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HandkerchiefA handkerchief or hanky is a square of fabric, usually carried in the pocket, for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or blowing one's nose, but also used as a decorative accessory in a suit pocket. Richard II of England is said to have invented the handkerchief, as "little pieces [of cloth] for the lord King to wipe and clean his nose," appear in his Household Rolls or accounts, which is the first documented use of them.[citation needed] Historically, white handkerchiefs have been used in place of a white flag to indicate surrender or a flag of truce.
Additional recommended knowledge
ControversyUse of handkerchief instead of facial tissue paper is often seen as old-fashioned and, especially in North America, unhygienic. On the other hand, some see it as a more environment-conscious choice. In Japan and Sri Lanka, those carrying a handkerchief are considered to be well-educated.[citation needed] The Kleenex company hadn't initially imagined that people would want a disposable handkerchief, so they initially marketed their product exclusively as a make-up removal tool. It was only later after they discovered that people were blowing their noses into the tissue that they began marketing it for this purpose. [1] A bandana is a larger type of handkerchief often printed in a vibrant color and with a paisley pattern. Bandanas are most often used to hold hair back, as a fashionable head accessory, or to identify gang affiliation. In the US, for instance, the Crips gang members use blue handkerchiefs, and their rivals, the Bloods, use red. Folding stylesWhen used as an accessory to a suit, a handkerchief is known as a pocket square. There are a wide variety of ways to fold a pocket square, ranging from the austere to the flamboyant:
In popular cultureIn the United Kingdom at least, the handkerchief has become something of a comedy item. In particular, the British phenomenon of wearing a handkerchief with tied corners on one's head at the beach has become a seaside postcard stereotype. Another source of comedy is found when a more expensive or important item is mistaken for a handkerchief, for example a tie or a pair of curtains. Other occurrences are formed from the comedic potential of a loud sneeze and subsequent nose-blowing;
In Spanish football, it is a common sight to see supporters waving white handkerchiefs as an expression of deep emotion, both positive in admiration of an exceptional performance by their team or a particular player (even an opposition player as was experienced by Ronaldinho during a victory for FC Barcelona over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, in which Madrid fans openly applauded his performance), or more commonly negatively in disgust at an especially bad performance by their team. In some movies and television programs, it is used as an agent to hold a few drops of chloroform to hold over a victim's mouth and nose to render them unconscious. References
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Handkerchief". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |