Pontoon

Pontoon (pronounced pon-toon)

(1) In military use, a boat, boat-like device or some other floating structure used as one of the supports for a temporary bridge (often styled as “pontoon bridge) placed over a river, canal or similar waterway.

(2) A float for a derrick, landing stage etc.

(3) In nautical use, a float (often inflatable) for raising a sunken or deeply laden vessel in the water; a camel or caisson.

(4) In aviation, a seaplane’s floats.

(5) In some places (1) an alternative name for the card game blackjack (also as 21 or twenty-one, an alteration of the French ving-un (an obsolete variant of vingt-et-un (twenty-one)) and (2) in the game, the combination of an ace with a ten or court card when dealt to a player as his first two cards.

(6) In nautical freight & passenger handling, a lighter or barge used for loading or unloading ships.

(7) In automotive design, a style in which the coachwork features smooth, flowing curves extending from the front to the rear without interruption.

1585–1595: From the Middle French ponton, from the fourteenth century Old French ponton (bridge, drawbridge, boat-bridge; flat-bottomed boat), from the Latin pontōn-, from pontō (flat-bottomed boat, punt), from pōns (bridge); a pontōnem was a “ferryboat”.  The use in some places to describe the card game (an alteration of the French ving-un (an obsolete variant of vingt-et-un (twenty-one) dates from 1916 and entered English when French & British troops played the game on the Western Front during World War I (1914-1918).  In engineering, the pontoon bridge (a roadway supported on pontoons) was described as early as 1778.  Pontoon, pontooning & pontooneer are nouns and pontooned is an adjective & verb; the noun plural is pontoons.

Bugatti T32s at the French Grand Prix, Tours, 1923.

Attracted by gains to be realized in aerodynamic efficiency, in 1923 Bugatti fabricated four T32 race cars to compete in that year’s French Grand Prix using the pontoon principle.  Bodied in aluminum, the stubby little machines were nicknamed “the Tanks” and there’s certainly a resemblance to the lines of the World War I tanks but, designed without the use of a wind-tunnel, the aviation influenced airfoil shape chosen to increase top speed also possessed that other quality need by aircraft: lift.  The combination of speed and lift was of course a recipe for instability and the T32s showed a marked inclination to leave the track.  Despite this discouraging start, the pontoon approach would ultimately prevail but for decades, instances of aerodynamically-induced instability would plague the tracks, the death toll not small.

Small & large: 1926 Hanomag 2/10 PS Coupé (Kommissbrot) (left) & 1933 Volvo Venus Bilo (right).  The larger the pontoon, the more slab-sided the tendency.

In automotive design, term "pontoon" was used to a style in which the coachwork features smooth, flowing curves extending from the front to the rear without interruption.  The use of the word alluded to the nautical term used to describe a floatation device attached to the sides of a boat or ship to provide stability.  The objectives of the early adopters of the motif included (1) aerodynamic efficiency, (2) a reduction in the number of components needed to form a body, (3) enhanced efficiency through the allocation of more usable internal space and (4) a sleek and streamlined appearance.  It took decades of experimentation and there were a number of notable failures in just about every aspect of the pursuit of those objectives but, beginning in the 1920s, literally dozens of recognizably pontoon-like forms entered production, some sold by the thousand but it’s notable the most successful ventures were those which involved smaller (sometimes on the scale which would later be called micro-cars) vehicles.  On those, the styling tended to be less jarring to the aesthetic sensibilities of those who would actually pay for the things; on the larger machines, the most commonly applied epithet was “slab-sided”.

The pontoon would prevail but in one little corner of England, the 1930s lasted until 1968.  Remarkably, when the NSU Ro80 (left) was released in 1967, the Vanden Plas Limousine (right, complete with a divided windscreen made of two flat panes) was on-sale in a showroom in the same street.

Still, as the 1930s unfolded, the trend was certainly gaining strength and had it not been for the blast of war, things might have evolved much as they did although like many of the aspects of science and engineering which benefited from the extraordinary progress realized during those years, the evolution at the very least would probably have taken much longer.  As it happened, in the late 1940s as the first generation of post-war vehicles was released in the US, the pontoon motif was almost universal, only some vestigial traces of the old, separated ways remaining to reassure.  In Europe, some clung longer to the old ways and in the UK, even by the late 1960s there were still traditionalists finding a tiny market still existed for the old ways bit but mostly, during the previous decade the pontoon had taken its place as one of the symbols of mid century modernism.

Bridge on the road to the pontoon: 1948 Mercedes-Benz 170 (left) & 1951 Mercedes-Benz 220 (right).

