Tavern

Tavern (pronounced tav-ern)

(1) In certain jurisdictions, a place where liquors are sold to be consumed on the premises.

(2) In certain jurisdictions, a name used what in other places might be called a bar, pub, hotel etc.

(2) Loosely used, an alternative name for a bar, pub etc in the sense of being a place where one can buy and consume alcohol.

1250–1300: From the Middle English taverne, from the mid-thirteenth century Old French taverne (shed made of boards, booth, stall (also “inn; wine shop”), from the Latin taberna (hut, inn, wine shop).  The Latin taberna originally described any “hut or shed”, the meaning later extended to “inn; wine shop” (presumably reflecting the building from which strong drink was first sold), a possible origin of the word a dissimilation from traberna, from trabs (genitive trabis) (beam, timber), from the primitive Indo-European treb- (dwelling) (the source also of the Lithuanian troba (a building), the Old Welsh treb (house, dwelling), the Welsh tref (a dwelling (literally "hamlet, home, town”)), the Irish treb (residence) and the Old English ðorp (village, hamlet, farm, estate).  If that’s accepted, the original meaning was something like "a wooden shed", some aspect of the mode of construction thus providing the name, something not unknown in architecture (eg glasshouse, A-Frame etc).  In English, the additional meaning of “a public house” (source of the modern “pub”) emerged in the mid fifteenth century.  The alternative spellings were tavarn, tavarne, taveron, tawern & tawerne.  Tavern, tavernkeeper & taverner are nouns; the noun plural is taverns.

In the business of selling liquor, outlets have variously been named bar, pub, public house, hostelry, hotel, lounge, inn, lodge, saloon, barroom, taphouse, alehouse, roadhouse, speakeasy & drinkery.  In slang, the names are legion including dive, pit, suds, joint, boozer, joint, watering hole and probably a dozen more.  In general use, the words pub, bar, tavern and inn have long been used interchangeably and inn & tavern in particular have become general terms of commerce and an establishment which might, upon a deconstruction of its trade, appear historically understood as a tavern might actually be called an inn of some type, something which might once have confused but now is probably never noticed, business done according to the terms of the license which (in most jurisdictions) must be on public display (usually framed and in some dark, obscure corner).

Lindsay Lohan outside a (studio set) tavern door, Anger Management, March 2013.

The differences did though once matter.  Inns and taverns began to appear in some number in the towns & villages of England, Wales & Scotland during the twelfth & thirteenth centuries, the institutions providing an important infrastructure for the both the travelers of the age and the social life of communities.  The function of an inn was to provide lodgings for those traveling while taverns were drinking houses, ale at the time (long before clean drinking water was an assumed part of a civilized existence) as vital a part of British life as bread & cheese.  It was also a time of limited intrusion from government and well into the medieval era, anyone with a vaguely suitable building could start brewing ale and set up business as a tavern; taverns accordingly proliferated and it would be rare to find a village of any size without one.  Inns were different in that they offered lodgings, overnight accommodation for those on the traveling and while they usually had a place where a guest’s horse could be fed, watered and stabled, they didn’t always offer ale for sale though meals were usually available.  Sometimes, in the interest of synergy, a village’s inn and tavern would operate co-operatively, each serving the customer within their own fields of specialization.

Lindsay Lohan in the pub enjoying a cocktail, August 2022.

Gradually, things became more regulated and businesses expanded their range of operations, taverns beginning to offer food (simple snacks served at the bar or table) while inns operated as quasi-ale houses although service was usually restricted to drinks taken with meals.  From these practices emerged the classic model of licensing used in many parts of the English-speaking world (although the terminology might vary between jurisdictions.  There were (1) taverns which were licensed to serve alcoholic drinks and simple (often packaged) snacks, (2) public houses (universally known as pubs) which offered rooms for overnight accommodation and the provision of meals for guests (at least breakfast & dinner) with the service of alcohol restricted usually to beer and wine and available only to be taken with meals and (3) inns of residence which offered only rooms for rent.  Governments imposed the highest licensing fees on taverns, that levied on pubs considerably less because they discharged their social license by offering a vital service.  Inns often didn’t need to be licensed although local authorities might impose higher rates or land taxes based on the commercial nature of the operation.  In the modern era, things have changed and although by historic definition a place like the New York Hilton Midtown might be a pub, few would describe such places as such, the modern use being “hotel” while “inn” has devolved to be a marketing term, “pub” “tavern” & “bar” becoming more or less synonymous and used thus irrespective of what appears on the license.

Proboscis

Proboscis (pronounced proh-bos-is or proh-bos–kis)

(1) A long flexible prehensile trunk or snout, as that of an elephant.

(2) In zoology, any elongated tube from the head or connected to the mouth.

(3) In entomology & malacology, the elongate, protruding mouth parts of certain insects and certain invertebrates like insects, worms and molluscs, adapted for sucking or piercing (more popularly called “the beak”).

(4) Any of various elongate feeding, defensive, or sensory organs of the oral region, as in certain leeches and worms.

(5) In facetious use, the human nose, the use probably roughly with the size of prominence of the nose.

