While navigating unfamiliar pop culture references in the Puzzmo crosswords this morning, I wondered if there are people who obsess about decades-old crossword puzzles.
Answer: yes. So I tried doing the May 17, 1942 NYT crossword helpfully provided by xwordinfo, and yep, it requires a similar level of right-now cultural knowledge as today's crosswords. Being the NYT, there is more gravitas in the clues (we're looking for a political leader of India, not a Bollywood star). But you know what truly defeated me?
"Glutinous substance used in fabric." It's starch.
Intellectually I know from reading old home ec books that people routinely starched their shirts and dresses. I have never used liquid starch myself, and the last time I spray-starched a shirt while ironing was maybe 2009. However, there's massive starch consciousness online (here's a sample that's not explicitly trad-wife content), so I guess a detailed laundry routine is now aspirational.
That amuses the hell out of me, because my years of involvement in the decluttering world mean all I hear about are how people cannot bring themselves to clear the "laundry chair" or to put away their laundry. Surely there's an Opposites Attract rom-com here, in which A carefully starches and irons every week, while B has a pile of clothing at the foot of the bed.