I was cruising e-bay earlier today, seeing how much people were asking for assorted moderately odd items like a small Viking-style utility knife. I noticed several things, one of which is that as a matter of style, modern Scandinavian knives are pretty hard to distinguish from those made a thousand years ago. I guess there’s not much point messing with a functional design. But there was one small knife posted that was mis-labeled, and had no bids. I thought about it, then clicked “contact seller” and instead of asking a question, told them what they had, and what it would cost new including shipping. (About $2.00 more than they were asking.) I got back a “thanks for the information” note. I don’t know what they’ll do with it, of course, but now they’ve got it. That’s not the first time I’ve done something like that, either. I found a sewing tool posted by someone who thought “bodkin” might be the brand name, rather than simply the name of the tool. So I e-mailed to tell her what it was and what it was used for. That one added the information to her posting.
I don’t know why I can’t just leave such things alone. I’m quite certain other people are; I can’t be the only one in the world who knows these things. I guess when you come right down to it I’m a confirmed, unabashed, unreconstructed busybody. At least it’s a harmless quirk. Everyone needs a hobby, right?