(6) In informal use, as applied in geography, engineering, geometry etc, any protrusion vaguely analogous with the human nose.

1570-1580: From the Latin proboscis (trunk of an elephant), from the Ancient Greek προβοσκίς (proboskís) (elephant's trunk (literally “feeder; means for taking food"), the construct being προ- (pro-) (before) +‎ βόσκω (bóskō) (to nourish, to feed”), from boskesthai (graze, be fed), from the stem bot- (source of botane (grass, fodder) and from which English gained botanic), from the primitive Indo-European root gwehs (source also of βοτάνη (botánē) (grass, fodder) + -is (the noun suffix).  The related terms include nose beak, organ, snoot, snout, trunk and probably dozens of slang forms.  Other descendents from the Latin include the Italian proboscide, the Portuguese probóscide and the Spanish probóscide.  Proboscis & proboscidean are nouns and proboscidate is an adjective; the noun plural is proboscises or proboscides.  The Greek derived form of the plural (proboscides) appears often in the technical literature that built using the conventions of English (proboscises) appears to be the common general form, rare though it is.

#Freckles: Lindsay Lohan’s nose.

Aerodynamics were of interest to some even in the early days of the automobile and those involved in motorsport were more interested than most.  For decades, the interest manifested mostly in the art of streamlining, the reduction of drag and research, accomplished mostly without wind-tunnel testing and obviously without computers, tended to produce cigar-shaped bodies with as few protrusions as possible.  Drag in many cases was certainly minimized, some of the shapes rendered in the 1920s & 1930s delivering drag coefficients (CD) impressive even by twenty-first century standards but it took a long time before fully it was understood that the fluid dynamics (the behavior of air) at the rear of a vehicle could be as significant as the more obvious disturbances at the front.  Not un-related to this was that it also took time (and not a few deaths) before it was appreciated quite how vital was the trade-off between drag-reduction and the downforce needed to ensure cars did not “take-off” from the surface, resulting in instant instability.

The 1923 Benz Tropfenwagen (teardrop vehicle) (left) not only used an aerodynamic nose using lessons learned from military aviation during World War I (1614-1918) but was able to optimize the shape because the engine was mid-mounted, something would wouldn’t become commonplace in Formula One for over thirty years.  The front-engined 1931 Grand Prix Mercedes-Benz SSKL (centre) made few concessions to aerodynamics, relying on power and weight-trimming but when that approach reached its evolutionary dead-end, a streamlined SSKL (1932, right) was crafted, limitations on what could be done with the nose imposed by the bulk and height of the engine.

That the early attempts at streamlining might induce aircraft-like “take-offs” was not surprising given so much of the available data came from work in ballistics and aeronautics where lift is desirable and as speeds rose, it became clear what would need also to be considered was what air was doing underneath the vehicle, some cars obviously with "just enough lift to be a bad airplane" as one driver put it.  That increase in speed in itself imposed a limit on research, the terminal velocities suddenly possible exceeding the capacity of ground-effects based wind tunnels and few manufacturers had access to test facilities with straights of sufficient length to match those on some race-tracks.  High-speed testing was thus sometimes undertaken by racing drivers at speeds rarely before explored, something complicated by being among disrupted air induced by surrounding cars and some unpredictable behavior ensued; it was actually remarkable there weren’t more fatalities than there were.

2020 Jaguar C-Type (XK120-C) (1953 continuation) (left) & 1957 Jaguar XKSS (right).

In the embryonic study of aerodynamics, one of the first conclusions (correctly) drawn was that few changes produced more dramatic improvements than lowering and optimizing the shame of the nose.  At the time, it was something not as simple as it sounded, engines mounted usually close to the nose and in the era, those usually long-stroke engines were tall, often in-line units, a shape which imposed limits on what was possible.  Jaguar used dry-sump lubrication on the D-Type (and the road-going derivative the XKSS) to allow the nose to drop a few inches compared with its predecessor, an expedient also adopted by Mercedes-Benz for their 300 SL (W198, 1954-1957) and 300 SLR (W196S, 1955), more lowering still made possible by mounting the power-plant at an acute angle.

1954 Maserati 250F with the original “short nose” body and 1956 (centre) and 1957 (right) variations of the “long nose”.

In the same era, Maserati, impressed by the speed of the Mercedes-Benz W196 when fitted with the "streamliner" body used on the faster circuits and, apparently without the benefit of a wind-tunnel, developed its own partially enclosed bodywork for its 250F Grand Prix car but it also developed, quite serendipitously, an even more effective shape and it was initially known as the “long-nose” 250F until it proved so successful it was adopted as the definitive 250F body.

The long and short of it: The Ferrari 250 LM in long (left) and short (right) nose configuration.

Ferrari and others noted the gains aerodynamics provided and among engineers, some fairly inaccurate (though broadly indicative) "rules of thumb" emerged, based usually on the calculation that for every one inch (25 mm) reduction in nose height, an effective gain of so many horsepower would be realized.  Precise or not, the method, honed by slide-rules, lingered until computer calculations and wind tunnels began more accurately to produce the numbers.  Ferrari’s first mid-engined sports car, the 250 LM (1963-1965), was one of the vehicles to benefit from a nose job, the revised bodywork fashioned by coachbuilder Piero Drogo (1926–1973) who had formed the Modena-based Carrozzeria Sports Cars to service the ecosystem of sports cars that congregated in the region.  There was an urban myth the Drogo nose was created so an “FIA standard size” suitcase could be carried (to convince the regulatory body it was a car for road and track rather than a pure racing machine) but it was really was purely for aerodynamic advantage.

