- Joined
- Nov 26, 2016
- Location
- central NC
According to a 19th century New York newspaper story reprinted in many papers — including the Cincinnati Enquirer on Oct. 21, 1893 — young women in offices were acting mysteriously by reaching out to men they met and turning the rings on their fingers. The idea was if a young lady met a young man with a ring on his finger, she was to turn his ring two or three times. Then with another man she was to do the same thing and then so on and so forth until she had turned rings to the extent of about 24 times. Afterwards the next thing to do was to look for a married person, male or female, wearing a marriage ring. The young woman was to turn that person’s ring twice, and the next man she shook hands with would become her husband. The craze was so popular and so time consuming that some New York businesses posted warnings: "Any employee caught practicing the ring turning business will be immediately discharged."
The newspaper account quoted a business owner saying, "The time we have lost through it would amount to days." And one woman told the newspaper that the strange practice worked like a charm. "I know of a young lady myself," she said, "who married the very man she shook hands with after turning the marriage ring. It comes true every time."
The ring-turning sensation lasted more than a decade. Would you have the audacity to participate in ring turning?
Last edited by a moderator: