Cleaning your frying pan.

[Jimmayo]

There are few references to cleaning of mess gear so the following should be put into practice.

"The frying pan....after it was used by the mess would be placed outside of the men's tent or shelter to be licked clean by the camp dog and thus made ready for use (again)."

Who is going to bring the camp dog?

Letter from Pvt. Edgar Warfield, Co. H, 17th Va. Inf in 1864 near Richmond. Letter contained in No Soap, No Pay, Diarrhea, Dysentery & Desertion edited by Jeff Toalson.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

Who is going to bring the camp dog?

Still going to the wrong events? :D

Seriously, that's a great little tidbit. If I'd seen that before Winter 64, I'd have let Conan the camp dog do that. It doesn't sound as unsanitary as one might think, since we're talking about frying pans, not plates. A frying pan is going to get sterilized at 400+ degrees next time it's used, and not even the most stubborn dog germs could survive that.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Jimmayo]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

Hope the camp dog doesn't give it a rinse after he licks it clean.

Nice point about sterilizing the pan. May not be such a far fetched method of cleaning the pan after all.

[lukegilly13]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

Well, i'm quite sure they didn't know this then, and I could be wrong now....however, dog saliva is WAY more sanitary than human. On my grandparents farm, if a young calf was injured and was bleeding, my grandmother would always let her austrialian cattle dog lick the wound for awhile before treating it. She always said that the dog spit was a natural antiseptic. Not too sure where she got this info but it makes sense to me...dogs can eat rotten mean or raw mean and not get sick...as well as lick their wounds and heal. Something kills the bacteria.

[61' reb]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

Kinda leary now about bringing a frying pan...ha ha, especially with the whole rinsing from the dog and everything.

[Abrams]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

I'd rather fry on a skillet licked "clean" by a dog than one just wiped "clean" with a handfull of grass. Nothing says I could not give it a quick rinse from the canteen before using it. And as Hank mentioned, its going to hit 400 degrees or so in a short anyway.

Besides, I let my dog lick my face. Its his way of showing he loves me. :)

[Lee Ragan]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

But just what else has old Fido been licking?

[OldKingCrow]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

But just what else has old Fido been licking?

One good ole boy to other upon watching a dog in the act of his daily boy "bath" in a deep South draaaawl which doesnt translate well to the written word :

"I sure wish I could do that"

"Well you better pet him first that dog will bite you."

[tenfed1861]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

Suprisingly,a dog's mouth is cleaner then a human's.I believe the Romans use to take dogs on campaign to lick the wounds clean.So who knows,maybe it would work.
I just say some hot water,a soapy rag,and a good rinsing,though.

[27thNCdrummer]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

I was always under the same impression that everybody else is that a dogs' mouth is cleaner than a humans' but I'm skeptical after watching Dr. Know on the Discovery Channel. They tested dogs' saliva and it is almost the same as a humans'. I think they did say there was something slightly antiseptic about a dog's saliva though. So it would basically be the same as a person licking your pan clean.

[BillO'Dea]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

Still going to the wrong events? :D

Seriously, that's a great little tidbit. If I'd seen that before Winter 64, I'd have let Conan the camp dog do that. It doesn't sound as unsanitary as one might think, since we're talking about frying pans, not plates. A frying pan is going to get sterilized at 400+ degrees next time it's used, and not even the most stubborn dog germs could survive that.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

Conan the wonder dog did get to lick a few plates here he is waiting to do it again


Bill O'Dea
Salt Boiler mess / 122ndNY

[Coatsy]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

Conan the Wonder Dawg (hey I'm from Georgia!) helping clean my mucket out on Thursday (Um Saturday in W'64 time) and I survived! But it was that nasty nasty green pea goo that the cooks served us, or was it the other congealed mass of something. Either way Sir Conan of the Mini Airdale order was quite helpful, and as Mr. Mayo has shown us with the quote quite period correct as well.

[Gus49OVI]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

And why does he lick them......?



....cuz he can!!!

[ley74]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

Jim, Bill, Herb and Hank:

What a great quote! Conan won many hearts over the week at W'64.

The actual caption of the photo with Bill was Conan "...teaching to sit and feed. Not show is the lesson on ear scratching".

Hard to believe it has been almost five months guys. Hank, you portray one helluva crazy guy.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Cleaning your frying pan.

Hard to believe it has been almost five months guys. Hank, you portray one helluva crazy guy.

Ley,

In Hank's case at Winter 1864, it may well have been the farina cooked up by Noah, Steve, and moi. That whole farina cooking vignette was a scream. We didn't know whether to pray for it or over it. :tounge_sm

Wore my Winter 1864 tee shirt last Friday. Thanks.