Ferrari 250 LM, the short-nose chassis 6321 (left) and the long-nose (5893) right,

Testing confirmed the “Drogo nose” certainly conferred aerodynamic benefits on the 250 LM but the change brought it own difficulties because Ferrari was at the time attempting to convince the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (the FIA; the International Automobile Federation) the 250 LM should be homologated in the Grand Turismo (GT) category so it could contest the World Sports Car Championship.  This was being done using the argument the 250 LM was a mere update of the 250 GTO, despite the 250 LM having a different engine & transmission (mid rather than front-mounted) and a different body.  For homologation to be granted, there had to be 100 essentially identical examples of the model produced and given (1) there were such fundamental differences from the earlier 250s and (2) not even two dozen 250 LMs had then been produced, the FIA was understandably reticent.  However, as a gesture of good faith, Ferrari undertook (eventually) to produce the requisite 100 (even displaying what proved to be a one-off road-going version, complete with a plush interior and electric windows, to bolster the claim it belonged in the GT category) and issued a very public recall notice for all 250 LMs to be returned to the factory to be fitted with the Drogo nose.  One 250 LM (chassis 6321) however was by then being raced in Australia which was a long way away so that one was quietly overlooked (the FIA either turned a blind eye or didn't check), meaning that at least for some time it was the only “short-nosed” 250 LM left in the world, although it’s known at least two have since be converted back to their original specification.  Eventually, 32 250 LMs would be built and the FIA didn’t relent, forcing the car to compete in the 1965 championship against much faster machinery in the prototype class but it was fast enough and importantly, more reliable than the more fragile prototypes and chassis 5893 won the 1965 Le Mans 24 hour endurance race, Ferrari's last victory in the event.

Ferrari 275 GTB short (left) and long-nose (right).

The 1960s saw the last generation of Ferrari cars styled without the use of wind tunnels or much in the way of electronic assistance.  Even for the road cars, as speeds rose, some high speed instability was occasionally noted but this became pronounced with the cars were used in competition, especially on the faster tracks with the long straights.  Accordingly, knowing there would be a competition version of the 275 GTB (the 275 GTB/C) a long-nose was created which was also used on other models.  The 275 GTB/C was notable also for marking the swan song of the classic Borrani wire-spooked wheels on Ferrari competition cars, the elegant, chromed creations no longer strong enough to handle the increase loads in extreme conditions, replaced by aluminium or magnesium castings.

1969 Dodge Daytona (left) and 1969 Dodge Charger 500 (right).

Across the Atlantic, on the NASCAR (National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing) circuits, the manufacturers had reached a dead end imposed by their regulatory body.  By 1969 the NASCAR authorities had fine-tuned their rules, restricting engine power and mandating a minimum weight so manufacturers, finding it increasingly harder to cheat, resorted to the then less policed field of aerodynamics, ushering what came to be known as the brief era of the "aero-cars".  Dodge began by making modifications to their Charger which smoothed the air-flow, labelling it the Charger 500 in a nod to the rules which demanded 500 identical models for eligibility.  It proved less successful than hoped and Dodge apparently gave up on the design, producing on 392 (although to make up the numbers they did the next year add an unrelated “500” option to the Charger line and NASCAR generously turned their blind eye).  Not discouraged however, Dodge recruited engineers from Chrysler's soon to be shuttered (as arms control treaties with the USSR loomed) aerospace & missile division and quickly created the Daytona, adding to the 500 a protruding nosecone and high wing at the rear.  Even now, the nosecone would be thought extreme but it worked on the track and this time the required 500 were actually built.  NASCAR responded by again moving the goalposts, requiring manufacturers to build at least one example of each vehicle for each of their dealers before homologation would be granted, something which would demand thousands of cars.  Accepting the challenge, in 1970 Dodge's corporate stablemate Plymouth duly built about two-thousand of their similar aero car, the Road Runner Superbird, an expensive exercise given they reportedly lost money on each one.  Now more unhappy than ever, NASCAR lawyered-up, drafted rules rendering the aero-cars uncompetitive and their brief era ended.  So extreme in appearance were the cars they proved at the time sometimes hard to sell and some were actually converted back to the standard specification to get them out of the showroom.  Views changed over time and they're now much sought by collectors, selling for up to US$500,000 in the most desirable configuration.