One range was so definitively pontoonish that it even picked up the nickname “pontoon”.  Daimler-Benz emerged from World War II not so much diminished as almost destroyed and in 1945 the board of directors felt compelled to issue a statement declaring “Daimler-Benz had ceased to exist in 1945” although that proved pessimistic, a modest programme of repair and maintenance soon established and the next year, small scale production resumed of the pre-war 170V although circumstances were challenging and in two years barely 600 left the improvised assembly line.  However, the currency reform and economic stabilization of 1948 transformed things and marked the birth of the post-war Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) and the 170 range, so appropriate to the austere times was soon augmented and then replaced by more advanced models but the pre-war styling was carried over substantially unchanged.

The Mercedes-Benz Pontoons: 1953 180 (left), 1956 219 (centre) and 1959 220 SE cabriolet (right).

Lindsay Lohan on pontoon, Sardinia, 2016.

It was however obvious that the approach was antiquated and in 1951 work was begun on a new range of mass-produced four-door sedans which abandoned the old separate chassis for a unibody.  This was the car which came to be called the pontoon and the first version was released in 1953 as the 180, fitted with 1.8 litre (110 cubic inch) four-cylinder engine in both petrol & diesel forms.  Stylistically, it was among the simplest, least adorned interpretations of the pontoon idea and has been compared both to “three boxes” and “on loaf of bread atop another” and among mainstream vehicles, probably only the contemporary British Fords (the Mark Consul, Zephyr & Zodiac (the so called “three graces”)) enjoyed the same austerity of line.  The pontoon though looked undeniably modern compared with its predecessors and it was a success, soon augmented by the longer 220 fitted with the 2.2 litre (134 cubic inch) straight-six with which more than any other the company rebuilt its reputation.  As the Wirtschaftswunder gathered pace, demand emerged for something more exclusive and a 220 coupé and cabriolet were added although, very expensive, production didn’t reach far into four figures.  More popular was the blend of the six cylinder engine with the short body of the 180, the engineering of which was simple enough but finding the appropriate nomenclature must have required some discussion and, given the way thing were then done by Germans, presumably reached board level for approval.  The solution was to call it the 219 which was a unique departure from the factory’s naming conventions and the only time in recent history the base three-digit model designation has ended in other than a 0 (zero).  Model proliferation would follow and the problem would reoccur and in later years another convention was adopted which lead to a confusing alpha-numeric soup (190 E 2.6, 300 E 2.8 etc so under that regime the 219 would have become the 180 2.2) until in the early 1990s the whole system was re-organized.  The pontoon line lasted until 1963 although by then it looked a relic and had been cut to a few lower-cost utilitarian models.  The pontoons were really the last memory of the austere years before the exuberance of the 1960s affected even Daimler-Benz.

OSI Silver Fox.  Race car designers had before tried the twin-pontoon idea without great success but in 1967, attracted by the uniquely achievable aerodynamic advantages offered by what was essentially a “wing with wheels”, OSI built the Silver Fox for the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance race.  Financial difficulties doomed that project and the potential of concept was undermined when the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (the FIA; the International Automobile Federation (and international sports dopiest regulatory body)) banned “movable aerodynamic aids”).

Scallop

Scallop (pronounced skol-uhp or skal-uhp)

(1) Any of the various marine bivalve mollusks of the superfamily Pectinoidea (genus Argopecten (Pecten)) and related genera (attached to a substratum (genus Chlamys)), distinguished by moving in water by rapidly clapping together their pair of fluted shell valves.  “Scallop” is used of other molluscs (including certain clams and oysters) and for commercial purposes, all (in the broad) are classed with the “saltwater shellfish”.

(2) The edible adductor muscle of certain species of such mollusks, widely used in cooking (in some places sold as “sea scallops” to distinguish use of “scallop” from other dishes (made usually with thinly sliced meat)).

(3) Either of the shell valves of such a mollusk, usually having radial ribs and a wavy outer edge (often used decoratively).

(4) A scallop shell re-purposed as a receptacle in which food (usually seafood) is served (and often baked).

(5) In cooking, a thin slice of meat, either so cut or something thicker “flattened” by pounding with a “meat tenderizer”, mallet or similar implement.

(6) Any of a series of curved projections (classically as multiple, symmetrical crescents) cut along the edge, used in sewing, knitting & crochet of necklines and other hems and in gardening, carpentry, art, engineering and architecture, of such shapes, used variously.

(7) In historic use (most associated with the middle & late medieval period), the badge of pilgrim (in the shape of a scallop shell).

(8) In certain places, potato (variously prepared) fried in batter.

(9) In design or construction, to finish (an edge) with scallops.

(10) In cooking, to escallop.

(11) To dredge for scallops to harvest (practiced by a scalloper).

1350-1400: From the Middle English scallop & scallop (edible bivalve mollusk), an aphetic variant of the Old French escalope (shell (of a nut); carapace), a variant of eschalope (probably from the Proto-Germanic skaljô (shell, husk, or scale), perhaps connected with the Old Norse skalpr (sheath) and the Middle Dutch schelpe (shell), from the primitive Indo-European root skel- (to cut; to split)).  English picked up the sense “thin slice of meat” from an association with French use in this context.  The process of aphesis (in linguistics & phonetics the loss of the initial unstressed vowel of a word) would have been gradual (and regionally differentiated) but, over time, the initial “e-“ vanished, “escalope” becoming “scallop”.  The use generally of shapes (clothing, architecture, garden beds) began to appear in documents in the seventeenth century although the shell (especially the larger and more colourful) clearly had for centuries been used domestically (they were nature’s pre-made serving dish) and contents (not always seafood) often were baked “in the shell”, cookbooks dated as early as 1737 detailing the methods, extending the term to describing the “decorative scalloping” used at the edges of the pastry atop pies and slices.  Before that use, “escallop” (in the sense both of “scallop shell” and “edge or border (of fabric) cut in the shape of scallops” had appeared in the late fifteenth century with the verb escalloped (having the border or edge cut out in scallops) appearing at much the same time.  The now less common alternative spelling was scallop (still seen in the UK) and the adjectival forms scallopesque, scallopish & scalloplike are non-standard.  Scallop is a noun & verb, scalloper is a noun, scalloping is a noun & verb, scalloped is a verb & adjective and scallopwise is an adverb; the noun plural is scallops.

Australian culture: The potato scallop (or “cake” or “fritter”).

In the barbarian nation of Australia, the potato scallop is a prized delicacy but while the methods of preparation and final appearance vary little from coast-to-coast, the warring tribes cannot agree on the name.  Unfortunately, use doesn’t precisely align with the state & territory boundaries but, as a general principle, it’s (1) Potato Scallop (New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory), Queensland and Western Australia, (2) Potato Cake (Victoria, Tasmania and most of the Northern Territory or (3) Potato Fritter (South Australia).  The use of “cake” and “fritter” is based on the use of those words for other dishes of a similar shape while the consensus among the “scallop faction” seems to be the name as an allusion to the “thin slice” rather than the shellfish definition and that does make sense because a potato scallop is several times the size of a typical scallop and thus dimensionally closer to the meat concoction.  Historians of food attribute the regional difference in terminology to the various terms been imported from England (where the spelling scallop was also used, the spelling influenced by certain regional pronunciations), sometime during colonial or post-colonial settlement of the continent, all the forms appearing in the British Isles at some time (although “smack” & “fairy chip” either never made the trip or didn’t survive).  In the UK, also documented is the use to describe a sautéed potato (a shallow-fried round potato slice).

Scalloped potatoes: These are different from a “potato scallop” in being thinly sliced potatoes, baked in a dish with a cheesy sauce; it's a winter favorite.

Whatever the nomenclature, the potato scallop is a classic example of “fast food” because it contains the elements (fat, salt, sugar) humans, their relatives and ancestors for millions of years stalked savannahs or jungles to hunt and harvest.  In developed nations, such substances are of course now available 24/7 “off the shelf” and a slice of potato dipped in batter and deep-fried until a golden-brown is not recommended by dieticians for frequent consumption but, for purposes of record, a “perfect scallop” is crisp on the outside with a fluffy interior the consistency of mashed potato.  The reliable Australian Food Timeline notes the long presence of this delicacy, including one recipe published in a Queensland newspaper in 1905: “Boil two pounds of potatoes, dry well, and pound in a mortar, adding three ounces of butter, half-a-gill of cream or melted butter sauce, and seasoning of pepper, salt and nutmeg. When quite smooth, butter some scallop shells, put in a teaspoonful of mixture, brush over with egg, and bake till brown; serve with watercress.”  Whether the side-dish of watercress would much mollify the dieticians is dubious but customers seem unconcerned, the item to this day a fixture on the menu-boards of fast food outlets and one that has withstood the onslaught of Burger King (Hungry Jacks in Australia), McDonalds, sushi, falafels and other international invaders.  While there may sometimes be differences in the products, these are as likely to happen within as between the regional factions.  For those who which to get a flavor of Australian culture, there’s a Potato Cake Appreciation Society run out of “cake stronghold” Victoria.

Saint James scallop shell necklaces.

The scallop shell was a symbol of Saint James the Great, worn or carried by pilgrims who had travelled to his shrine in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, where his remains are believed to lie.  James the Great was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and, in the New Testament, it’s asserted that when beheaded, (circa 44 AD), he was the second apostle to die (after the notorious Judas Iscariot) and the first to be martyred, pilgrims adopting the scallop shell because of its connection to maritime legends surrounding the saint's remains and its abundance along the Galician coast.  The concave shape also made them a practical thing to have during pilgrimages (handy utensils and cups) and scallops came often to be carved into baptistries or on baptismal fonts with shells (now not always genuine) used by priests to pour holy water on a child, initiating a new soul on a pilgrimage toward heaven.  According to legend, after James was martyred, his decapitated body was cast adrift in an unattended, rudderless boat, guided by angels to Iria Flavia in Hispania, where, on a shoreline covered with scallop shells, a large rock closed around his body.  There are variants of the tale but that’s the most popular.  Symbolically, the shell’s distinct lines (radiating outward) were said to represent the many different roads and paths across Europe converging on the single sacred destination at Santiago de Compostela.  The other practical value in the object was as a “proof of pilgrimage”, pilgrims gathering the shells from the sands at Cape Finisterre as tangible evidence they had completed the journey to the saint's shrine.

The logo of the Roman Catholic parish of Mary, Queen of Martyrs in Carver, Massachusetts was built with a central scallop, the crosses representing the three churches (Our Lady of Lourdes, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha & Saint Peter).  The parish provides an explanation of the scallop’s place in Christian iconography, noting the role as a “guide for pilgrims” (it takes an imaginative leap) on the path to their destination and the symbolic value of “authentication of completion of task”.  Historically, for pilgrims in the medieval era, the journey often was undertaken to fulfil a penance given by a priest and to verify compliance there was no other way but to make the trek and then collect a souvenir to show at mass so the priest world “tick the dutiful penitent off the list”.  However, commerce rose to the occasion and by the twelfth century traders had identified a lucrative market, selling shells from what would now be called “pop-up” stalls near cathedrals and churches.  It was from the tradition of Saint James the Great that the scallop came to be associated generally with the notion of pilgrimage, extended ultimately to the Christian’s earthly journey to heaven evoking the Letter to the Hebrews in which it was written: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13; King James Version of the Bible (KJV, 1611)).

Shell Oil’s logos: Greta Thunberg (b 2003) disapproves of all.

Shell’s current logo dates from 1971 and was a revision by French born US designer Raymond Loewy (1893–1986) whose work spanned a remarkable number of sectors in the era of mid-century modernism, extending from corporate logos, Studebaker’s post-war automobiles, the Coca-Cola bottle & vending machines, locomotives and farm equipment; he had quite a portfolio.  For the company, a shell was always in the branding but the first image was pure “generic shellfish” and not until 1904 did something recognizably “a scallop” appear.  Unlike the use in Christianity, the logo of Shell Oil is wholly secular.  In 1833, an enterprising trader set up in London an import company to sell seashells to collectors and it stayed a family business, the product-mix shifting when a scion (Marcus Samuel, later Lord Bearsted; 1853–1927), sent in 1892 to the Caspian Sea to collect saleable specimens, realized there was potential in exporting the “lamp oil” that bubbled from the ground.  Accordingly, the company commissioned the world’s first purpose-built oil tanker (naming it the SS Murex, from the Latin where it described a type of shellfish with a highly sculptured, elongated shell with distinctive spines or fronds) to enter the market; by 1907, the company had a fleet and “the age of oil” had begun.  The origin of the Latin murex is murky.  Etymologists suspect it may be from mūs (mouse), source of mūsculus (saltwater mussel) but, along with the Ancient Greek μύαξ (múax) (sea mussel) it may be from a Mediterranean substrate language.  So, what was once the Shell Transport and Trading Company became famous as “Shell Oil” although the corporate identity has over the years changed; long known as “Royal Dutch Shell”, it’s currently listed as Shell plc (publicly limited company), the word “oil” now avoided in corporate branding by fossil fuel traders.

Scallop theorem is from the discipline of fluid dynamics; it states that to achieve propulsion at low Reynolds number (in physics, a dimensionless parameter that determines the behavior of viscous flow patterns) in simple (ie Newtonian) fluids, a swimmer must deform in a way that is not invariant under time-reversal.  Introduced in the paper Life at Low Reynolds Number (1977) by physicist Dr Edward Mills “Ed” Purcell (1912–1997) who shared 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics, scallop theorem used math to prove that at microscopic scales (where the Reynolds number is extremely low), a swimmer executing a reciprocal motion (a sequence of movements identical when played in reverse (a la a scallop opening and closing its shell)) cannot achieve any net movement.  It means in cases where the subject’s mass is negligible compared to water's viscosity, this method of propulsion fails.  Tiny organisms (cells, bacteria and such) cannot push water out of the way and thus use flagella (whip-like cellular appendage) to move through water; the motion is thus less of a “swim” (in the conventional human sense of the word” and more of a “screw” as ship designers would understand.  At these scales, viscous forces overwhelm inertial forces, a “return stroke” perfectly cancelling the progress of a “forward stroke”; whatever the energy expended, a “microswimmer” would be left “wiggling in place”.  The theorem ceases to operate at the mesoscale (the range between between microscale and macroscale) because inertia is no longer zero so the mechanical action can provide propulsion.

