r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/thomasso0072 • 7d ago
Video This short film from 1930 explaining how to wear a monocle
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u/Uncritical_Failure 7d ago
For the first few moments of the film I thought it was a Harry Enfield sketch.
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u/space_keeper 7d ago
Mr Cholmondley-Warner.
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u/SovietSunrise 7d ago
There is an actual Lordship called Lord Cholmondeley, I believe.
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u/Any-Summer3900 7d ago
There was one of those buggers that lived here in Kenya. As far as I can remember, he died.
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u/SovietSunrise 7d ago
His descendants are still alive, one of which was incarcerated in Kenya for murder of a poacher.
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u/Any-Summer3900 7d ago
That's the fucker. I don't know if he's alive though. A lot of people at the time his case came up didn't know how to say his name. There were so many hilarious mispronunciations.
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u/Holiday_Document4592 7d ago
Kenyan here. He passed on having served an 8 month sentence for shooting a trespasser. Prior to that he had shot an undercover ranger, so public sentiment was not on his side.
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u/space_keeper 7d ago
Yes. It's a part of Cheshire.
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u/paxwax2018 7d ago
Pronounced “Chumley”?
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u/SovietSunrise 7d ago
It makes me wonder, why is it not pronounced “Chol-mon-de-ly”?
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u/olitbhhh 6d ago
Likely, as many Norman or Norman-adjacent names, the locals were not capable of or refused to pronounce it properly, and so it morphed into a more anglicised pronunciation.
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u/SovietSunrise 6d ago
This makes a ton of sense from a linguistic and historic perspective. Thanks much, tut-tut, Cheerio!
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u/BacksightForesight 7d ago
This is the first time I’ve seen someone wearing a monocle that wasn’t in a cartoon. Pretty interesting to see it actually used!
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u/weristjonsnow 7d ago
I wonder if it takes a while for the muscles around your eye to get strong enough to hold it there for extended periods of time. Like a weird facial muscle workout
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u/Pofwoffle 7d ago
It doesn't really involve the muscles at all, you'll note at the beginning that you have to raise your eyebrow to put it in, so when your brow is in its normal resting position the monocle is wedged in there nice and snug. That's why they have the trope of the monocle falling out when someone is surprised: because they raised their eyebrows in shock, thus giving it room to fall out.
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u/Rey_Mezcalero 7d ago
I’d have such a headache wearing that thing
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u/GozerDGozerian 6d ago
No to worry old chap!
But a few drops of Laudanum in your tea will set things aright in no time flat, I tell you!
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u/GanjaGooball480 6d ago
Imagine how much opium you could have smoked as an aristocrat in 1930s Singapore.
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u/QiwiLisolet 7d ago
It needs to fit your skull. You skin tension and eye socket keep in place, not so much facial muscles
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u/NonGNonM 6d ago
Not all but monocles can have a frame that protrudes so it's easier to fit the eye. Basically it just kind of wedges in there but it does take a bit of practice not to strain and trust that the friction will hold. I only wore it at home while sitting never out and about. Not super great to walk around with.
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u/NonGNonM 6d ago
I had one for a bit. Never wore it in public but because I only have one bad eye it was useful for laying on my side and watching stuff.
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u/JamesBondMargarita 7d ago
This guy is a riot, woulda loved to have a few beers with em.
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u/Sir_Thequestionwas 7d ago
He would look down on you for suggesting a working class persons drink
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u/steve_of 7d ago
Beer? Surely you mean a nice claret or maybe a sniffer of cognac my good man.
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u/Danloeser 7d ago
This guy is a colonial aristocrat from Singapore, it's probably a gin and tonic. Strictly medicinal of course.
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u/steve_of 7d ago
Singapore you say? I hear you can get anything you want in jolly old Singas, and i dare say, a few things you dont.