1969 Ford Torino Sportsroof (left) 1969 Ford Torino Talladega (right).

As imposing as the noses developed for the Daytona and Superbird were, it may have been that much of the modification was wasted effort and an application of the Europeans’ old “inch by inch” rule of thumb might have been as effective.  The nose jobs Ford in 1969 applied to their Torino Talladega and Mercury’s Cyclone Spoiler II were modest compared to what Chrysler did.  The grill was flattened, a la the Charger 500, the front bumper was replaced with a re-shaped version of the rear unit from a 1969 Fairlane which functioned effectively as an air-dam and the leading edge of the nose was extended and re-shaped dowwards.  The effect was subtle but on the track, appeared to confer a similar advantage to the one Chrysler’s rocket scientists had achieved but Ford had also made some changes which lowered the centre of gravity and improved the under-body air-flow.  Quite what this achieved has never been documented but the drivers were certainly convinced, retaining the Talladegas and Cyclone Spoilers as long as possible, the shapes proving much more efficient than their sleek-looking successors.

Porsche 911 (930) Turbo in profile (left) and Porsche 911 (930) flachbau (slantnose).

When in 1973 regulations forced Porsche to fit more substantial bumpers to the 911 (in production since 1964), it necessitated a change to the front bodywork, the earlier cars became known as the "long hood" and subsequent models the "short hood", both references to the hood (bonnet) being shortened to accommodate the unsightly battering rams.  More nose jobs would follow.  Between 1982-1989, Porsche produced three generations of the 911 (930) Turbo S with the flachbau (slantnose) bodywork, a total of 948 believed built.  It seems there were a few, hand-built prototypes completed by 1980 in addition to one completed under the factory’s Sonderwunsch (Special wishes) programme for an individual who was either well-connected or a very good customer.  The 58 first generation cars lack the pop-up headlamps so associated with the design, instead using smooth, flat-faced wings with a fibreglass front valance assembly containing twin lamps either side below the bumper.  Nicknamed the “hammerhead”, the styling divided opinion and was anyway found not to be compliant with regulations in some markets, thus the substitution of the pop-up headlamps which appeared during 1983.  As was typical of much which emerged from the programme, the cars were built with a variety of Sonderwunsch options so there was no one consistent specification.

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS from the long hood era (left) and 1975 Porsche 911 Turbo (930) with the short hood used since the 1974 model year (right).  Such is the lure of the early 911s something of a cottage industry has emerged, devoted to "backdating" later cars.     

The second generation flachbau yielded 204 cars, the styling updated with a simplified air dam containing driving lights and a centrally mounted oil-cooler, the pop-up headlamps relocated to front wings, a much admired feature the optional air-intake vents above the pop-ups, something borrowed from the 935 track cars.  Again, other than the structural changes, there was no standard configuration, each flachbau reflecting the buyer’s ticking of the option list and any special wishes the factory was able to satisfy.  The third generation were the most numerous with 686 produced, the increased volume reflecting the effort made to ensure the cars could be made available in the lucrative US market which eventually received 630 flachbaus.  More standardized, production shifted from the Sonderwunsch’s Restoration and Repair Department facility (Werks 1) to the line in Zuffenhausen where the standard 930s were assembled though for ease of completion (and to maintain exclusivity) the cars were transferred to the Sonderwunsch for finishing and detailing.

Wax model of Thomas Wedders (circa 1730-circa 1782).

Thomas Wedders (AKA Thomas Wadhouse) from Yorkshire, England (a member of a travelling "freak show" circus) is recorded as having enjoyed (sic) the world's longest known human nose, claimed to be some 200mm (7¾ inches) in length.  In the absence of any verified evidence, the truth of that can't be known but it may be assumed his nose was very big.  The current record is held by Mehmet Özyürek (b 1949) of Türkiye, his nose officially measured and found to be 88mm (3½ inches).

Solidarity

Solidarity (pronounced sol-i-dar-i-tee)

(1) A state or feeling of union or fellowship arising from common responsibilities and interests, as between members of a group or between classes, peoples etc.

(2) A community of feelings, purposes etc; a unity of interests.

(3) In the Westminster political system, as cabinet solidarity, a principle in representative & responsible government whereby all members of the cabinet are required either publicly to support all decisions of cabinet or resign from the body.

(4) In inter-personal relations, a willingness to provide support of various kinds when another person is in need.

(5) A communist era Polish organization of independent trade unions founded in 1980 (solidarność (pronounced saw-lee-dahr-nawshch) in the Polish)).  It was in 1982 outlawed by the government of Poland before being made lawful and going on to form the basis of the non-communist government in 1989.

1829: The construct was the English solidary +‎ -ity, from the French solidarité (solidarity; communion of interests and responsibilities, mutual responsibility), from solidaire (characterized by solidarity), from the Latin solidum (whole sum), neuter of solidus (solid).  The French solidarité was coined by and first appeared in the Encyclopédie (1765) and was from solidaire (interdependent, complete, entire) from solide.  Capitalized, it was ultimately from the French form the independent trade union movement in Poland gained its name.  The –ity suffix was from the French -ité, from the Middle French -ité, from the Old French –ete & -eteit (-ity), from the Latin -itātem, from -itās, from the primitive Indo-European suffix –it.  It was cognate with the Gothic –iþa (-th), the Old High German -ida (-th) and the Old English -þo, -þu & -þ (-th).  It was used to form nouns from adjectives (especially abstract nouns), thus most often associated with nouns referring to the state, property, or quality of conforming to the adjective's description.  Solidarity is a noun, solid is a noun, adjective & adverb and solidarize & solidary are verbs; the noun, plural is solidarities.

