roof phase" in the 1970s (Rolls-Royce never used the word "vinyl", always insisting it was "an Evereflex covering").  For the S3 E-Type (1971-1974), the soft-top was again re-designed, this time in a way which rendered the lead-shot chains unnecessary.  

 

On the E-Type, the toggle switches were fitted only to the S1 & S1.25 cars built between 1961-1967 and they're admired both for the "vintage" appearance and their delightful tactility, the centrally-located array controlling functions such as lighting and the windscreen wipers.  Even by the slight standards of 1960s ergonomics the arrangement wasn’t ideal but, sitting beneath the gauges, it was an elegant and impressive layout the factory would retain for more than a decade, the E-type using the arrangement until production ended in 1974 and it endured on the low-volume Daimler DS420 limousine until 1992.  However, while the layout for a while survived, the toggle switches did not, the hard-edged protuberances deemed dangerous by the US NHSB (National Highway Safety Bureau (which in 1970 became the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) under the newly created DOT (Department of Transportation), established by an act of Congress on 15 October, 1966 and beginning operation on 1 April, 1967) which, since the publication of Ralph Nader’s (b 1934) book Unsafe at any Speed (1965) had begun to write legislation which stipulated standards for automobile safety, this in parallel with the growing body of law designed to reduce toxic exhaust emissions.  The world into which the E-Type had been born was in its twilight.

1973 Jaguar E-Type S3 roadster with rocker switches.

On the later roadsters, the far-right rocker switch was un-labeled because it was functional only on the coupés, activating the rear-window demister; on the XJ sedans (which used the same switch apparatus), it swapped the flow between the dual gas (petrol) tanks.  When the S2 XJ was released in 1973, the whole dashboard was revised, greatly improving the ergonomics but lacking the visual appeal of a look dating from 1959 when the Mark II saloon (1959-1969) was released although the most extravagant implemental was on the Mark X (1961-1966) which used a full width assembly in timber veneer.  While impressive, airbags were decades away from mass use and seatbelts were uncommon so when the model was revised and released as the 420G (1966-1970), the top rail received a padded vinyl covering (with a central clock).  It didn't look as good but may have reduced the severity of a few head injuries.

In 1968, the new wave of legislation came mostly from the DOT so applied almost exclusively to vehicles sold in the US but such was the importance of that market it made little sense for Jaguar to continue to produce a separate line with toggle switches for sale in the rest of the word (RoW) so the decision was taken to standardize on the flatter rocker switches with their safer, rounded edges.  At much the same time, other changes were made to ensure the E-Type on sale in 1968 would conform also to other new rules, the most obvious being the replacement of the lovely covered headlights, replaced by units in a scalloped housing, mounted slightly higher (there was also a minimum headlight-height stipulation).  Given the extent of change, it was decided to designate the updated cars as the S2 (Series 2).  Despite the perceptions of some (fuelled by internet posts and re-posts), by 1967, Jaguar, while not a mass-production operation along the lines of a computerized Detroit assembly line, had long since ceased to be a cottage industry and as a change was made in a model’s specification, except for specified batches, it was applied to all production after a certain date.  Although the factory’s records document this, urban myths continue to circulate, stimulated by so-called “unicorns” such as the handful of 3.8 litre Mark 2 saloons built after 1967 when the line was rationalized (as the 240 & 340) and restricted to the 2.4 & 3.4 litre XK-Six; those 3.8s were official “special orders” and not ad-hoc aberrations.  However, nothing in the era has resulted in as much misinformation as the specification of what came (unofficially) to be called the S1.25 & S1.5 E-Types, the most common myth being that before S2 production began, some cars left the factory with a sometimes unpredictable mix of S1 & S2 parts, this haphazardness accounted for by the expedient of “using up stock”.  In the industry, (even in computerized Detroit) the practice was not unknown but there’s no evidence of the practice among 1967 E-Types.  What seems especially to attract speculation is the phenomenon of “overlap”, a word describing a Jaguar found to include some “later” or “earlier” features than the build date and VIN (vehicle identification number) suggest should be fitted.  It's part of the charm of the breed and was usually the result of the recorded “build date” reflecting when a car passed the final quality control checks; apparent discrepancies did happen if a car with an earlier chassis number had been returned for rectification of some fault, thus picking up what appears to be an “out-of-sequence” date.

1967 Jaguar E-Type S1 OTS (left) and 1976 Jensen Interceptor III (J Series) Convertible (right).

With the end of E-Type production, no Jaguar subsequently used the classic dashboard layout although it did endure on the Daimler DS40 limousine, built on the platform of the old Mark X.  Although over 4,000 DS420s (including two built by Vanden Plas as landaulets) were built (plus an additional 900-odd supplied as “commercial chassis” to coachbuilders who would fabricate custom aft-sections, configured mostly as hearses), the model was never sold in the US, the costs of the engineering required to make it compliant with the NHTSA’s ever-evolving rules to high to make the low-volume model viable.  Jensen however adopted the layout for the Interceptor (1966-1976) when in 1969 the Mark II was released although it too was compelled to replace the toggle switches with rockers and they went above and beyond the regulator’s dictates, installing them in a recessed, padded housing.  Even on the Interceptor Mark III (1971-1976), although there were a number of detail changes to the dashboard over the life of the model (there were “G”, “H” & ”J” series, “I” skipped to avoid confusion with the numeric “1” (one), a convention followed by many including bra manufacturers and Boeing when updating the B-52H Stratofortress), the Jaguaresque layout (an array of gauges in the centre with a line of toggles below) remained to the end.  Again, the ergonomics were not state of the art but, like the Jaguars, the Interceptor had other charms.

2006 Spyker C8 Laviolette Widebody: Dashboard layout with four-spoke “propeller” steering wheel (left) and toggle switches with nerf-bars (right).

Pleasingly, although thought extinct on the road, the toggle switches did make a comeback with several small-scale manufacturers unable to resist the look.  The way that look was kept while remaining compliant with the rules was to add rounded nerf-bars on each side of the switch, a trick borrowed from racing cars where the fittings were used to ensure a driver didn’t inadvertently “flick to wrong one”, always a risk because of the thick gloves usually worn in competition.  Spyker, a boutique operation from the Netherlands, began operation in 1999, the name coming from a Dutch coach-builder that between 1880-1926 would branch out from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles and even aircraft.  Since 2000, between various local difficulties (including bouts of bankruptcy), Spyker has produced a number of high-performance models and while the mechanical specification has always been impressive, what has also drawn attention are the exquisitely finished interiors, the intricacies (typified by the nerf-bars around the toggle switches) a delight for those who fetishize such things.  Unfortunately the four-spoke “propeller” steering wheel (a style last seen in volume on the Jaguar XK150 (1957-1961) was eventually judged just too potentially lethal to be granted an exemption from compliance and was replaced with something more accommodating from the Lamborghini parts-bin.

Engineering as art: Gear-shift mechanism, 2006 Spyker C8 Laviolette Widebody (left) and 2007 Spyker C8 Laviolette Targa with, softer, gentler steering wheel (right).

What did however survive was the wonderfully crafted shift mechanism for the rear-mounted ZF transaxle and although the exposed shafts of stainless steel might seem an affectation, it's pure functionalism; being a direct mechanical linkage, they provide precise gear-shifting, always a challenge with such a layout (the Porsche 914 (1969-1976) community coined “broomstick in a jar of mayonnaise” to describe the experience of the earlier "tail-shift" models, the post 1972 "side-shift" build a great improvement from "bad" the "satisfactory").  The shape of the shifter’s knob reflects the modern practice, dating from analysed data derived in the late 1960s from the Swedish government's mandatory post mortems (autopsies) of road-accident fatalities (under Swedish law, such corpses were for 48 hours the property of the state).  What the pathologists' findings revealed was lives could be saved if engineers could devise as a shift lever handle too large to penetrate the eye socket.  One of the first knobs to reflect this design imperative appeared in 1971 on the Mercedes-Benz 350 SL (R107, 1971-1989) although, there being an element of the macabre in the research, the origin of the shape wasn't something the factory choose widely to publicize.  The small innovation was a classic example of what's called “passive safety”.  Spyker’s engineering is thorough and although pure-steel from transaxle to knob, heat-soak along the shaft is said to be minor so there was no need to resort to a timber knob as Porsche did in the late 1960s on some of its race cars; to this day the urban myth persists that Porsche used balsawood to reduce weight by a few grams.  

The pure lines of the S1 E-Type (top) were diluted, front and rear, by the need to comply with US safety legislation, the later S2's head & taillights more clunky.  The collector market slang for the later headlight treatment is "sugar scoop".

The process by which S1 evolved into S2 was in a sense transitional which is why the designations S1.25 & S1.5 became accepted in the jargon.  Not used by the factory, the terms are said to have been “invented” by JCNA (Jaguar Clubs of North America), the S1.25 run beginning on 11 January 1967 after production resumed following the Christmas holiday while the first 1.5s were built mid-year.  Although within the collector community much is made of the defining differences between the “pure” S1 and the “transitional” S1.25 & S1.5, that “purity” is nuanced because like many others, the E-Type was subject to constant product development with changes appearing from time to time and "S1" is a concept rather than a static specification.  Early in the model run, there were some obvious changes such as (1) the modification to the “flat floors” to provide more leg-room, (2) the integration of the hood (bonnet) louvers into the pressing, (3) the external hood (really a “clamshell”) release (there were two types) being replaced by an internal mechanism, (4) internal trim changes including the dashboard materials, console and seats, (5) the replacement of the Moss gearbox with an all-synchromesh unit and (6) the 4.2 litre engine replacing the original 3.8.  Beyond those well-known landmarks, between 1965 and early 1967 there was also a wealth of barely detectable (except to experts of which there are quite a few) cosmetic changes and mechanical updates including: (1) the glass windshield washer bottle being replaced by a plastic container (March 1965), (2) the addition of an alternator shield (October 1965), (3) an enclosed brake and clutch pedal box (October 1965), (4) a hazard warning (4-way) flasher included for US market cars (November 1965), (5) sun-visors added to the OTS (February 1966), (6) instrument lighting changed from blue to green (March 1966), (7) the rubber boot at the base of the gear lever being replaced by a black Ambla gaiter (October 1966), (8) detail changes to the gearbox cover and prop shift tunnel finisher (October 1966), (9) the material used for the under-dash panels switched from Rexine-skinned aluminum to fiberboard (October 1966) and (10) a Girling clutch master cylinder replaced the Dunlop unit (December 1966).  One quirky part of the evolution was that although, from their introduction in 1966, the 2+2 cars included a door for the glove-box, one wasn't fitted to the OTS & FHC until  the S1.5 run.

Jaguar E-Type: S1 with covered headlight (left), S1.25 with early "sugar scoop" (centre) and S2 with later "sugar scoop" (right). 

After the lovely headlight covers were legislated to extinction by the DOT bureaucrats, the replacement (uncovered) apparatus came to be called the “sugar scoop”, a term earlier used for the Volkswagens & Porsches sold in the NA market which had to be fitted with sealed-beam headlights because of protectionist rules designed for the benefit of US manufacturers.  The use of “sugar scoop” for the E-Type was appropriate because the visual link with the utensil was much more obvious than on the Volkswagens & Porsches.  There were three different designs of sugar scoops, one for the 1.25 & 1.5, one for the S2 and one for the S3.

Straight six by Emily Abay (b 1986).

UUA 368 is an Australian-registered 1968 (S2) Jaguar E-Type available for hire at a daily rate of Aus$990.00 (including 200 km (124 miles)); the hire company dubbed her (the car) "Penelope" (unfortunately, the company does not expand on how the names were chosen).  Not all jurisdictions allow the registration plate to be painted on the hood, a practice made famous in 1961 by photographs of 9600 HP, a pre-production E-Type used as one of the factory’s original press-cars.  It was 9600 HP which The Autocar magazine took to Belgium, successfully verifying the then astonishing claim of a top speed of 150 mph (241 km/h) although, years later, it was revealed there had been a few subtle tweaks and an E-Type off the showroom floor wouldn’t quite have hit the magic number, no matter how long and straight the road.  Painting the registration on the hood avoided disfiguring the lovely lines with a plate (no flat surfaces on the front of an E-Type) and many followed the lead, some places allowing it, some not.  A S2 E-Type, UUA 368 has the one of the more elevated of the sugar scoops but, being delivered in Australia, it retains the triple SU carburettors by then denied to customers in NA so response will be lively, especially above 100 mph (160 km/h).

