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Posted by Doc Dave [66.82.9.74] on Monday, March 08, 2010 at 18:35:44 :
Everybody knows what a tow hook is, right?
Does anyone here know (without Googling) what the original meaning of the word "tow hook" was?
I was reading a historical magazine the other day and they answered the question.
The picture here is of "tow", which is a pile of plant fibers from the flax plant. Back in the day (1800's) they used flax, hemp and cotton fibers to cushion items in crates. They called this "tow".
According to the article a tow hook was a tool used to rip open the wooden crates and also pull out the "tow" so you could get the items.
Obviously this stuff is golden in color so that is how supposedly we got the term "tow head" for blonds.
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