Flag of Solidarność.

The Solidarity labor union was formed in Poland in September 1980 and was independent of both the state and the Polish Communist party.  Under the leadership of dockyard electrician Lech Wałęsa (b 1943; Polish dissident trade union leader, President of Poland 1990-1995), it came into existence at a time when the communist authorities in both Warsaw and Moscow had become more reticent in their internal suppression and by the early 1980s its membership was in the millions.  Eventually banned by the government in 1982, as an underground movement it continued to pursue the need for industrial and democratic reform and was a factor in the fall of communism in Poland.  Although Wałęsa won both the Nobel Peace prize (1983) and the presidency of his country, (1990-1995), by the end of the century, Solidarity’s historic moment had passed.

Looking their best: Arthur Sinodinos presenting to President Trump his credentials as Australia's ambassador to the US, the White House, Washington DC, February 2020.

In Australia, royal commissions are public investigations, established by but independent of government.  Not a court, royal commissions are created to enquire into matters of importance and, within their terms of reference, have broad powers to conduct public & in camera hearings and can call witnesses, compelling them (under oath) to provide testimony and they deliver recommendations to government about what should be done, consequent upon their findings.  These can include recommendations for legislative or administrative changes and the prosecution of institutions or individuals and they’re of great interest because they appear to be the only institution (at least theoretically) able to compel a politician to tell the truth.  Even that power is limited though because when appearing before royal commissions, politicians seem especially prone to suffering an onset of Sinodinos syndrome, a distressing condition which compels witnesses frequently to utter phrases like “I can’t remember”, “I don’t recall”, “not in my recollection” etc.  The condition is named after Arthur Sinodinos (b 1957; Australian Liberal Party functionary; senator for New South Wales 2011-2019) who, according to legal legend, while being questioned by an enquiry, set a record for the frequency with which the distressing condition manifested.  Happily, Mr Sinodinos' symptoms weren't thought serious by the Liberal Party government which in early 2020 appointed him Australia's ambassador to the United States. 

Looking his best: Eight photographs of Stuart Robert.

A royal commission is currently enquiring into matters associated with the “robodebt” affair which was an attempt by the previous government to use unlawful methods to calculate what it alleged were debts to the Commonwealth, owed by some who had in the past been in receipt of some sort of benefit, pension or welfare payment.  The commission is, inter alia, seeking to work out the usual “who knew what when” in relation to the unlawful conduct and so far, witnesses have provided contradictory evidence so it will be a matter for the commission to decide which sworn statements seem most compelling.  The appearance of one of the ministers responsible for robodebt, Stuart Robert (b 1970; minister in various portfolios in National-Liberal Party coalition governments 2013-2022) was anticipated more eagerly than most and he didn’t disappoint anyone hoping to see the odd symptom of Sinodinos syndrome, some of his answers among the contradictory responses through which the commission will have to sift.  If need be, the commissioner can recall Mr Robert if any clarifications are needed and there will be some looking forward to that.

Of interest also were Mr Robert’s thoughts on what is meant by “cabinet solidarity” which in the Westminster political system is a one of the principles of representative & responsible government whereby all members of the cabinet are required publicly to support all decisions of cabinet or else resign from the body.  The matter of cabinet solidarity arose after Mr Robert admitted to the commissioner that he publicly defended robodebt despite his own “personal misgivings” and further admitted that during 2019 he made several comments on the scheme he personally believed were false.

Asked several times by the commissioner why he had made comments which he believed at the time were false, Mr Robert told the commissioner he had done so because he was “bound by cabinet solidarity” and “as a dutiful cabinet minister…that’s what we do”.  When the commissioner asked if this meant he was bound by cabinet solidarity to “misrepresent things to the Australian public?”, he replied he wouldn’t “put it that way”.  It seems a generous interpretation to suggest Mr Robert may “misunderstand” what “cabinet solidarity” means but it may be with that degree of delicacy the commissioner chooses to comment on the matter in her final report.  What “cabinet solidarity” really means is that members of the cabinet are required publicly to defend the decision of cabinet even if they disagree with them.  If the disagreement is to an individual a matter of such significance they feel compelled publicly to oppose the decision, then they must resign from cabinet to be free to do so.  It has nothing to do with providing some cloak of cover to enable a cabinet minister to make statements representing something he believes to be false as truth and the system as it’s operated in Australia is actually quite flexible.  Some years ago it was arranged for a minister to resign from cabinet yet remain a minister in the “outer ministry”.  That trick enabled (1) the decision to stand, (2) the minister to keep a higher salary and lots of perks and (3) the “resignation” to be spun as a matter of principle although it was just a way to try to minimize the loss of votes in a particular electorate.

Looking her best: Lindsay Lohan with ankle braclet.

