GOOD ANSWER, GEORGE !!.   Over here, in prehistoric old Europe, we
also stare in awe on  " recent American phenomenoms" (by the by, North or 
South American? ;-) ).  Dear yanks, you should sometimes realize that 
the world does not end in your frontiers.  And of course I do not mean to be
any offensive, either..... Though sometimes some questions manage to 
offend me.  Maybe I have not grasped, not being English speaking, the
meaning of closet. 
Montserrat Pin
Madrid
Spain. 
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On the 14th Janis Wilkens wrote:

>Do we know they *have* closets?  I thought closets were a pretty recent,
>mostly American phenomenon.  Can anyone clarify this?

Yep! The rest of the world still lives in caves, and we store our stuff on
rock ledges. Heck, we only invented coat hangers last year. Our next big
project is to invent the coats to hang on them.

Seriously, though, closets have been around a lot longer than the USA
nation has. Ever heard of the term "water closet"? which is an old
(medievil?) name for the bathroom, or toilet, or dunny (Australian Term).
Then there is also the old fairytale about the "Lion in the Closet" which
originates from somewhere in Europe. As for being a "mostly American
phenomenon" I'm sure that you will find plenty of closets in most nations
of the world. In fact, I'd be most surprised if there are more closets in
the USA than in the Peoples Republic of China. Other names for a closet
include cupboard and wardrobe.

Sorry to be so sarcastic, but just lately I've been been bombarded with
"mostly American phenomenons". It's beginning to get to me a bit. No
offence meant to my American (or other) colleagues.

Here's a bit of trivia for you: there are more mobile 'phones, VCR players
and video cameras per head of population in Australia than in the USA.

Happy new year!

George Bailey
Objects Conservator
Australian War Memorial
Treloar Centre for Conservation
4 Callan St, Mitchell, A.C.T. 2911
Australia
Phone: +61 6 241 6122
fax:   +61 6 241 7998
email: george.bailey§smtplink.awm.gov.au