I am definitely a history buff, but not so buff in the field of mechanical engineering. Nonetheless, I was interested to learn that the invention of the metal screw, used since by countless carpenters and handymen in their craft, is credited to the Ancient Greek mathematician Archytas of Tarentum in the year 400 BC. There, for the first time, was a slender metal pin with a slotted head and a raised, spiral, curvy thread running around it.
It was exactly 2,334 years later when Carl Hubbell, a standout pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, first perfected the screwball pitch in the 1934 All-Star Game. He basically took the curveball and added pressure with his index finger and a twisting wrist motion which created the spiral movement of the ball. The twirling pitch would break in the opposite direction of the more routine slider, thus catching the batter by surprise.
It was during this same mid-1930’s period in films that the term “screwball comedy” was coined, describing a new genre of movies in which fast-paced, downright “screwy” dialogue and farcical, twisting plots left the movie audience as surprised as those original batters.
Later the screwball phenomenon moved to television, where Lucille Ball’s character, Lucy Ricardo, came to personify the screwball heroine through her antic stunts, breaking codes of decorum, class, and occasionally even gender. There was always an endearing appeal to the screwball, not too different from the charm of the “goofball.”
And that brings us to the one “ball” which stands out from the others: the “oddball”. This moniker is clearly an upgrade from the demeaning “scuzzball” and “sleazeball,” yet a definite downgrade from the more charming “screwball” and “goofball,” which are more endearing.
Unlike here in the US, the British put a positive spin on eccentricity. They love those whom they consider “characters.” Rather than labeling them with derogatory names like “crackpots” or “weirdos”, as we might do, the British like to call them “barmy”— derived from their term ”barm,” which is the froth that rises on beer when it’s fermenting. What could be more delightful than the Brits seeing their oddballs as having beer foam in their brains!
I am also nuts about the Brits’ other favorite term for oddballs: “nutters.” Whereas over here we might fudge a bit and call oddball behavior “squirrelly,” our British cousins leave out the middleman (or “middle chipmunk,” as the case may be) and just call a nut a nut. And speaking of nuts, beginning in the 1940’s, the British started using the slang term “nuttery” to describe their mental hospitals.
In these days of greater sensitivity toward those suffering with aberrant behavior, it is comforting to remember that slang terms like “nutter”or “barmy” still connote both fondness and endearment.
I myself can certainly be classified as an oddball (“You, Professor Engel? Never!”). I wouldn’t know where to begin in listing my quirky behaviors. For today, let me discuss my passion for kosher dills. I can’t think of a sandwich — even peanut butter and jelly — that isn’t improved immensely by a briny cucumber accompaniment. For all I know, the British might fondly dub me a “gherkin jerkin” for my oddball behavior. But here in the good ol’ USA, I proudly see myself as that rarest of eccentrics — The Pickleball.