In July 2010, US Customs and Border Protection officers stationed on the Canadian border reported an ankle surveillance bracelet was being worn by Eugene Todie (b 1981) who was being questioned after attempting to re-enter the US using someone else's passport.  The report revealed Mr Todie claimed a friend in the probation service had given him the monitor, pursuant to his request for a way he could “show solidarity” with Lindsay Lohan, then wearing a court-ordered alcohol monitor on her ankle.  Record checks showed Mr Todie, a resident of Buffalo, New York, was on probation for criminal contempt, had surrendered his own passport after being banned from leaving the US and was wearing the bracelet by court order.  Mr Todie was remanded in custody and later appeared in Federal Court on charges including misuse of a passport.

Phaeton

Phaeton (pronounced feyt-n (U) or fey-i-tn (non-U))

(1) Any of various light, four-wheeled carriages, originally without folding tops, having one or two seats facing forward, used first in the nineteenth century.  In describing horse-drawn carriages, phaeton was later used to describe many with convertible tops (originally often as spider (or spyder) phaeton).

(2) An early-mid twentieth century touring-car with four or more seats and (later) sometimes with removable side-windows and a convertible top; some with dual-cowl coachwork.

(3) A model name for automobiles which now means nothing in particular.

1585-1595: 1742: From the (1735) French phaeton, from the Latin Phaëtōn, from the Ancient Greek Φᾰέθων (Phaéthōn).  Phaëthon was the son of Clymene and the sun god Helios who gained permission to drive his father's sun-chariot but, being unable to control the horses was struck by Zeus with a thunderbolt and slain after nearly setting on fire the whole earth.  His name translated as “shining” and was from phaein & the verb phaethô (to shine, to make gleam), from phaos (light), from the primitive Indo-European root bha- (to shine).   Even before the carriages were so named, phaeton (the spellings varied) was used to describe someone who recklessly handled horses and carts or carriages.  The alternative spellings were Phaethon, Phaéthôn, Phaëton, Phaeton, Phæton & Phaëthon.  Phaeton & phaetoneer are nouns; the noun plural is phaetons).

In a cautionary tale about the impetuosity of adolescent youth, Phaéthōn convinced his reluctant sun god father Helios father to let him drive the chariot of the sun across the skies.  Almost at once the unskilled Phaéthōn lost control of the immortal steeds and the chariot crashed, setting the earth ablaze, scorching the once fertile plains of Africa to desert.  Zeus, appalled by the destruction, smote the boy with a thunderbolt, hurling his flaming body into the waters of the River Eridanos.  The youth’s sisters, the Heliades, gathered on the banks and in their mourning, were transformed into amber-teared poplar trees.  In death, Phaethon was placed amongst the stars as the constellation Auriga (the Charioteer) or transformed into the god of the star which the Greeks named Phaethon, the planets Jupiter or Saturn depending on the translation.

1932 Cadillac V16 Special Phaeton with (V12) coach-work by Fisher.

Phaetons were a type of type of light, open four-wheeled horse carriage, English in 1742 picking up the word from French usage, coined in 1735, the link being the exposure of the passengers to the sun and until well into the modern age, they remained popular, despite the availability of carriages with partially or fully enclosed coach-work.  Indeed, they were still the most common form in the early age of the automobile but were close to extinct by the 1930s, supplanted by closed vehicles and those with convertible tops.

The Dual-Cowl Phaetons

1935 Packard Twelve dual-cowl Sport Phaeton with coach-work by Dietrich.

Among the grandest of the pre-war phaetons were the dual-cowl convertibles although, being very expensive in a time of austerity (for much of the population), few were built, the rich often reluctant to consume too conspicously.  Unlike most of the horse-drawn carriages from which the name was appropriated, the cars so-described usually had folding hoods and sometimes removable side-windows (usually called side-curtains).  Purists of course insist that any true phaeton has no windows in the doors, nor any roof, rigid or folding but that was only ever a convention and one not always adhered to during the horse & buggy era and in the age of the automobile everything became elastic.

1935 Duesenberg SJ dual-cowl Phaeton with coach-work by La Grande.  The unusual, rakish line of the convertible top exists because in 1937, Rollston Coachworks (New York) was commissioned to fit the rare option of a fixed vee-windshield, a visual and aerodynamic enhancement from a time before curved-glass screens became practical.

In the 1930s Buick began selling what would now be called a four-door convertible (with integrated winding windows) yet continued to use the phaeton label and the memorable, big dual-cowl Duesenbergs, Chryslers, Lincolns Cadillacs, Packards et al of the era were marketed as phaetons despite having folding roofs and whatever the variations in the coachwork, the appellation stuck.  In the post-war years, the four-door hardtop was probably the spiritual successor of the phaetons as rapidly the four-door convertibles faded from the scene; by the late 1970s, the four-door hardtops too would go extinct except for the odd example in the quirky world of the JDM (japanese domestic Market).  Today, like landau, phaeton is just a name which means nothing in particular although many seem aware it evokes something from the past.  In recent decades, there have been many off-road and utilitarian vehicles which, technically, are phaeton-like but they're hardly in the spirit of the machines of the 1930s.  

Parade Phaetons

Before there was crooked Hillary, there was tricky Dick.  Vice-President Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US VP 1953-1961 & president 1969-1974) at President Dwight Eisenhower's (1890-1969; US president 1953-1961) second Inaugural Parade, 21 January 1957 in 1952 Chrysler Imperial dual-cowl Parade Phaeton (one of three built).