A US market 1977 Porsche 911 (1964-1989), fitted with the front bumper assembly of a later 911 (964 (1989-1994)):  The original “sugar scoops” are seen on the left and the replacement Hella H4 lights are to the right (in RoW cars both H2 & H4 units were fitted).  The (non-figurative) sugar scoop (centre) is Japanese, circa 1970s.  Sugar scoops are used to scoop sugar from a “sugar scuttle” whereas if one’s sugar is in a “sugar bowl”, a “sugar spoon” is used.  The difference between a “sugar spoon” and a “tea spoon” is the former has a deeper and usually more rounded bowl and most are supplied as part of a “tea set” or “tea service”, often with the same decorative elements.

1966 Jaguar E-Type FHC: undeniably, the headlight covers were a sexy shape.

Despite that myriad of modifications, all E-Types prior to the S2 are S1s but the running changes can be of significance to restorers if the object is exactly to emulate the state in which a vehicle rolled off the production line; in events such as a concours d'élegancé, judges can deduct points for even minor infractions.  Things became more distinct when on 11 January 1967 the first E-Type destined for the US market was built without the covered headlights and this marked the beginning of the run of what would come to be known as the 1.25 although it wouldn’t be until mid-year the open headlights became a universal fitting.  Unlike some cars where changes can be determined from the sequential VINs, the only way accurately to determine whether a 1967 E-Type built between January and July was fitted with covered or uncovered headlights work out the market for which it was built, those for NA using the uncovered fittings.  That's because an analysis of successive VINs will reveal on a given day there might have been a mix of cars going down the production line with different headlight assemblies.  Curiously, there were some 1968 E-Types built for Canada which included the triple SUs and while these included the interior changes mandated by US federal law, the door mirror on the driver’s side wasn't fitted and the tail and side lights were a different specification.  From 1969, Canada aligned its regulations with those of the US so from that point on, the NA specification was standardized but the history of S1 production does illustrate why things be so challenging for restorers wishing exactly to replicate what the factory did.

Between August-October 1967, the 1.5 run was built with twin Zenith-Stromberg carburetors (in a specification designed to reduce emissions) replacing the triple SUs (on NA cars), the substitution of ribbed camshaft covers, a higher mounting of the headlights (to meet minimum height requirements) and the adoption of rocker switches; at this point, the teardrop tail lights remained, the other most obvious external marker of the S2 being the chunky lights below the rear bumper bar.  In the usual manner, updates continued, such as twin cooling fans (a good idea) and 1000-odd run of the so-called "R2" cars, almost all of which were registered as 1971 models although many left the factory in 1970.  The R2 S2 E-Types gained a pair of "leaper" badges on the flanks, just behind the front wheel arches.  Unlike the steel leapers centrally mounted on the hoods of other models, the badges required two part numbers, one each for the left & right.  It seemed a pointless addition and just an addition of more clutter, as they were on the S1 (1968-1973) & S2 (1973-1979) XJs.

1971 S2 Jaguar E-Type (centre) from the "R2" run of 1000-odd with the leaper badges on the flanks.

So much did the clutter created by bigger bumpers, protuberant headlight assemblies, badges and side-marker lights detract from the lovely, sleek lines of the Series 1 cars, bolting a luggage rack to the trunk (boot) probably seemed no longer the disfigurement it would once have been.  The left-hand (left) and right-hand (right) badges, being directional, were different part numbers (BD35865 & BD35866 respectively) and those used on E-Types were silver on black.  There were also variants used on the XJs which were gold on black and some had the leaping feline at a slight slope, both matters of note for those wishing to restore to the exacting "factory original" standard.  

So, without a flow chart, it can be hard to follow and, because of some overlaps in the production process, the S1-to-S1.25-to-S1.5 transition wasn’t entirely lineal but none of this is mysterious because the JFSBs have documented and explained these “inconsistencies”.  Still, there are enough quirks to enrage some and delight others.  For example, there were a certain 32 specific NA market vehicles fitted with the headlight covers which were built with serial numbers later than the first of the open headlight cars.  Not all E-Types built for NA in 1967 thus had the open headlights and a not insignificant number of those 1.25 spec vehicles have been retro-fitted with the covers.  Such is the appeal of the covered headlights that although the E-Type market is monitored by the originality police (the “matching numbers” crowd with their extraordinary knowledge of things like “correct” hose clamps or screw heads), there is some untypical forgiveness for “back-dating” headlights to the sleeker look and they're not unknown even on the later, and much different, S3 cars.  Also, although US market S2 cars were from very early in the build fitted with the side-marker light assemblies, it wasn't until late in 1969 bulbs and wiring were fitted (the relevant law taking effect on 1 January 1970); prior to that they'd functioned merely as “side-reflectors”, meaning latter day purchasers need to inspect non-illuminating examples to work out if they're defective or just reflectors.  Opinion seems divided on the matter of fitting the triple SU carburetor assembly to cars delivered with the twin Zenith-Strombergs and many have been converted.  It's not difficult to make a 1.25 visually indistinguishable from a S1 and to do the same to a 1.5 is a matter just of more parts, time and money, the ethics of both ventures being transparency; once modifications are disclosed to a potential purchaser, it's up to them to decide if originality is critical.  Armed with lists of VINs, JFSBs and encyclopaedic knowledge, the JCNA's originality police will not be fooled. 

The lure of the headlight covers: 1973 E-Type S3 with headlight covers subsequently added (left) and with the standard "sugar scoops" (left).

These are US market cars with the additional "dagmars" appended to the bumperettes.  Even by 1973, thin whitewall tyres were still a popular option on US Jaguars and they remained available until the last were sold in 1975 but the wide whitewalls often supplied in the early 1960s had long fallen from favor.  Although the judges in the JCNA confederation are usually uncompromising, they make a rare exception in not deducting points from late-build E-Types (the so-called 1.25 & 1.5) which have been fitted with the headlight covers.  The covers never appeared on the S3 E-Types but their unexpected presence clearly doesn't dissuade buyers because the S3 pictured above (left) in February, 2021 sold at auction for US$230,000.  It was an exceptionally low-mileage example (8000-odd miles (13,000 km)) but even given that it represented an impressive premium for what was a "modified" vehicle.  The S3 cars also had a number of year-to-year variations but compared with the constantly evolving S1 the specification tended to the static.  One quirk was that as well as offering the new 5.3 litre (326 cubic inch) V12, it had been intended also to make available a version with the 4.2 litre XK-Six with brochures and promotional materials printed before the decision was taken only to fit the V12.  However, four six cylinder pre-production prototypes were built and one is known to survive; curiously, despite the rarity (indeed, it may genuinely be a unique, historic E-Type footnote), at auction it achieved a price little different from a 1971 V12 model in equivalent condition.

