Is a stapler truly "Brontosaural"?
Throughout reading the book, there was one detail I couldn't get off my mind. So, I figured I too would go off on a tangent like Howie. In The Mezzanine, Nicholas Baker refers to the shape of a stapler as "brontosaural" (Baker 14) very early on. For most, this detail would fly over their heads and seem like an accurate metaphor, a long neck is a long neck. Though when I read this, my immeadiate thought was, "brontosaural is an incorrect term for this era", but it was really only incorrect depending on how he meant it.
For background, the Brontosaurus was discovered in 1879, just two years after the Apatosaurus. For a while they were classified in seperate genuses. But, in 1903, the paleontology world was making major developments, putting the Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus in the same genus because they were thought to have very minor differences between the fossils. Due to the Apatosaurus being discovered first it took priority in naming and the Brontosaurus was called invalid, leaving Apatosaurus as the true dinosaur. So during the time Nicholas Baker wrote and published The Mezzanine in the 80s, he most likely was using it was to actually refer to an Apatosaurus, which at the time was the current evidence. It was found later in 2015, that Brontosaurus and Apatosaurus had differences between them, that were small but major for classification. Like slight changes in bone structure, and a much different body type from one another.
Overall, I believe a Brontosaurus is an accurate look to a stapler and is a great metaphor. Though either one Brontosaurus or Apatosaurus would fit this great imagery. Baker did a great job describing it, he was just in the wrong era to be using Brontosaurus. If the book was published before 1903 or after 2015 then it would have been completely correct, it was merely bad timing.
Brontosaurus
Apatosaurus
Hi, Emma! Your blog made me smile.This was something I remember reading and was really confused. I can tell you spend a good amount of time researching, but I personally don't see the physical similarities.
ReplyDeleteNot being a dinosaur guy, it looks to me like either would work as a metaphor for the shape of a stapler arm. As a kid I remember mainly hearing the word "Brontosaurus" in my pantheon of cool dinosaurs (along with Triceratops and Tyrannosaurus), and "brontosaural" probably works better as a neologism-adjective than "apatosauran," if only because the terms would be more common/familiar to the casual reader, who may not have been following the recent advances in paleontology. I do love this example of a Bakerian metaphor, though, precisely because he *doesn't* emphasize it in any way. You can almost read past it, thinking it's an adjective you're just not familiar with, and it makes you pause and reconsider in what senses a stapler shape could be described in this way.
ReplyDeleteAlso I think the kind of stapler he's describing is seen less often nowadays--they used to be longer, with more of a slight curve in the arc of the arm, and with a little push-button "head" at the top. The photo you've included is somewhat brontosaural in shape, but staplers used to be even more so.
Emma, this was both a fun post, and a very Baker-like tangent for you to explore. Looking at the pictures provided, it is clear that the apatosaurus has a neck that much more clearly represents a large vintage stapler. I would have never even came close to identifying this distinction. What I think makes this different from a Baker tangent however, is that instead of it being a hypothesis or guess, you performed actual research. Howie's tangents are clearly just his own musings, and not actual facts he is telling the reader of. For example, he discusses how drinking alcohol might make the brain function better, as it prunes the weaker connections. We know this to be obviously false, and Howie would as well if he put the same effort into researching it as you did.
ReplyDeleteYour Howie-inspired tangent was fun to read. In your own way, you brought another seemingly insignificant detail to life and to my attention the same way that Baker does in his writing style. This book often included long, jam-packed sentences that I would find tricky to follow because of the frequent unfamiliar adjectives and comparisons as uniquely visual forms of describing objects, so I thought it was cool how your blog embraced and dove into analyzing his descriptions. I appreciated the dedication to research as well! Learn something new every day :)
ReplyDeleteHi Emma! This was such a fun blog to read. When I first read the stapler line, I could kind of picture the similarity to a brontosaurus without even really knowing much about dinosaurs, just from imagination and vibes. But your closer analysis, which honestly felt very Howie of you, made me rethink it and actually question whether Baker had the right dinosaur in mind at all. I liked how you didn't just take the metaphor at face value and actually dug into the history behind it, that's such a random rabbit hole to go down but it fits the spirit of the book perfectly. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting way of analyzing this book; really taking a page out of Baker's book (double entendre 🧐) and looking closely at one small detail. I had never heard of an Apatosaurus, but either way I must admit that I don't love this metaphor. Out of all the similes Baker uses in The Mezzanine this one really doesn't land for me. Staplers are chunky and pretty flat, while the defining feature of a Brontosaurus or Apatosaurus is it's long, disproportionately thin neck. Either way nice blog!
ReplyDeleteEmma! Love this tangent! it feels very fitting for you and also for Baker's style. I bet if baker could dive into this topic given the new information discovered about the difference between brontosaurs and apatosaurs, he would be fairly accurate. not to be confused with the brachiosaurus!! Great blog!
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