The name of the 1952 parade cars delights the obsessives in the collector-car community because of the corporate history.  Introduced in 1926, the Chrysler Imperial sat atop the company's brand hierarchy until 1954 when Imperial was (re-)launched as a standalone brand, an arrangement which lasted until 1975 (although even by 1972 the Chrysler name had crept back somewhat and the half-hearted revivals in 1981-1983 & 1990-1993 are not fondly remembered).  The 1952 parade phaetons thus are properly designated Chrysler Imperials although, being updated by the factory in 1955 with much of the sheet-metal and other fixtures from the 1956 Imperial, they resemble the later Imperials and are sometimes erroneously described.

1940-1941 Chrysler Newport dual-cowl Phaeton by LeBaron (left), 1952 Chrysler Imperial dual-cowl Phaeton (centre) & 1997 Chrysler dual-cowl Phaeton concept car (right).

Built in 1952 for ceremonial use by the US government and the municipal corporations of New York City and Los Angeles, the three dual-cowl parade phaetons were thought the last of the breed but in 1997 Chrysler unexpectedly displayed a concept car in the same vein.  A pastiche of the original 1941 Plymouths and the 1952 cars, it was obviously not intended for production but did include an intoxicatingly attractive specification including a bespoke 48 valve, 333 cubic-inch (5.4 litre) V12 engine rated at 425 horsepower, 5.4 litres and 425 horsepower both iconic values from Chrysler's happier past.

Comrade Stalin's 1936 Packard Standard Eight Phaeton.  It wasn't used during Moscow's colder months.

Packard was one of the US industry's storied names with roots in the nineteenth century and during the inter-war years had been one of the most prestigious in the nation; it had been the sound of the V12 Packards which inspired Enzo Ferrari (1989-1988) to declare Una Ferrari è una macchina a dodici cilindri (a Ferrari is a twelve cylinder car).  The appeal was real because it was a 1936 Packard Standard Eight Phaeton which comrade Stalin (1878-1953; Soviet leader 1924-1953) used as his parade car and the ZiS-115 limousine (1948-1949 and based on the ZiS 110 (1946-1958), all better known in the West as ZILs) he used in his final years was a reversed-engineered (ie copy) version of the 1942 Packard.  Reverse-engineering was a notable feature of Soviet industry and much of its post-war re-building of the armed forces involved the process, exemplified by the Tupolev Tu-4 heavy bomber (1947) which was a remarkably close copy of the US Boeing B-29 (1942).  Other countries also adopted the practice which in some places continues to this day for mot civilian and military output.  After spending World War II engaged in military production, notably a version of the Merlin V12 aero-engine built under license from Rolls-Royce, Packard emerged in 1945 in sound financial state but found the new world challenging, eventually in 1953 merging with fellow struggling independent, Studebaker.  Beset with internal conflicts from the start, things went from bad to worse and after dismal sales in 1958-1959 of the final Packards (which were really modified Studebakers and derided by many as "Packardbakers"), the Packard brand was retired with the coming of 1959.  The Studebaker-Packard Corporation in 1962 reverted to again become Studebaker but it was to no avail, the last Studebaker being produced in 1967.

FDR & Ford

1937 Ford V8 Phaeton

As the American car buyer came to prefer the creature comforts offered by closed coupés & sedans or convertibles (with proper, winding windows), sales of the more basically configured roadsters and phaetons began in the 1930s rapidly to decline.  The exotic dual cowl phaetons continued to appeal to those who wanted something extravagant in which to be chauffeured on warm, sunny days but for those for whom economics dictated ownership of a single vehicle, the attractions of some protection from the elements was attractive, especially in a northern winter.  Surprisingly, it was Ford, a pioneer (if not the originator) in the techniques of mass-production and the optimization of economies of scale which kept the roadster and phaeton on the books longer than most, their last roadster built in 1937 and the final phaeton the following year although production in 1938 totaled but 1169 cars, little more than an administrative inconvenience to a company which measured its output in chunks of tens of thousands.  When the Ford line was updated for 1939, the phaeton was deleted from the list.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR, 1882–1945, US president 1933-1945) 1936 Ford V8 Phaeton; his New York license plate was “3”, the governor was allocated “1” and the lieutenant governor “2” (an allocation which reflects late eighteenth century political thought in most of the states).  Afflicted by polio, FDR’s cars were fitted with hand controls for the brake and clutch, a cigarette dispenser always included.

2004 Volkswagen Phaeton W12.

A Volkswagen which should have been an Audi or (not inconceivably) a Lamborghini (both brands part of the VW conglomerate), the VW Phaeton was produced between 2002-2016 as a four-door sedan in a standard and long-wheelbase configuration, the Phaeton name nothing to do with the traditional definition and chosen presumably because it was thought to impart some vague notion of exclusivity and wealth.  That was MBA marketing-think and probably made sense but what did not was the belief it would re-position perceptions of the VW name as a true luxury brand, the "modest success" enjoyed when the W8 engine was offered at high-price in the smaller VW Passat between 2001-2004 seemingly not a sufficiently salutatory lesson.  Why the MBAs didn’t take note of why Toyota created Lexus (so they would have their own Audi) isn’t clear but they may have been the same folk who couldn’t understand the Maybach name made sense positioned below Mercedes-Benz, not above.  The principles used in the washing powder business don’t always translate to other sectors.

