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| Source: shortsnorter.org |
"It is said," writes John Steinbeck in his collection of World War II dispatches titled Once There Was a War, "and with some truth, that while the Germans fight for world domination and the English for the defense of England, the Americans fight for souvenirs." Yes, some American soldiers collected some odds and ends, but a number of them took part in something that could be considered the Facebook of the time. In 1943 many soldiers became "short snorters," that is, they would gather with other soldiers and each of them would sign a dollar bill (or $10, $20 or $100) and keep the bills in their wallets. If they were caught without the signed bill, they would pay each soldier who signed it a dollar or buy them a drink An interesting tradition!
Steinbeck describes this tradition and how currencies from other countries were used as well. Some people had significant "streamers" made up of paper currencies with signatures. What an interesting way to socialize and interact with others....years ahead of the Facebook phenomenon. To learn more about the short-snorter phenomenon, check out this website: http://shortsnorter.org/.
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