Dr Purcell's Scallop Theorem explained by 632NM.

Although examples have been cited where scallop theorem doesn’t operate in situations where the definition suggests it should, it is accepted in orthodox science as a foundational principle in fluid mechanics, biophysics, and micro-hydrodynamics.  The critiques discussing the “breakdown” or “violation” of scallop theorem are not wrong but nor do they debunk, rather they provide examples of scenarios in which the theorem’s strictly defined mathematical constraints are bypassed, the most common example being “collective locomotion” in which multiple reciprocal micros-swimmers interact with one another, using their combined fields to generate movement.  Of course, in non-Newtonian Fluids (mucus, polymer solutions etc), the properties of the fluid breaks time-reversal symmetry and the necessary frictional resistance exists for the action (to varying degrees) to work.  All these so-call “edge cases” do is further validate the theorem by defining the exact boundaries where the original rules operate.

Application of a different scallop theorem: Lindsay Lohan cooking scallops & crab claws on a yacht anchored off Cannes while attending the Cannes Film Festival, May, 2017.

Stone Oven Grill's Pan Seared Scallops for two

Ingredients

10 scallops (5 per person)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Truffle powder (Optional)

1 tablespoon avocado oil

¼ stick butter (some prefer to use more)

Splash of white wine (some prefer to use more)

Instructions

(1) Lay scallops out on a cutting board and pat dry on both sides with paper towels.  Season all over with salt & pepper and (optional) truffle powder.

(2) Heat avocado oil in a large pan over medium high heat and once heated, add scallops to pan.  Work scallops in batches, ensuring pan is never overcrowded the pan.  Cook for 3 minutes per side; 30 seconds before the first flip, add butter to the pan to begin the melt.

(3) After flipping scallops, begin basting them with melted butter; continue basting process for the first two minutes.  While basting need not be continuous, it must periodically be done during this time.  Add white wine with 1 minute remaining and continue to baste, removing scallops once final minute is up.  Serve immediately.

Notes

Pan seared scallops, mid sear.

With a texture unique in the world, scallops offers many possibilities and the pan seared variety is a favorite, one of its many attractions being needing few ingredients, simple equipment (there are “basting spoons” available but a standard dessert spoon is serviceable) and but a few minutes preparation time.  It’s also one of those dishes amateur chefs can create at home and emulate exactly what real chefs so in real restaurants; it’s that simple.  Chefs do however have a few tips to prefect the process: (1) Pat scallops dry prior to cooking.  This is vital because it will remove any excess moisture liquid that can hinder the formation of the crust, a perfect crust being the essence of the dish.  The patting process takes only a couple of minutes: Lay them out flat and pat both sides dry with and absorbent paper towel.  (2) Pan must be hot prior to beginning the searing.  (3) Do not overcrowd pan.  While it’s tempting to fill the whole surface area, results are much better if no scallops are touching with each given a little “room to move”.

Evening gowns with scalloped necklines in a vibrant red by Georges Hobeika (b 1962) from his Spring-Summer 2017 Collection.  The scalloped cut-outs framed a sheer illusion panel, with an understated waist bow and the look worked best with a sleeveless bodice (left), the full-length sleeves and additional intricacy (right) a distraction.

Although never has the scalloped neckline defined the look of a season, never has it vanished and even if from time-to-time seen only rarely on the catwalk, it has remained a staple of high street fashion.  In the narrow technical sense, something qualifies as a “scalloped hem” by virtue of the shape being repeated along whatever line is being finished but the effect is most obvious only beyond a certain dimension.  If the arc of the curves is too small, the look can “become lost” although, paradoxically, the small scale most closely emulates the edge of a scallop’s shell.  While it shouldn’t be treated as a “rule”, as a general principle, smaller scalloping adds refinement while a larger cut is a “statement” or “playfulness” (depending on the garment) so it’s best to keep intent aligned execution.  What is possible successfully to achieve is dependant also on the fabric or material used, some scalloping demanding a degree of rigidity (such as with necklines although heavier fabrics can be difficult to persuade into the right contour) while other uses (like a skirt’s hem) can be more free-flowing.  On an outfit that really “busy”, scalloping can “get lost” in all the detail though that can work as a “highlight among highlights” if well done; it not, it’s just “making a mess”.  That’s why scalloping is recommended as a focal point, existing as the sole feature to draw the eye, explaining why designers like to add them to something sleeveless or strapless on a garment with little other detailing, even the most delicate lace inserts tending to draw the eye.

Lindsay Lohan in a black, off-the shoulder, floral cat-suit (with embedded crystals) from Balenciaga’s Summer 2024 collection, Kering Foundation’s annual Caring for Women dinner, The Pool, New York City, September 2024.

Although by any standards a “busy” fabric, this is an example of how scalloped neckline can work well if integrated with the whole.  Here, what the scallops did was “follow the pattern” and with the whole ensemble (including the very pointy knife pumps and “built-in” demi-gloves) in black, there was nothing extraneous to disturb the line.  What was clever about this piece was that although “floral” motifs intrinsically are made from curves, the overall effect was of straight lines (horizontal, vertical and diagonal) and that included the “squared-off” neckline, producing a nice effect highlighting the clavicles and bare shoulders.

1953 Aston Martin DB3S (Works).

When applied to cars, the term “scallop” is used with a different emphasis than with frocks and such in that what’s being referenced in the shell’s inside, the idea being of a shell used to “scoop out” some sand from where the sea has just receded, the lacuna creating a “scalloped” effect.  The Aston Martin DB3S was the factory’s standard competition model between 1953 and 1956 and despite being rather hastily improvised after the DB3 (1951-1953) was found to be uncompetitive (underpowered and too heavy), it enjoyed some success although it ran in an era when the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W196S) and Jaguar D-Type had been perfected so championship trophies proved elusive.  The performance was however competitive and it was tough and reliable; as well as the eleven built for the factory’s team, a further 20 were sold to private teams and like the Maserati 250F, it enjoyed around the world a long career, running near the front even after obsolescent.

1953 Aston Martin DB3S front brake and scallop.  The holes were one of the many ways attempts were made to reduce temperatures (and thus “brake fade”) when using drum brakes; it was a lost cause, the answer being disc brakes.

The distinctive scallops in the “pontoon” front fenders were functional in being the most effective way to provide much-need cooling for the big Al-Fin aluminum, finned drum brakes.  Although the works cars quickly would adopt the vastly superior Girling disc brakes, right to the end of production these were an expensive option on the “customer” cars; tellingly, in the decades since, many such DB3s were upgraded to discs (some on all four wheels but most with a front disc-rear drum combination.  Although ducts to deliver cold air to brakes had long been common, the scallops were a most effective way to evacuate the hot air although, in one of those trade-offs familiar in engineering, the shape did at high-speed induce some unwanted handling characteristics, an experience many manufacturers would suffer in an age before prior testing in wind-tunnels became de rigueur and computers on which to run simulations were far in the future.  The DB3S was replaced by the DBR1 which used a form of brake cooling that didn’t so affect the aerodynamics and it proved effective, winning the 1958 World Sports Car Championship including a prized victory in the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance classic.

1958 Ferrari 250 TR.

With the standardization of disc brakes, Aston Martin didn’t carry over the DB3S’s deeply scalloped pontoon fenders but in 1958 they appeared on updated versions of the Ferrari 250 TR (Testa Rossa (literally “red head”, an allusion to the color of the cam covers), 1957-1961).  Although the looks and “end of an era” vibe have made the 250 GTO (1962-1964) the most prized (and expensive) vintage Ferrari, on the circuits, the 250 TR was much more successful, three times winning Le Mans (the final variant in 1962 the last front-engined car to win the event) and the World Sports Car Championship constructor's title.  The scallops were used on the 250 TR for the same reason Aston Martin fitted them: cooling the drum brakes.  Ferrari’s reluctance to adopt disc brakes will seem strange because by 1957 the technology was well proven; while the early disc system were sometimes noisy and pedal pressures could be high, they were effective, stopping distances shorter and fade less prevalent.  However, because Ferrari’s focus was on longer-distance events rather than sprint races, virtues like reliability and robustness were afforded a premium and it was true there were advantages, the linings in drums wearing consistently unlike the pads on discs that suddenly could lose efficiency; additionally, the hard linings of a drum brake’s shoes lasting longer than the pads of the era, meaning it often was possible to complete an event without a lining change.  None of that much convinced the drivers who wanted better brakes and the technology anyway continued to evolve, improvements by Girling meaning Aston Martin’s pit crews were by 1958 able to effect a brake-pad change in some 45 seconds, less time than it then took to re-fuel.  In 1959, Ferrari accepted reality had bitten and disc brakes became a standard fitting on all 250 TRs.  One quirk of the production history is that of the 33 250 TRs built, the 19 allocated had either the scalloped “pontoon fenders” or an enveloping front section while the 14 sold to private customers were all “scalloped”.

1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III Convertible.

Despite the coincidence in the timing, it can with certainty be said neither the Aston Martin nor the Ferrari in any way influenced Lincoln’s designers, despite distinctive “scalloped” front fenders appearing on the 1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III, a vehicle that was a remarkable change from the restrained elegance of the (highly unprofitable) Continental Mark II (1956-1957).  Although eye-catching, the Lincoln’s scallops probably don’t make as much of an impression as they might because they have to compete for attention with other “highlights” of the styling including dagmars, slanted headlights in hoods, fins, rear fender skirts, skegs and a reverse-angle rear window; it was quite a gallimaufry, assembled in a package measuring 229 inches (5,817 mm) bumper-to-bumper.