Mercedes-Benz 600 Landaulet and (SWB) standard sedans.

The 1970 Pullman Landaulet (one of twelve known informally as the "presidential" because the folding portion of the roof extended to the driver's compartment, the other 58 Landaulets having a convertible top only over the rear seat) was purchased by the Romanian government and used by comrade president Nicolae Ceaușescu (1918–1989; general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party 1965-1989) until he and his wife were executed (by AK47) after a “people's tribunal” held a brief trial, the swiftness of which was aided by the court-appointed defense counsel who declared them both guilty of the genocide of which, among other crimes, they were charged.  Considering the fate of other fallen dictators, their end was less gruesome than might have been expected.  Comrade Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980; prime-minister or president of Yugoslavia 1944-1980) had a similar car (among other 600s) but he died undisturbed in his bed.  The blue SWB (short wheelbase) car to the rear is one of the few SWB models fitted with a divider between the front & rear compartments including hand-crafted timber writing tables and a refrigerated bar in the centre console.  It was delivered in 1977 to the Iranian diplomatic service and maintained for the Shah’s use.

The 1969 SWB to the right (identified as a US market car by the disfiguring headlight treatment) had a less eventful past, purchased by a California real estate developer, who took advantage of the Mercedes-Benz European Delivery Program (discontinued in 2020 after some sixty years), collecting the 600 from the Stuttgart factory.  With due respect to Californian property developers (and Pope Paul VI (1897-1978; pope 1963-1978) who had a very special one), more than any other car the 600 seemed to attract dictators, leading drug dealers, megalomaniacs and those with dubious past or present (many owing several), the roll-call including Coco Chanel, Herbert von Karajan, Daniel arap Moi, comrade Chairman Mao, comrade Deng Xiaoping (who inherited his from the chairman), comrade Kim Il-Sung (The Great Leader), comrade Kim Jong-il (The Dear Leader), comrade Kim Jong-un (The Supreme Leader) (the DPRK's brace of presidential Landaulets passed down the line along with the rest of North Korea), comrade Enver Hoxha, Papa Doc Duvalier, Baby Doc Duvalier (another family inheritance), Ferdinand Marcos, Hastings Banda, Hosni Mubarak, Idi Amin, comrade Josip Broz Tito, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, John Vorster, PW Botha, FW De Klerk (who for whatever reason found his government-owned 600 embarrassingly large and otherwise excessive), comrade Leonid Brezhnev (his three successors stuck to ZILs), the last Shah of Iran, General Zia Ul Haq, Mobutu Sese Seko, comrade Nicolae Ceaușescu, Omar Bongo, Park Chung Hee, Pablo Escobar, Robert Mugabe, Saddam Hussein, Silvio Berlusconi and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.  Of course, just as the reputation the 600 gained from such associations was beginning to be forgotten, it emerged one was owned by Jeremy Clarkson and there may be no recovering from that.

600s at the Tehran Car Museum.

In exile, the Shah of Iran died of natural causes after being deposed in the 1979 revolution which created the Islamic Republic of Iran under the rule of the Imam, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (1900-1989; Supreme Leader, Islamic Republic of Iran, 1979-1989).  The ayatollah's taste in cars was more modest but three of the Shah's Mercedes-Benz 600s are among the dozens on display (over a hundred in storage or undergoing restoration) at the Tehran Car Museum, open to the public Sunday-Wednesday (09:00-17:30) & Thurdsay & Friday (09:00-18:30).  It is closed on Saturday.   The museum is located at Azadi Square, Special Karaj Road, near Sepah Store while the office is situated on Resalat Highway, not far from Africa Highway, at the Foundation of the Oppressed, Building Number One, Fourth Floor, Cultural Institute of Museums.

That class of clientele associated with the 600 wasn't as drawn to the VW Phaeton.  For the top VW there were six cylinder petrol and diesel engines and even a V10 diesel but what attracted most interest (if not buyers) was the choice of a 4.2 litre (255 cubic inch) V8 or a 6.0 litre (366 cubic inch) W12, the most potent of the latter rated at a then impressive 444 horsepower (331 kW).  Unfortunately, most who could afford the hefty price lingered not long over the impressive specification but focused instead on the badge, still so associated with the old Beetle.  By all accounts, the Phaeton was a fine piece of engineering and highly regarded by the critics but over fifteen years, fewer than 85,000 were sold, the line never profitable and the depreciation on the W12 was famously high, the failure of the range always explained by the lack of cachet the VW brand enjoyed at that end of the market.  Failure is however a relative term, Mercedes-Benz in the eighteen-odd years between 1963-1981 managed to produce only 2677 of their sinister 600s yet it lent the marque a luster which lingers to this day, despite tireless efforts by the the MBAs to devalue things.  Although doubtlessly also sold at a loss, Mercedes-Benz gained much from the 600; VW got little from the Phaeton.