One of our Chronocentric / OTD friends received a watch a few days ago, which he described as being the "bee's knees". I took this to mean that he considered his new watch to be the "ultimate" / the most amazing watch he had ever owned.
Of course, the next stop was Google, to find a suitable definition for this odd phrase, and here is what I found:
A bee's "corbiculae", or pollen-baskets, are located on its tibiae (midsegments of its legs). The phrase "the bee's knees", meaning "the height of excellence", became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s, along with "the cat's whiskers" (possibly from the use of these in radio crystal sets), "the cat's pajamas" (pyjamas were still new enough to be daring), and similar phrases which made less sense and didn't endure: "the eel's ankle", "the elephant's instep", "the snake's hip". Stories in circulation about the phrase's origin include: "b's and e's", short for "be-alls and end-alls"; and a corruption of "business".
So use this defition to inspire you and -- starting this Friday, December 7th -- post the photo of the watch that you consider to be the "Bee's Knees" --
- the ultimate watch
- the neatest watch you have ever seen
- the sweetest watch you own
- the be all and end all of your personal watch collecting
- the most amazing / elegant / brilliant design . . . ever [like those little pollen baskets on the bee's knees]
- the watch that is so great that if you never buy any other other watch, you will be happy with this one
To make it tough / selective, let's say that there is a limit of two watches per person [left knee and right knee]; it can be a watch that you own or the dream watch that keeps slipping away; vintage or modern; etc.
Of course, feel free to go off topic or to post whatever else you think will be interesting to the rest of the gang.
Jeff
