Hey, Camp Folks!

Strap in for another investigation of those old sayings that folks around particular regions of the country as well as the world have been using for so long that they’ve forgotten where the phrase originated from in the first place. Our language is peppered with these sayings and old adages. Today, let’s hold up our magnifying glass to the phrase The Pen is Mightier than the Sword to see what it means and where it comes from.

The Meaning
Really what’s being said here is that conflicts can often be solved by intellectual means as opposed to physical fighting—and will be more effective as a result as well. Some other phrases with the same revelation are 'words are weapons’, ‘words cut deeper than a knife’, and ‘some words hurt more than swords’.

The Origin
"The pen is mightier than the sword" was first written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839 as a line in his play ‘Cardinal Richelieu’ (the main villain in The Three Musketeers). A rather poetic way to say that words communicate better than violence, it makes perfect sense that this phrase was originally from a play.

The Point
It can be easy to give in to our animalistic impulse to fight when someone is doing something that upsets us, but as the heroes of countless classics teach us, the clever and cunning thinkers are the ones who come out the victor of certain issues and circumstances.

So remember, kids—use your words; they’re likely to get you the results you want out of a situation much better than resorting to violent means. Violence is never the answer. Check back in when we return for another Adage Origin Blog post in October when we’ll take a look at the phrase ‘Dead as a Doornail’. As always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans—Hard brake! *URRRRrrrrrrrr!*

If you’re reading this and you plan on participating in our ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest but have yet to actually enter your story, then stop what you’re doing and visit our submissions page right now—click here! Take your entry, put it into the submission field, fill out the other fields, and hit submit. Or you can opt to upload your camp story too—whichever method you prefer.

Today is the last day for taking submissions, however, so make with the haste before the cutoff cuts you out of this year’s contest!

We want to hear from as many of our readers as possible! This has quickly become one of our favorite times of the year; not only does it mark the close of our busy season, but we also get to hear about all the accomplishments and friendships you made as well as what fears you may have overcome or simply what your favorite part was about going to summer camp!

We hope you’re as excited as we are to find out who among our participants will be winning the gift card prizes. To reiterate the breakdown from previous posts, there will be the first round of winners made up of six participants who won the $50 gift card to our site. Next, there will be three $100 gift card winners. And then we have our grand prize winner of a $300 gift card.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the fun! Tune in a couple weeks from now on Tuesday, September 7^th when we reveal our first random winner and publish their entry right here on the Blog to kick off this year’s ‘Share Your Camp Story’ Contest collection. Maybe it’ll be yours! Looking forward to it, Camp Fans! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Rockers!

Unlike any other sport, Rock Climbing presents challenges to both our physical and mental abilities. It’s an extraordinary test of one’s strength, endurance, agility, balance, and mental control. In order for climbers to reach the summit of their ascensions safely, they must study and train to use proper climbing techniques as well as proper climbing equipment.

Chinese paintings from a little over 2000 years ago depict men climbing a mountain. And cliff-dwelling Anasazi natives in 12^th Century America are thought to have been excellent climbers. Early European climbers used rock climbing techniques as a skill required to reach the summit in their mountaineering exploits. But by the 1850s, climbing mountains was transforming from a necessity in travel into a distinct athletic activity!

This is where we meet the hero of our story: an avid climber named John Ball. He’s known for popularizing the Dolomites, a mountain range found in northeastern Italy. Throughout his research of the mountain range and his experiences climbing the mountains there, John founded the Alpine Club and became the first club president in 1857. He was joined by many other climbers who made their first ascents with his guidance.

Among many other accomplishments, John was the first in 1857 to climb a major Dolomites peak (Monte Pelmo). He also traveled in Morocco and South America later on in life and the recorded observations he made throughout his pursuits were published in scientific periodicals.

Not only famous for his Alpine club, John also published in the later 1860s his well-respected work of the Alpine guide book—a result of countless climbs and journeys that produced careful observation that was recorded in clear (and typically entertaining) style.

Since John’s days, Rock Climbing has only become recognized more so as a legitimate sport. In 2016, the International Olympic Committee made a formal announcement that Rock Climbing would be a medal sport in the next summer Olympics (which ended only a few weeks ago). Enjoy your climbing escapades in the future and, as always thanks for reading!

- John

Summer camp products are all made to be packable and mobile. How do you turn something like a desk into something you can take out into the wilderness? Put a cushion on the bottom of a flat surface and you got yourself a Lapdesk! We carry Lapdesks from this awesome brand, iScream. But how did we get to this point of providing a camping desk? Let’s take a peek at the history of desks and the transformation they’ve made over the years.

We don’t need to go back to ancient times like we did for the desk’s partner in crime: the Chair. Desks appear to be a much more current necessity, going back only to the Renaissance Period—as early as the 1300s. We get the word ‘desk from the Latin word ‘desca’ which in English means “table to write on".

Just for Scribes
We see desks of the Medieval and Renaissance times in illustrations, depicted as large, cumbersome contraptions with giant storage spaces dedicated to the large and dense manuscript volumes from back in the day. These desks would be equipped with slots and hooks for bookmarking as these desks were utilized by scribes who would spend their days reading and writing.  

Take Your Seats
For a long time, most children either attended their small, village schoolhouse or were given their education at home. But by 1880, schools had grown more popular and bigger. It was an Ohio man named John Loughlin who invented the first school desk with chair attachment that connected to the desk. It’s undergone some changes since the original, however, but it became an extremely popular style for students and is still used in the classroom today.

This is Business
In more recent times, the business boom exploded with certain fields that

involve call centers, computer work, finances or any other profession that requires sitting at a desk (desk jobs). The sudden demand for an infinite number and style of desk sparked mass production and steered desk manufacturing away from finely crafted office furniture as woodworking machinery could rapidly assemble batches of desks.

Maybe your home is still adorned with a desk that’s a work of art from some craftsmen of the current day or a long time ago. No matter what desk you typically sit at, appreciate the function and purpose it provides you and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Volleyball Fans!

Volleyball is a game of great coordination and skill. From volleying, to setting, to spiking, and serving, players have been perfecting their performance since the game saw its beginning more than a century ago in 1895. The game was invented soon after basketball and was made to be a combination sport, drawing from basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball.

The game was originally called “Mintonette,” invented by a man named William G. Morgan, a graduate of the Springfield College of the YMCA. The net was one of the original elements of the game—derived from tennis but raised higher. Next up was finding the right size and weight for the ball. Basketballs were too heavy and a soccer ball was too hard. Lastly, Morgan and two buddies wrote up ten rules to explain the concept of the sport.

Once their game design was complete, William G. Morgan took his new sport idea to a conference in 1896 where he demonstrated his idea with the use of two teams that showed the objective of Mintonette was to keep the ball in motion back and forth over the net. Professor Alfred T. Halstead was one among the spectators at this conference and, after watching the demonstration, proposed the name be changed to “Volley Ball”. It became a single word a little bit later.

In the next year, Morgan kept at it, ironing out the rules to Volleyball and 1897 marked the year of the first official North American YMCA Athletic League handbook. Decades passed and Volleyball had remained just a recreational game until the 1930s when it started getting recognition as a legitimate competitive sport with referees and championship games.

So find a net, pick up a ball, ask a couple of people, and give Volleyball a try if you’re not already an avid player. Enjoy volleying and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John