Model Adriana Fenice (b 1994) in pink stretch top with scoop neckline.

In fashion, the “scoop” neckline uses a “scalloping” effect analogous with the use by Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lincoln, the industry jargon having separate terms to avoid confusion between a “scooped” and “scalloped” neckline.  Technically, the Mark III was conventional (just scaled-up) but it’s of note because at the time it was the largest passenger vehicle ever built using unitary construction (ie no separate chassis); it still is.  While a notable achievement in pre-modern body engineering, so much internal strengthening was required (especially for the convertible) that weight could be between 5,000–5,700 lb (2,300–2,600 kg), out-weighing even a modern EV (electric vehicle) like the Tesla Model S (2012-2026) that weighed in between 4,300–5,000 lb (1,950-2,270 kg) and the Lincoln didn’t have the excuse of carrying a big battery weighing 1,000-1377 lb (454-625 kg)).  The Lincoln also had drum brakes that, like the Ferraris, sometime fought an unequal battle with the physics of inertia.  The look really was “too much” (the “moment” for such things quickly passed) and was toned-down for 1959 & 1960 although what’s often forgotten is the 1958 range out-sold the 1961 version, the latter now regarded as a classic.  However, while the 1958-1960 body was a cul-de-sac, the 1961 Lincoln Continental endured for the rest of the decade and influenced the industry in a way (and to an extent) the earlier cars never did.  What happened in 1958 proved an outlier with scallops since only hinted at.

Punt

Punt (pronounced puhnt or poont)

(1) In various football codes, a kick in which the ball is dropped and then kicked before it touches the ground (as opposed to the drop kick or place kick); in some codes used casually of any long, high kick.

(2) In nautical use, a small, shallow boat having a flat bottom and square ends, usually used for short outings on rivers or lakes and propelled by the use of a pole pivoted against the waterway’s bottom.

(3) The monetary unit (100 pence; the Irish pound) of the Republic of Ireland until the adoption of the Euro in 2002.

(4) An ancient Egyptian name of an area in north-east Africa, believed to be in the region of modern-day Somaliland.

(5) In ichthyology, the action of certain fish which “walk” along the seafloor, using their fins as limbs; a fish so “walking” is said to be “a punter, punting”. .

(6) In glassblowing (as both punt & punty), a thin glass or iron rod which temporarily is attached to a larger piece in order better to manipulate the larger piece.

(7) An indentation in the base of a wine bottle.

(8) In the game of faro, a point; to play basset, baccara, faro etc.

(9) To propel a small boat by thrusting against the bottom of a lake, stream, canal or other suitable waterway, especially with a pole.

(10) To convey in or as if in a punt.

(11) To punt a football by means of the kick.

(12) To travel in a punt.

(13) In informal use, to equivocate, or delay (based on the idea of kicking a ball away).

(14) In gambling slang, to gamble place a bet, historically most used in horse racing but use has spread with the proliferation of betting on other sporting events; in certain card games, to lay a stake against the bank; in financial trading (a form of gambling), to make a highly speculative investment, if based on intuition (guesswork) rather than insider trading.

(15) In colloquial use (1) to retreat from one's objective; to abandon an effort one still notionally supports, (2) to make the best choice from a set of non-ideal alternatives or (3) a (usually speculative) guess.

Pre 1000: From the late Old English punt (flat or shallow-bottomed, square-ended, mastless river boat), from the Latin pontō (Gaulish flat-bottomed boat, pontoon (in the sense of “floating bridge”)) an the so-called “British Latin” ponto was re-adopted from the Middle Low German punte (ferry boat) or the Middle Dutch ponte (ferry boat) of the same origin and not attested in Middle English.  The use in Latin to describe the "floating bridges" built ad-hoc by the military for river crossings was from the Latin pontem (nominative pons) (bridge), from the primitive Indo-European root pent- (to tread, to go) but it may also have been influenced by the Old French cognate pont (large, flat boat).  The verb forms describing movement was base on the idea of "to propel as a punt is moved by pushing with a pole against the bed of the body of water” dates from 1816.  The use of the noun punter in US football dates from 1888 (based on the nautical use) and was by the early twentieth century in the UK, Australia & New Zealand applied to gamblers.  This connection in the 1960s was extended to the term “the average punter”, a synonym for “the average person” and was a classist notion based on the idea the typical working class individual gambled (as well as smoked and drank) and in that vein, it became popular police slang to describe s prostitute's clients.  Punter also picked up specialized meanings including (1) in rock-climbing a beginner or unskilled climber. In Scotland one who trades with a gang but is not a gang member and (3) in internet slang, a program used forcibly to disconnect another user from a chat room or other multi-user environment.  Punt is a noun & verb, punter is a noun and punting & punted are verbs; the noun plural is punts.

