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[MINI THREAD: TRADING HORSES, COWS, AND MEN]
1/9
Today's used-car salesmen were yesterday's horsetraders in more ways than one. Horses were a common trade before cars showed up. As modes of commute, horses needed certain qualities in order to command a better price.
![[MINI THREAD: TRADING HORSES, COWS, AND MEN]1/9Today's used-car salesmen were yesterday's horsetraders in more ways than one. Horses were a common trade before cars showed up. As modes of commute, horses needed certain qualities in order to command a better price.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EdHZVM2VcAA4CF6.jpg "[MINI THREAD: TRADING HORSES, COWS, AND MEN]1/9Today's used-car salesmen were yesterday's horsetraders in more ways than one. Horses were a common trade before cars showed up. As modes of commute, horses needed certain qualities in order to command a better price.")
1/9
Today's used-car salesmen were yesterday's horsetraders in more ways than one. Horses were a common trade before cars showed up. As modes of commute, horses needed certain qualities in order to command a better price.
2/9
Qualities like sturdiness, patience, trainability, etc. were often fudged to fool buyers into paying more at the horse fair. So you see, these traders weren't like today's used-car salesmen just because they sold modes of transport but also because they were dishonest.
Qualities like sturdiness, patience, trainability, etc. were often fudged to fool buyers into paying more at the horse fair. So you see, these traders weren't like today's used-car salesmen just because they sold modes of transport but also because they were dishonest.
3/9
In 1893 the brand new Grover Cleveland government proposes outlawing of false newspaper circulation figures as attempts to mislead the public. In response, a @nytimes editorial joked that banning misleading lies would doom the horse trade before anything else.
In 1893 the brand new Grover Cleveland government proposes outlawing of false newspaper circulation figures as attempts to mislead the public. In response, a @nytimes editorial joked that banning misleading lies would doom the horse trade before anything else.
4/9
2 years later a banker by the name of Edward Noyes Westcott came down with tuberculosis and decided to write a novel during his days off work. The work, set in upstate New York, was titled after its lead protagonist, David Harum.
2 years later a banker by the name of Edward Noyes Westcott came down with tuberculosis and decided to write a novel during his days off work. The work, set in upstate New York, was titled after its lead protagonist, David Harum.
5/9
After several rejections, as is the case with any first-time author even today, the manuscript finally reached the desk of Ripley Hitchcock at D. Appleton & Company in December 1897. Hitchcock had earlier edited for names like Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling.
After several rejections, as is the case with any first-time author even today, the manuscript finally reached the desk of Ripley Hitchcock at D. Appleton & Company in December 1897. Hitchcock had earlier edited for names like Arthur Conan Doyle and Rudyard Kipling.
6/9
After a few minor edits, Hitchcock agreed to publish and the novel hit shelves in the fall of 1898 becoming an instant hit with the readers, selling 400k copies in the first year alone. Sadly, Westcott wasn't around to enjoy his success, he had died 6 months earlier.
After a few minor edits, Hitchcock agreed to publish and the novel hit shelves in the fall of 1898 becoming an instant hit with the readers, selling 400k copies in the first year alone. Sadly, Westcott wasn't around to enjoy his success, he had died 6 months earlier.
7/9
The single biggest legacy of this work was the term horsetrading. Harum, the protagonist, was a horsetrader who didn't mind employing dubious means to stay in business. The expression became a meme generations before memes became a thing.
The single biggest legacy of this work was the term horsetrading. Harum, the protagonist, was a horsetrader who didn't mind employing dubious means to stay in business. The expression became a meme generations before memes became a thing.
8/9
Eventually, the term came to be used for vote trading in political contexts thanks to its connotations of dishonesty and chicanery. Being catchier, it completely replaced logrolling, the term in currency for such politics until that point.
Eventually, the term came to be used for vote trading in political contexts thanks to its connotations of dishonesty and chicanery. Being catchier, it completely replaced logrolling, the term in currency for such politics until that point.
9/9
Political bargaining and associated corruption isn't limited to America. Almost every country has a name for it. Germany has Kuhhandel, Finland has Lehmänkauppa, and Sweden has Kohandel. All 3 terms translate into cow trading.
Political bargaining and associated corruption isn't limited to America. Almost every country has a name for it. Germany has Kuhhandel, Finland has Lehmänkauppa, and Sweden has Kohandel. All 3 terms translate into cow trading.
