"So TIME and PLACE and who you are talking about matters, and I wish all
historic sites would be careful to make these distinctions. The good ones
have done their research on THEIR people, and put them in time and space
context. Some are just too content to generalize, and we get these "they
all
were...." myths. History is complicated! History is local!"

Carol Ely
Museum Consultant, Louisville

Hear! Hear!   - I think I will never really get to the length of this
riddle (pun intended), but I have learned something:  just because the
guide says it, doesn't mean it is true.  I have always tended to be a bit
naieve towards this in my constantly seeking new information. Someone else
on list said that the answer wasn't just a single factor, too.  As humans,
we tend to search for that, don't we - the single, simple answer. All year
I have been studying various ideas in grad school: complex truths,
authenticity, etc.  I understood them, but this little exercise has just
added some perspective.  And, if I wasn't doing an exit project on
interpretive programming, I'd do my thesis on 19th-20th c bed lengths!!!
However, I am going to find out WHAT house that was I toured with the
really short bed, and I'll let you know.

Thanks to all that proposed answers and participated.  It has been fun!

Lori Allen
Graduate Student, History and Museum Studies
University of Missouri - St. Louis

"Well behaved women rarely make history."
                                  - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Historian

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