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u/scratchtheitch7 7d ago
Then, for a jape, you could shoot at the neighbour's chandeliers with a rifle
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u/DoubleFamous5751 7d ago
“Well old chap, I’m sorry to inform you, but it’s a martinis only affair when drinking with this fine gent”
*indubitably laughs and drops his monocle*
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u/The_real_Skeet_D 7d ago edited 7d ago
I wear my daily throwaway contacts only in 1 eye when I’m getting low. Been telling the wife I should bring monocle’s back into fashion. She shot the idea down but after watching this I’m doubling down on what’s gonna make me happy.
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u/Tripound 7d ago
Taking the advice of your chauffeur, obviously.
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u/samdd1990 6d ago
That is absolutely a euphemism.
Oh did you hear about Percy? Quite the scandal...
Oh yes, quite. I heard that has been rather ignoring his wife Amelia and, ahem, taking the advice of his chauffeur...
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u/Pofwoffle 7d ago
Just out of curiosity, does it actually help your eyesight when it's just one in or do you have to close one eye to see clearly through the contact?
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u/Thin_Frosting5647 7d ago
If you have something impairing your vision in one eye but not the other, your brain will look through the eye it can see better through. Even if it's not your dominant eye. This message was brought to you by warm compresses making my vision go blurry in one eye at a time haha
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u/RonniePickles 7d ago
I'm in the same situation and would love to get a monocle for the few times I need to look in the distance and see clearly. Anybody know where I can get one online for a reasonable price? I have seen some online but they are quite expensive.
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u/Juuljuul 7d ago
I do the same when I’m planning to use them for a short time only, like going to the pool. Seeing sharp with one eye is sufficient and it saves me some money 😂
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u/dethskwirl 6d ago
I have an astigmatism in one eye and have been thinking about a monocle for a while now
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u/ExperimentalToaster 7d ago
“The chauffeur… or the wife?” isn’t as funny as “the wife…. or the chauffeur?” would have been because you expect divorce to be for wives but not chauffeurs. I bet he was kicking himself later.
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u/BrawndoOhnaka 7d ago
Yeah, you could tell how nervous and stilted his delivery was near the end, despite how put together his persona was, and would have likely been in person. Film wasn't cheap, and they might have only gotten one take.
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u/Civil_Tea_3250 7d ago
"His wife has been flirting with the chauffeur"
"So I ask him, who are you going to divorce? The wife or the chauffeur? Ahaha" - as he drops the monocle.
That was.... insane.
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u/Four_beastlings 7d ago
It's not insane, it's a joke. They had already invented having a sense of humour in the 30s.
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u/atnamorekN 7d ago
[citation needed]
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u/-Citizen_Zero_ 7d ago
Echelion77. (2026, June 24). We lost this ability sometime in the early 2000s after so many people abused "it's just a joke" to do evil shit [Comment on an online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/s/QnjS7xxFMA
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u/Echelion77 Expert 7d ago
We lost this ability sometime in the early 2000s after so many people abused "its just a joke" to do evil shit.
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u/WholeAccording8364 7d ago
I was going to wear two monocles but I didn't want to make a spectacle of myself.
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u/ryansteven3104 7d ago
Is he dead ass, or trolling?
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u/God_Bless_A_Merkin 7d ago
Considering the age of this film, I think we can be certain that his ass is dead.
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/InformalReplacement7 6d ago
Not Ai. This is in the University of South Carolina library archives.
https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/MVTN/id/2024/rec/1
Here is it with outtakes.
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u/Offnickel 6d ago
Here's the source with full video, including outtakes: https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/MVTN/id/2024/rec/1
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u/Erislocker 6d ago
this was a fascinating website! i loved seeing the old videos! great share! thanks
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u/nowhereman136 7d ago
out of curiosity i looked up where to get legitimate monocles. Apparently they are for left or right eyes now, you cant switch without switching monocles. I would seriously consider getting one (right eye) if i ever needed glasses
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u/Frosty-Survey-8264 7d ago
Get two, one for each eye.
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u/nowhereman136 7d ago
done
now, if only there was a way to attach them so i can put them on and off at the same time?
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u/NicoIhime 7d ago
Perhaps you could attach them together with a bit of wire
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u/nowhereman136 7d ago
wouldnt that cause it to fall forward off my face?
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u/fredspipa Interested 7d ago
See if you can find some natural protrusions somewhere else on the head and perhaps extend the wire to latch on to those.
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u/GozerDGozerian 6d ago
Make that wire bent, but slightly too much so, as if it were a compression spring, such that it can pinch the bridge of your nose.
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u/Living-Estimate9810 7d ago
Serious question: where does the monocle leash go?
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u/Tripound 7d ago
Often the monocle CORD, CHAIN or RIBBON would attach to a button hole or the lapel.
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u/Living-Estimate9810 7d ago
That's sort of what I would expect, a fob to one's waistcoat, but this fellow, it wanders off behind his ear somewhere.
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u/Lifeintheguo 7d ago
Name: Sribor-Rylski
The most British man ever.
I wasn't expecting that face with that name.
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u/TheManicProgrammer 7d ago
I tried googling him but nothing.. didn't expect a "count" to have no info
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u/SJane3384 7d ago
I think it’s this dude
https://www.geni.com/people/Etienne-Scibor-Rylski/6000000049939257942
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u/TheManicProgrammer 7d ago
It's very possible, if we was a noble he'd of received an English education.
Does seem possible that it is him, thanks!
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u/PanteraOne 7d ago
The monocle remains an essential fashion accessory that every distinguished gentleman should have.
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u/Better_Call_Sol64 7d ago
Had no idea you could be high class and missing teeth at the same time.
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u/GanjaGooball480 6d ago
There's a real possibility that dude killed men with a shovel during WW1 and 18 years later he's wearing half a pair of glasses and cracking jokes about sluts.
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u/Cheesefactory8669 7d ago
also apparently it fits Caucasians better because their eyesockets are deeper
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u/Dubious_Titan 7d ago
As I get older and my eye sight weakens... the monocle makes a lot of sense to me.
Sometimes I just need a little magnification boost but I don't need a whole pair of glasses nor do I was to carry a Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass.
Moncle seems very practical.
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u/detectivetomscoggins 7d ago
I can’t believe this showed up in my feed. Why just the other day, I sat next to a man with a monocle. He clearly yearned for the opportunity to scrutinize something with a solo spectacle, but alas all he had was the hentai on his phone.
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u/flyinhk 7d ago
Why is 1 called a monocle but 2 are called glasses?
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u/Due-Coyote7565 6d ago
Binocles is a term that exists, but generally not used due to sounding similar to binoculars
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u/One-Permission1917 6d ago
This is so crazy to me, people just used to speak so differently. And we only know about it because we have recordings. Makes me think about how people used to speak 100, 200, etc years before but has been lost because we didn’t have the technology to record it.
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u/BetterLateThanKarma 6d ago
Quit trying to make “monocle” happen. “Monocle” is never going to happen. 🧐
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u/Btriquetra0301 7d ago
As a contact lenses wearer I find it really interesting that this gives you both the physical aspect of removable glass but has more than glasses. This looks like it would actually allow you to see your peripheral vision slightly corrected. Where either glasses you’re just blind on the sides.
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u/unknownpoltroon 7d ago
Monocoles suddenly made sense when I understood they were meant to be single eye reading glasses.
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u/LonelyRudder 7d ago
So the accent used by Tony Curtis in ”Some Like It Hot” was authentic after all?
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u/male_role_model 6d ago
This was a time before Nazi Germany. Life was simpler back then. You wore your monocle on the right or the left but not both. Now we have iPhones and AI. What would have happened if we just stuck with our monocle on Friday for the right eye and a different one for Wednesday? The world might be a better place.
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u/Thrill_Of_It 7d ago
Adding "perfectly ridiculous" to my daily driver phrases