I checked out this book called Illegal Drugs to help with an English paper. And in it, Paul Gahlinger claims an interesting origin for the word "hip". I'll type it directly from the book: The typical opium den contained benches or, in the better ones, upholstered couches, where the smoker could relax on his side to hold the long pipe. As the drug took effect, the addict would recline in this position, immobilized in a frozen stupor for hours at a time. Not surprizingly, many addicts developed sore hips. Smoking opium came to be called "on the hip" and then just "hip." Eventually, hip referred to anyone who was avant-garde. In the 1960s, the young people who inspired to be hip--to be involved with music, art, and psychoactive drugs--kept the term and were known as "hippies" (27). Has anyone heard this before?
Etymologically speaking there are two schools of thought, the one you described and another of african american origin (circa 1920s) where the word "Hip" is derived from "hep" Hotwater
i thought it was from hep, to be honest. hotwater, would that be during the harlem renaissance? where'd hep come from?
I just read something else quite fascinating in the book......He says that Dr. Hofmann researched a mold that grew on improperly stored rye and wheat when he was creating LSD. This mold was sometimes ingested for pleasure to explore other realms of reality. Gahlinger claims, "Some women did this by mixing the substances with oil to form an unguent that they applied to a broomstick. They then rubbed the stick along the vagina in an efficient method of absorbing the hallucinogenic agent. Woe to those who were caught! The sight of a woman laughing hysterically, naked, and riding a broomstick to a psychic realm was terrifying to the less adventerous public." Now that gets my immagination a rolling.....
yeah, that's true. there were loads of occaisions where it was ACCIDENTALLY ingested and entire towns lost it.
i'd like to see you prove that, considering it wasn't wildly in use by african americans, according to several sources, until the 30's & 40's.
Yea, it says that entire towns were pleagued by it....causeing "holy fires" in feet and hands. People lost the tip of their noses, ears, toes and fingers from the mold. When people started studying it, they found how to seperate the hallucinogenic properties with the other extreemly harmful ones.
regarding the african origin of "hep" or "hip," i FINALLY found reference to the Wolof language of the ubiquitous ethnic group in Senegal have a word similar, "hepi" or "hipi" which means "open eyes." a good indication of it's origins, except the problem is that it had several other equally valid possible origins. maybe it's like the pyramids in south america vs. the pyramids of north africa: springing up in seperate places among seperate cultures for similar reasons. whatever the case, no one agrees on the etymology, probably for personal preference reasons. everyone wants to claim it.
All I know is that if you break your hip you stand a chance to lose about 2 gallons on blood. Breaking your hip is not hip.
Don't be fooled young people can die from it too. On men so much blood pools into the Penis you Die with a stone cold Hardon. So they teach us this shit in medical school right, you have to check for Priaprism if you suspect internal bleeding. Well this gay guy in class would use this as an excuse to feel you up when we had to do self assessments. I stayed away from that guy.
Lodog, dude......If thats you on the right in your sig......you soooooo look exactly like someone I used to know. Like it's fuckin weird. Makers Mark makes me dizzy