Ready for a punt: Lindsay & Ali Lohan, Melbourne Cup, Flemington Racecourse, November 2019.

In various football codes, a punt kick is a kick in which the ball is dropped and then kicked before it touches the ground (as opposed to the drop kick or place kick although in some codes it’s used casually of any long, high kick (often as “punted it down the field).  The use dates from 1845 in rugby (now called rugby union) and is though derived from either (1) from the notion of “propelling a boat by shoving” or (2) a variant of the Midlands dialect bunt (to push; butt with the head) which is of unknown origin but may be echoic (compare bunt).  The slang use in US universities and colleges meaning “give up, withdraw from a course or subject to avoid receiving a failing grade) was based on the use of the punt-kick in American football when used as a tactic when the ball can’t be advanced.  The term appears in the rugby codes, American football, Australian Rules football (AFL), Gaelic football and describes kicking a ball dropped from the hands before it hits the ground.  In the rugby codes, the mode of kick is a matter of importance because the alternative “drop kick” involves a player dropping the ball in front of them, allowing its slightly to bounce before taking the kick.  Under the rules of these codes, dropping the ball in front is a “knock on” and subject to a penalty unless done as a prelude to a dropkick.  A player, having inadvertently dropped the ball will sometimes attempt a kick to disguise the error and thus avoid the penalty so in such cases it’s a matter of judgment for the referee whether it was a drop kick or a knock on.  The special form “torpedo punt” was from AFL and referred to a flat, long kick.  A “punt protector” was a team member whose role was to negate the opposition’s use of the punt kick, the “punt returner” a similar (sometimes identical) role.  The “checkside punt” (the banana punt in Australia) describes a kick which makes the ball spin and bend away from the player's body (they can be intentional or an error).  The use in sport also influenced the figurative use in the sense of “to equivocate, or delay” and was based on the kicking a ball away and is related to the idea of “kicking the can down the road”.  It’s sometimes appears in the phrase “punted it into the long grass) (ie “make it disappear or go away”).

In glassblowing, a punt or a punty was a “thin glass (or in certain cases an iron substitute) rod used in manipulating hot glass”, temporarily attached to a larger piece in order better to handle the larger piece.  Dating from the 1660s, it was from the French pontil, a diminutive form from the Latin punctum (a point), from a nasalized form of the primitive Indo-European root peuk- (to prick).  The use to describe various forms of betting dates seems first to have been used in the early eighteenth century and was from the French ponter (to punt), from ponte (bet laid against the banker; point in faro), from the Spanish punto (point), from the Latin punctum.

Depiction of a mounted punt gun.

The punt gun was a large scale shotgun used in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the large-scale, commercial harvesting of water birds.  Too large to (safely or accurately) be fired if held by an individual, the weapons were solidly mounted on the punts (although other vessels were also used) hunters used to achieve close proximity to their targets.  The earliest versions were literally up-scaled shotguns including the obviously superfluous shoulder-stock and were supplied without any mounting hardware, owners fabricating their own or adapting other devices but specialized designs quickly emerged.  These were sold with the mounting hardware fixed to the gun and were supplied with a kit which included a platform for the boat, most offering some adjustments to suit different dimensions.

Illustrative photograph of punt gun.  Some 12 feet (3.7 m) in length, they weren't actually used like this.

Punt guns were usually custom-designed and varied widely, but could have bore diameters exceeding 2 inches (51 mm) and the load could be as much as 1 lb (.45 kg), a single discharge able to kill some four dozen birds on the water’s surface.  Because of the power of the weapon, they were solidly mounted so the aiming was achieved by aligning the bow of the punt with the intended line of fire and such was the force exerted that in still water a punt would move backwards by several inches with every discharge.  Punts equipped with a punt gun can thus be thought of as small-scale monitors, the class of warship which carried a single, large bore canon although on monitors, the gun was in a turret and could thus be aimed independently of the direction the of the hull.  To maximize the slaughter, hunters would sometimes assemble punts in a flotilla of up to a dozen punts, their formation arranged to provide a wild field of fire and one optimized to limit the wastage (ie there being no need to kill a bird more than once).  One barrage could thus kill hundreds.

Take aim and fire.

Punt guns were usually muzzle-loaded and double and even triple barrelled versions were built and they allowed a method of hunting which was so shockingly efficient that in the US, by the mid nineteenth century, waterfowl stocks had been depleted to such an extent that almost all state governments their use.  Punts guns are prized by collectors and at exhibitions a firing is a popular part of the show and in the UK, they are occasionally still used by the military for ceremonial purposes although the loads are now optimized for volume rather than lethality.