Jaguar E-Type production breakdown, 1961-1974.  

While the loss of the toggle switches, teardrop taillights and headlight covers caused many to lament that the world was shifting from elegance ungainliness, some other changes also induced pangs of regret.  The switch from triple to dual carburetors was necessitated by the emission control regulations; the claimed HP (horsepower) dropped from 265 to 246 and while not many took the original rating too seriously, there was a drop in performance, especially in the upper speed ranges.  One often less noticed change mandated by the DOT was the replacement of the “eared” knock-off hubs for the wire wheels (the E-Types only ever using a two-eared version although third-party items with three ears are available) with a more “pedestrian friendly” type which, bewilderingly, are now referred to as the “non-eared”, “curly”, “octagonal”, “smooth”, “federal” “safety” and “continental” knock offs.  Take your pick.  Buyers could also take their pick of whether their “improved” wire wheels (now incorporating a forged centre hub) were painted in matte silver or chromed although the JFSB did caution that because of the altered configuration of the spokes, the wheels were not interchangeable with the earlier type except as a complete set (ie five per car).  Available from 1 January, 1968 (the effective date for many of DOT’s new rules), this was Jaguar’s last update of the wire wheels which, in a variety of forms, the company had been using since being founded in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company.  Never offered on the biggest and heaviest of the post-war cars (the Mark VII, VIII, IX and X/420G) or the new XJ range, they were last used on the “overlap” Daimler saloons (250 & Sovereign) in 1969 although they remained an option for the E-Type until the last was built in 1974.  

Wire wheels and associated components for the E-Type by Martin Robey; note the two designs of spinner saver (eared & non-eared).

Although a handful of small-scale producers (the last hold-outs from the days of cottage industries) continued to offer wire wheels, their final appearance on the option lists of the UK industry’s volume models came in 1980 when the last of MG's Midgets and MGBs were sold.  The term "knock-off" sometimes confuses because in slang it can mean a "fake or reproduction item" but in the context of wheels the original meaning described the centre-locking hubs (known also as "spinners") which were tightened or loosened by being "knocked" on the ears with the (often lead-faced) mallet (sometimes described as a hammer) included in the tool kit.  In racing, pit crews would strike the ears directly but tool-kits usually included a (typically timber) "spinner saver" to minimise damage to both hub and mallet; when non-eared hubs appeared, the shape of the spinner saver was also changed.  So the term can confuse: The famous Italian manufacturer Borrani produced many wheels with centre-lock hubs so the phrase "Borrani knock-offs" is standard industry jargon and by convention "knock off Borranis" is used of replica locking nuts (also called "spinners"), the presence of which can be a concern because they might be of lower quality, not manufactured to the safety and performance standards of the genuine product.  

Norway’s Motorhistorisk Klubb Drammen (Historic Car Club of Drammen) from Buskerud county reported on an exhibition hosted on 2 July, 2014 by the Norsk motorhistorisk museu (Norwegian Motor Historic Museum) in the village of Brund, the event honoring Lindsay Lohan’s (b 1986) 28^th birthday.  The red S2 Jaguar E-Type had received a recent restoration but a detailed examination would have to be undertaken to determine the degree to which it remains in its original specification.  Given the visible clues and its presence in Norway, this may have been a RoW (which the triple SU carburetors would suggest though they are a popular swap on twin-carb models) car but there’s a lively two-way trans-Atlantic trade in E-Types (many now expertly restored in Poland) so it may originally have been sold in the US or Canada.

The “Shaguar” used in the three Austin Powers movies (1997, 1999 & 2002).

The Shaguar was a 1967 S1.5 E-Type which featured the combination of teardrop taillights, twin carburetors, sugar scoop headlights, a glove-box door, rocker switches and, being right-hand drive (RHD), it wasn't built for NA.  When the auction house published the photographs, the vibrant on-line originality police did their analysis and concluded it was built in December 1967 as a 1968 model but was in far from original condition (beyond the obvious paint and Shaguar badge).  The dashboard included the earlier manual choke and the heater and vent controls appeared to be missing and while the side & turn lights were NA specification, the taillights were those used on RoW cars.  The tachometer was the one one fitted to S2 models and it was suspected this may have been swapped when the later, non-original engine with the twin Zenith-Stromberg carburetors was installed.  Over the decades, many E-Types have for one reason and another drifted far from their original build and usually this limits their appeal to collectors but at Mecum Auctions in January 2025, the Shaguar realized US$880,000 (including 10% buyers premium), several times the typical sale price of a non-original S1.5 RoW E-Type in the same condition, its history as a cinema prop clearly an attraction.

Haystack

Haystack (pronounced hey-stak)

(1) A stack, pile or bindle of hay (cut grass) with a conical or ridged top, built up in the mowed field so as to prevent the accumulation of moisture and promote drying.

(2) Any mix of green leafy plants used for fodder.

(3) In the slang of weed smokers, (1) a device (pipe or bong) with an untypically large bowl in which the marijuana is able to be packed in an unusually large quantity or (2) any device where the weed is stacked above the rim of the cone piece.

(3) In slang, among disapproving carnivores, a disparaging terms for salads or dishes made predominately with leafy greens.

Mid 1400s: The construct was hay + stack.  Hay (mown grass) was a pre-900 Middle English word from the Old English hēg, from the Anglian Old English heg & heig and the West Saxon Old English hig (grass cut or mown for fodder), from the Proto-Germanic haujam (literally “that which is cut” or “that which can be mowed”), from the primitive Indo-European kau- (to hew, strike) which was the source also of the Old English heawan (“to cut” and linked to the modern English “to hew”).  Hay’s cognates included the Old Norse hey, the Old Frisian ha, the Middle Dutch hoy, the Gothic hawi, the West Frisian hea, the Alemannic German Heuw, the Cimbrian höobe, the Dutch hooi, the German Heu, the Luxembourgish Hee, the Mòcheno hei, the Yiddish היי (hey), the Danish hø, the Faroese hoyggj, the Gutnish hoy, the Icelandic hey, the Norwegian Bokmål, the Norwegian Nynorsk høy and the Swedish hö; all meant “hay” although use to refer also to grass (later to be used as hay) is documented.  Hay is the ISO’s (International Standards Organization) translingual (symbol ISO 639-3) language code for Haya and, in slang, one of many terms for marijuana (cannabis).  A hay is a net set around the haunt of an animal (especially rabbits or hares).

1962 BRM P57.

In its original configuration the P57's V8 was fitted with “open stack” exhausts.  Sadly, the charismatic array of eight pipes proved prone to cracking and was replaced with a more conventional arrangement which sacrificed a few HP (horsepower) at the upper end of the rev-range but proved robust.  Built for Formula One's “voiturette era” (1961-1965) and powered by a jewel-like 1.5 litre V8, the P57 in 1962 claimed both the constructer's and driver's championships.  Open stack exhausts are still seen in categories like drag racing but there they need to endure only for ¼ mile (402 metre) runs and (baring accidents) are not subject to lateral forces.

Stack dates from 1250–1300 and was from the Middle English stak (pile, heap or group of things, especially a pile of grain in the sheaf in circular or rectangular form), from a Scandinavian source akin to the Old Norse stakkr (haystack), thought from the Proto-Germanic stakkoz & stakon- (a stake), from the primitive Indo-European stog- a variant of steg (pole; stick (source of the English “stake”, the Old Church Slavonic stogu (heap), the Russian stog (haystack) and the Lithuanian stokas (pillar)).  It was cognate with the Danish stak and the Swedish stack (heap, stack).  “Smokestack” and the derived clipping “stack” were by the 1660s in use to describe tall chimneys, initially when arrayed in a cluster but by 1825 it’s recorded also of the “single stacks” on steam locomotives and steamships.  In English parish records, “Stack” is recorded as a surname as early as the twelfth century and there are a variety of explanations for the origin (which may between regions have differed) and in at least some cases there may be a connection with use of “stack” in agriculture (such as peripatetic workers who travelled between farms specifically to “build haystacks”).  In societies where so much of the economy was based on farming and populations substantially were rural, such links were common.    

Wickes-class four stack destroyer USS Buchanan (DD-131), “laying down smoke” during sea trials, 1919.

One of the US Navy's 273 World War I (1914-1918) era “four stackers”, in 1940 she was transferred to the Royal Navy under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement and re-named HMS Campbeltown (I42).  She was destroyed during the St. Nazaire Raid when, loaded with four tons of explosive, she was used a “floating bomb” and rammed into the gates of the Forme Ecluse Louis Joubert dry dock, putting the facility out of use for the duration of the war.

In naval use, the official Admiralty term was “funnel” and warships were in some listings (especially identification charts which used silhouettes) listed thus (“three funnel cruiser”; “four funnel destroyer”) but the sailors’ slang was “two stacker”, “three stacker” etc.  In libraries, “stacks” in the sense of “set of shelves on which books arranged) was in use by the late 1870s and in computer software, the “stack” was first documented in 1960 to describe a collection of elements which work in unison, the original idea being of a stack of things, each subsequent object depending on the one below to run and by the time all are assembled, the whole can function (ie an early instance of “granular” software”).  Later, the word was applied to other concepts, notably the LIFO (last in, first out) model in data structure (LIFO) describing objects added (push) and removed (pop) from the same end.  Stack is a noun & verb, stackage, stacker & stackback are nouns, stacking is a noun & verb, stacked is a verb & adjective and stackless, stacky & stackful are adjectives; the noun plural is stacks.  Haystack is a noun; the noun plural is haystacks.

In Middle English, the alternative forms were hay-cock and its variants (haycok, hacoke & haycoke), all synonymous with grass-cock, hayrick & haystack and referencing the same conical stacks of cut grass.  The haystack was a product of the cutting of grass and subsequently curing it to make hay as fodder for animals.  Just as cheese was made as a means of preserving milk for later consumption, so the cutting a stacking of hay was a way to ensure there would be feed for livestock during the months when the growth of grass was minimal.  There are many derived terms associated with haymaking and haystacks (hayfork, hayknife, haybailer hay mover, hay rake, hayshed etc) but there’s no evidence “haystacker” was ever used of those individuals who “stacked hay into haystacks”.  The form “haymaker” exists but this seems to have been coined to describe machines built for the purpose rather than the workers.  This is likely because it was a seasonal event in which many farm-workers (although there clearly were some “travelling contractors” who went from farm-to-farm) tended to be involved and, needed no specialized skill-set, the term never appeared; it was a task done rather than a job description.

A young lady with hayfork (now better known as a “pitchfork”, building her haystack.

The haystack was a part of agricultural practice even before the civilizations of Antiquity (Egyptians, Greeks, Romans etc) developed the process on a grander scale.  The objective of stacking the hay in conical formations was as protection from pests and the elements and farmers paid much attention to location, the ideal site for a haystack being somewhere slightly elevated, well-drained and with a foundation not prone to promoting moisture absorption (ideally with a bottom layer of some coarse material to promote air-flow between hay and surface.  Usually, a pole was pounded into the ground to prove the structure with a basic structural rigidity and as each layer is added and compacted, the stack grows upwards and outwards, assuming the distinctive shape, the angles at the top fashioned to optimize the shedding of rainwater.  In a sense, the outermost layer is sacrificial in that it will weather and discolour but, if the structure is well-packed, what lies within will retain its green hue and smell “sweet” to livestock.

American Sapphic, Lindsay Lohan (b 1986) & former special friend Samantha Ronson (b 1977) by Ben Tegel after American Gothic (1930) by Grant Wood (1891-1942).  Ms Ronson is depicted holding pitchfork, a tool which, for the manual handling of hay, cannot be improved; like the teaspoon or pencil, it has attained its final evolutionary form.

A “Hawaiian haystack” is a meal of rice with the diner's choice of toppings such as chicken, pineapple, noodles and cheese; a favorite of resort style hotels and cruise ship operators, usually the dish is served buffet-style.  The slang phrase “hit the hay” dates from at least the early nineteenth century when literally it meant “to go to the barn and sleep on an ad-hoc “bed of hay” but by 1903 it was being recorded as meaning simply “going to bed”.  A “roll in the hay” or “romp in the hay” were both euphemisms for “a session of sexual intercourse (usually without any hint of subsequent commitment) and that use is documented only from early in World War II (1939-1945) among US soldiers but when the expression first was used is unknown.  The term “haywire” (usually as “gone haywire” or “gone haywire”) originally meant “likely to become tangled unpredictably to the point of unusability or fall apart”; the idea was of items bound together only with the soft, springy wire (baler twine) used to bind hay bales.  It’s said first to have been used as “haywire outfit” in New England lumber camps (circa 1905) to describe collections of logging tools bound in a haphazard manner and prone to coming adrift.  From that, “haywire” enjoyed some mission creep and came to mean people or machinery behaving erratically or falling apart.  In the modern idiom, the most common use (as “went haywire”) is to describe some act (such as removing a part from a machine) which results in the whole mechanism becoming messed up.

Cylindrical (“rounds” in the jargon) bales of hay stacked in a field.

The figurative term “needlestack” summons the idea of a “stack of needles” and is an allusion to the difficulty in finding a particular object among one of many which are similar or even close to identical.  The word was a back-formation from the phrase “finding a needle in a haystack” which is a much more popular expression although finding a needle in a needlestack is much harder.  Finding a needle in a haystack is merely messy and time-consuming whereas finding a needle in a needlestack can at least verge on the impossible.  The popular TV science show Mythbusters compared methods and found there were techniques which could “speed up” finding a needle in a haystack”, the use of water most efficient (metal being heavier than straw, the needle would sink) while fire worked but was slow and messy and a magnet was ideal (assume the needle remained ferromagnetic).  Obviously, giant magnets, metal detectors or X-ray machines quickly would find even tiny pieces of metal but the Mythbusters crew wanted practical, “real world” examples which would have been viable centuries earlier when first the phrase was used.  The finding of a “bone needle” was considered to be more difficult (fire not recommended and a magnet obviously useless) and the team concluded that whatever the method, the task remained challenging enough for the saying still to have validity.

Haystack News which “finds needles in the haystack”.

Founded in 2013, what prompted the creation of Haystack TV was that in the US, without a cable TV subscription, it was difficult to find news content, the idea being that finding news among the dozens of available channels was like “looking for a needle in a haystack”.  It took until 2015 for the service to start with Haystack TV mission statement saying its objective was to “stream high-quality, trusted news without sifting through masses of irrelevant video.”  Now known as Haystack News, the model is a free, advertising supported streaming service for local, national and international news video available on smart TVs, over-the-top platforms and mobile apps; in the modern way, data (location, topics of interest, favorite sources etc) harvested from each user is used to generate personalized playlist of short news clips.  Initially, the focus was on US news content but in 2019, the vista expanded with clips from more than 200 local TV stations including overseas content.  By 2026, the catchment had expanded to some 400 including Africanews, Al Jazeera, CBC, DW (Deutsche Welle, Euronews, France 24 and i24 News.

A haymaker (in the Middle English originally heymakere) was a machine (purpose built or adapted) used in the production of hay (there's scant evident ever it widely was used of workers involved in the process) and in informal use was “a very powerful punch”, especially one which “knocks down an opponent” (on the model of the sweep of a scythe levelling tall grass).  However, some etymologists suggest a more likely origin is as a reference to the strong, muscular arms of the men who wielded the scythes when “cutting hay”.  Figuratively, by extension, it came also to mean “any decisive blow, shock, or forceful action” although that use is now less common.  A haymonger (from the Middle English heimongere, heymonger & heymongere) was “a trader who deals in hay” and although the practices were never formalized in the manner of modern commodity markets, surviving documents suggest that as early as the 1500s there was something like a “proto futures market” in hay as farmers sought to hedge against variables (flood, drought price movements etc) and ensure they’d have a stock of fodder available at a known price.  Hayseeds literally were “seeds from grass that has become hay” and the word was applied generally to the cruft from bits of hay (ie not actually seeds) that sticks to clothing etc.  By extension, a “hayseed” was “a yokel or country bumpkin” (ie a person thought rustic or unsophisticated).

Bales of hay, stacked in a hay shed.  

Manufacturers list hay sheds as specific designs (classically, two or three sides (facing the prevailing weather) and a roof) so if a hay shed is used for another purpose it's a “re-purposed hay shed” whereas if hay is stored in a different type of shed, it might be described as “my hay shed” but its really a shed in which hay is being stored.  Being practical folk, this distinction is unlikely to be something on which many farmers much dwell.

Originally, haystacks were “stack of hay: which might vary in size and shape but the general practice was to create something vaguely conical; rather than being a choice, this was dictated by the physics in that a cone allowed the largest volume to be stacked with the smallest footprint as well as minimizing moisture intrusion.  The modern practice however is for hay to be bound into bales either cylindrical (“rounds”) or cuboid (a rectangular prism) in shape and which is chosen is a product of the machinery available, available storage capacity, heard size and in some cases whether the hay is to be transported by road.  By virtue of their shape, cylindrical bales tend to shed water which may reach the surface during rainfall so any spoilage usually is restricted to the inch or so of the outermost layer, making them suited to outdoor storage; their density also makes them more efficient for fermenting silage.  The cuboid bale, because of the upper surface area, acts in the rain like a sponge, meaning they should be stored under cover and the advantage of the regular shape is that when stacked, the cuboids create no waste space, unlike rounds typically cost around 15-20% in unused space.  The same equation means cuboids are best suited to be transported by truck.  The modern practice (bales now produced in standardized sizes using machines which sometimes will as part of the process wrap them in a waterproof plastic sheeting) means that the word “haystack” now more accurately reflects a number of bales “stacked” in a shed or on the land while the original conical “stack” would more accurately be called a “pile”.  However, because of centuries of use, the term continues to be applied to both although “bale stack” does exist in the jargon of farming.

Bales of hay being trucked to somewhere.  Both cuboids and rounds can be transported thus but, as with storage, the space efficiency of the former is superior.

The proverb “make hay while the sun shines” is now used figuratively to mean “one should act while an opportunity exists and take action while a situation is favourable” but the origin was literal.  Until very recently, weather forecasting was most inexact and because the moisture content of hay was of great significance (spoilage and the risk of spontaneous combustion), it was important for farmers to avail themselves of sunny, dry condition to cut, dry and gather the grass to be assembled into haystacks.  Dating from a time when weather forecasting essentially was “tomorrow the weather will be much the same as today, two times out of three”, the proverb seems to have originated in Tudor times (1485-1603) and the first known reference is from 1546.  Since the mid seventeenth century, it has been used figuratively.  Phrases like “carpe diem” (seize the day), “grasp the nettle” & “strike while the iron is hot” impart a similar meaning.

