What's In A Name?

Titles are important. Beyond mere summations, they are capable of arresting curiosity, awakening emotional fervor, and even rousing corporeal action. Careful deliberation was taken in the christening of this, my first, blog. I decided that Disturb the Universe was a label with just the right amount of existentialistic kick and sunny disposition to best suit my vision… Apparently someone else did too. 

So what does Lost in the Wash do for you? Anything? There is a certain playfulness to be appreciated by anyone who has ever laundered socks, that’s for sure. And given the seemingly inevitable aggregative nature of blogs, Lost in the Wash could even work as a clever metaphor: a hub that examines those aspects of culture which might otherwise be overlooked while hastily taking care of business. Hey, that works!

But there is more to the origin of the title, more entertaining than escapades to local laundry mats.

King John, the first of England, is probably best known for signing Magna Carta. What was Magna Carta? Nothing special. It’s just regarded by historians to be the first step taken towards modern democracy. Don’t worry about it. Surely you’ve heard of King John of England? He was the major adversary of Robin Hood, a purely fictional individual made popular by Disney’s animation department? Well his story is far more amusing than all that nonsense.

The king was generally detested by his subjects once being crowned. He was given the nicknames of “Lackland” for losing all of England’s territory in continental Europe to France, and “Soft-sword” because his weapon of choice was more suited for the bedroom (if you know what I mean). John was a wicked man. Not only was he known for hitting women, but he also has young nephew castrated whereupon the boy died of shock. To make a long story short, John had to go.

He spent the end of his days out running the Prince of France, the exterminator requested by the English people, and met a fascinating end near the shores of a marshy region of eastern Britain known as the Wash. His sluggish baggage train, which included the Crown Jewels, thought they could surely navigate directly across the region before the tide came in. They were very wrong. Nearly all was lost to the Wash. John barely escaped, caught a cold, and died with in days. But not before consuming a large number of peaches, which he believed would cure the illness. People circa 1216 CE sure were silly. Isn’t history fun?

So there you have it. The Royal Crown Jewels of King John of England are still, to this day, lost somewhere in the Wash. How’s that for added metaphor? Titles sure are important. I hope you will enjoy this blog.