Defendants in the dock at the first Nuremberg Trial, the right-hand side of the glass-fronted interpreters' booth seen at the top right corner.

At the first Nuremberg trial (1945-1946), an IMT (International Military Tribunal) was convened to try two-dozen surviving members of the Nazi regime in Germany (1933-1945), 22 of the accused appearing in court, one having committed suicide by hanging (with his underpants stuffed in his mouth to limit the noise) prior to proceedings beginning and one was tried in absentia.  The proceedings were conducted in four languages (English, French, German and Russian) with “simultaneous translation” provided by a rotating group of translators, all those in the courtroom able to listen (through headphones) in any of these language.  It’s no exaggeration to say it was the work of the translators and interpreters that made possible the 13 Nuremberg Trials in the form they took and the implementation of simultaneous interpretation was ground-breaking, the undertaking all the more remarkable because of the scale.  The main trial was conducted over ten months with 210 sitting days and so much material was presented the published transcripts filled 42 volumes, thus the references to “the trial of six million words.”  Logistically, the approach was vital because had the traditional approach been pursued, the trial as conducted would have been impractical because the usual protocol had been: (1) One speaker would deliver remarks in German while (2) interpreters took notes. After the speaker was finished, (3) one interpreter would interpret into French, followed by (4) an interpretation in Russian, and then (5) in English.  Things thus would have lasted perhaps four times as long but with “simultaneous translation” (in reality there was a lag of 6-8 seconds) it was as close to “real-time” as was possible.  Not until the 2020s did advances in generative AI (artificial intelligence) trained on LLM (large language models) mean machines alone could improve on what was done in 1945-1946.  Of course, an AI powered machine (in the form of a static device such as a speaker) could not add meaning by the use of NVC (nonverbal communication such as gestures or facial expressions) as is possible for a flesh & blood interpreter but as the occasionally disturbing “deep fake” videos illustrate, NVC certainly is possible on screen and with advances in robotics, it will be only a matter of time before such things can be done in three dimensions.  Now, we can all carry in our pockets a device able accurately (and even idiosyncratically) to translate dozens of languages as text or voice so the days of the profession of interpreter being a good career choice for a gifted linguist may be numbered.      

Wily old Franz von Papen (1879-1969; Chancellor of Germany 1932 & vice chancellor 1933-1934) wearing IBM headphones, undergoing cross-examination.  He was one of three defendants granted an acquittal.

Before the 13 Nuremberg Trials (the subsequent 12 conducted between 1946-1949), there had been only limited experiments with simultaneous translation.  Historically, the need in international relations had been limited because French had long been the “official language of diplomacy” and the first notable shift came with the Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920) and subsequently the League of Nations (1920-1946), the British succeeded in convincing the participants to conduct the proceedings in English (which really was an indication of growing US influence).  At these venues, what was done came to be known as “whispered interpretation” with an interpreter literally “whispering a translation into a recipient’s ear.”  That was less than satisfactory and what smoothed the path to simultaneous interpretation was the development in the 1920s of a technology ultimately purchased by IBM (International Business Machines) and released commercially as the “IBM Hushaphone Filene-Findlay System” (more commonly called the “International Translator System”), first used at the ILO (International Labor Organization) conference in Geneva in 1927.  So what was done at Nuremberg was not exactly new but it was there the system came to wider attention and for IBM, providing (at no charge) the four tons of electronic equipment including 300 headsets (an additional 300 were borrowed from Geneva) and miles of cable proved a good investment, the publicity generated meaning one of the corporation’s first sales of the system was to the UN (United Nations) headquarters in New York.  The technology alone however was not enough and some potential interpreters who had passed the early evaluation tests proved unsuitable because they found it impossible to adapt to the demands imposed by the electronics; only some 5% of the 700-odd evaluated proved viable interpreters with “the interpreters the IMT reject” sent to what they called “Siberia” (administrative tasks or the dreary job of translating documents).  Those who made the cut spent their shifts in booths behind thick glass although the top was open so the soundproofing was only partial and the booth was located directly adjacent to the dock in which sat the defendants.

Although there was the odd error, the interpreters were thought to have done an fine job although not all were impressed, several entries in the diary of the British alternate judge Norman Birkett (Later Lord Birkett, 1883–1962) revealing his opinion of the breed:  “When a perfectly futile cross-examination is combined with a translation which murders the English language, then the misery of the Bench is almost insupportable.”  “Dubost [French prosecutor Charles Dubost (1905–1991)] is at the microphone again, making his final speech. He is robust and vigorous; but such is the irony of fate that he is being translated by a stout, tenor-voiced man with the 'refayned' and precious accents of a decaying pontiff. It recalls irresistibly a late comer making an apology at the Vicarage Garden Party in the village, rather than the grim and stern prosecution of the major war criminals.”  “But translators are a race apart - touchy, vain, unaccountable, full of vagaries, puffed up with self-importance of the most explosive kind, inexpressibly egotistical, and, as a rule, violent opponents of soap and sunlight.”  Mr Justice Birkitt always made his feelings clear.

The Passionate Haystack at work: British Army Captain Duncan (later Sir Duncan) Macintosh (1904-1966, left), Margot Bortlein (1912-2008, centre) and US Army Lieutenant Peter Uiberall (1911-2007, right).

The best-remembered for the translators was Margot Bortlin (1912-2008) and her place in the annals of the trial is due wholly to the nickname bestowed on her by journalists: “the Passionate Haystack”, the appellation soon picked by the soldiers and men on the legal teams.  The “haystack” element in the nickname came from her luxuriant fair hair which, in court, she would assemble as an “updo” in a shape which (at least in the minds of the men watching) recalled a haystack and such was the upper volume she was compelled to wear the headband of her headphones around the back of her head rather than atop as was the usual practice.  These days, observers of such things playfully might describe her hair as “an installation”.  The “passionate” part was a tribute to her style of translation, said by Dr Francesca Gaiba (b 1971) in The Origins of Simultaneous Interpreting: The Nuremberg Trial (1998) to have been delivered “with great emphasis, smiling and frowning, with sweeping gestures and dramatic vocal inflections.”  It's not known if the Passionate Haystack had any theatrical training but her use of NVC must have been striking compared with the performances of her colleagues who tended to sit inertly and speak in an unrelenting monotone.  Intriguingly, the journalist & author Rebecca West (1892–1983), no stranger to men's rich lexicon of sexist disparagement, who covered the trial made only an oblique reference to the drama in the delivery, reporting: “When it is divulged that one of the most gifted interpreters, a handsome young woman from Wisconsin, is known as the Passionate Haystack, care is taken to point out that it implies no reflection on her temperament but only a tribute to a remarkable hair-do.”  Wisconsin produces almost a quarter of the nation's butter and cheese so is a state of many haystacks.

Those in court rise in their places as the judges enter the chamber, Ms Bortlein (arrowed) looking down at her papers.  Although not not a high definition photograph, the angle at which her hair appears does show why the “updo piled high” contributed to her affectionate nickname.

In a milieu of dark gowns, military uniforms and grim proceedings, Ms Bortelin clearly made quite an impression, drawing the eye for a number of reasons.  Commenting on Justice Birkett’s acerbic view of the interpreter’s profession, in On Trial at Nuremberg (1979), the British Army lawyer Major Airey Neave (1916–1979), who had served the indictment on the defendants in their cells, wrote: “If this judgement seems harsh, it was the judges who had to listen to them [interpreting the words of counsel, defendants and witnesses] for nine months while junior officials could come and go as they pleased.  When I was not following the evidence, my interest in the interpreters’ box dwelt on a young lady with blonde hair, piled high, known as the 'Passionate Haystack'...”  Margot Theresa Bortlein-Brant was born in Aschaffenburg, Germany, her family emigrating to the US in late 1924 when she was 12.  She earned a degree in languages from the University of Chicago, a background meaning she possessed the most valuable skill a translator could have: equal adeptness with both tongues.  Her academic background obviously contributed to that but leaving one’s native land at a young age to learn the language of one’s adopted country doesn’t always produce such competence, one tourist operator at Ayers Rock Resort in Australia’s NT (Northern Territory) heard to remark of one of his staff: “She does German translation for us which is good but she left Germany when she was ten so she speaks German like a ten year old.  Of course that’s not a problem because she also speaks English like a ten year old.”

The Nuremberg Trial, 1946 (1946), oil on canvas by Dame Laura Knight RA (1877-1970), IWM (Imperial War Museum), London.

In the extensive photographic record of the first Nuremberg Trial, what is striking is the often unnamed women appearing at the periphery, the focus almost always on the defendants, prosecuting & defense counsel and judges, all of whom were male.  That was of course a cultural artefact of the time but it was also structural, women literally forbidden from speaking in court unless appearing as witnesses, a rule imposed by the Americans; because it was the US taxpayer footing most of the bill for the proceedings and providing the bulk of the security, logistical infrastructure and administrative support, the will of Washington DC often prevailed.  The Talibanesque “women must be silent” rule was not maintained for the subsequent twelve Nuremberg hearings but even in the first trial, the contribution of women was significant.  Dame Laura Knight’s large canvas The Nuremberg Trial, 1946, an unusual blend of two aspects realism now hangs in the Imperial War Museum in London and is one of the most re-produced images from the trial.  An unusual blend of two aspects of realism achieved by a juxtaposition of defendants in the dock and a devastated Nuremberg cityscape (including corpses), the artist did change a few details to suit her didactic purposes, Hans Frank (1900–1946; Nazi lawyer and governor of the General Government (1939-1945) in German-occupied Poland during World War II) seated not in his usual place but at the painting’s bottom-right, presumably better to show the wrists damaged by a failed suicide attempt.  In court, Frank wore gloves to conceal the effect but these Dame Laura choose to remove.  Curiously for such an accomplished artist, some of the likenesses achieved of those in the dock are not impressive but it remains one of the trial’s most memorable images, despite at the time being received by the critical establishment without enthusiasm.

As well as the interpreters, there were many women who contributed to the trial including journalists, archivists, translators, stenographers, typists and a myriad of support staff.  The Passionate Haystack is untypical in being better remembered than most and, tellingly, that’s because she attracted the gaze of so many men.  In the proceedings however, some of the most harrowing testimony came from women who appeared as witnesses, their stories of enduring cruelty and depravity observed to disturb at least some of the defendants as much as others were affected.  Those tales almost weren’t heard because the initial US proposal had been for the trial to be conducted based wholly on documents which alone would have been enough to convict all those charged.  The American prosecutors took a teleological view of the trial and arrived intending to focus on the idea that what had unfolded in Europe between 1933-1945 was the result of a grand conspiracy; what the Americans envisaged as the result of the trial was a mechanism by which clearly it would be established that planning or waging aggressive war was a violation of international law and future transgressions would be punished.  For that purpose, they had more than enough documents.

The Nuremberg Women (2026) by Natalie Livingstone.

It was the other parties to the trial who insisted on witnesses.  The British team wanted them because, as experienced trial lawyers, they knew the value of a compelling witness and, not assured the conspiracy charge was as convincing as the Americans asserted, wanted simply to ensure they won their cases.  The Soviets, the French and other nations that actually had been invaded or subject to Nazi occupation demanded that those who had suffered be heard and, women having suffered much, it was their testimony which was effective in a way the tabling of documents or the reciting of statistics would never have achieved.  In The Nuremberg Women (2026), English historian Natalie Livingstone has written a series of engaging case-studies of eight women who played some part in the trial including a German writer, a Russian interpreter, an American lawyer and a French Resistance fighter, all of which provide different ways of looking at history’s most extensively documented trial.  One interesting passage in the entry on Dame Laura Knight explored what could be described as a certain moral ambiguity.  What Ms Livingstone detected was the artist’s undeniable fascination with the spectacle of Nazi power, a phenomenon with much color and movement likely to draw the eye of one trained to look for such things to depict; that would not have been unexpected but what the author found “hard to reconcile” was Ms Knight’s seemingly being more fascinated by the spectacle than appalled by the barbarity.  She acknowledged that “In order for her to produce the painting that she did she had to regard Nuremberg as almost a piece of theatre” but, after the Holocaust, l'art pour l'art (art for art's sake) must have its limits. The Nuremberg Women is a fine and original contribution to the history of the trial at which international justice can be said to have begun.