Coal scuttle

Assorted coal scuttles
Drawing of a coal scuttle

A coal scuttle, sometimes spelled coalscuttle and also called a hod, "coal bucket", or "coal pail", is a bucket-like container for holding a small, intermediate supply of coal convenient to an indoor coal-fired stove or heater.

Description

Coal scuttles are usually made of metal and shaped as a vertical cylinder or truncated cone, with the open top slanted for pouring coal on a fire. It may have one or two handles.[1] Homes that don't use coal sometimes use a coal scuttle decoratively.[2]

Origin

The word scuttler comes, via Middle English and Old English, from the Latin word Scutula, meaning a shallow pan.[3]

Infamous use

In 1917, the Swedish serial killer Hilda Nilsson used a coal scuttle, a large bucket, and a washboard to drown children that she had been hired to care for.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Runyan, W. R. "1001 Words and Phrases You Never Knew You Didn't Know". thefreedictionary.com. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Decorative Cast Iron Coal Scuttle and Shovel". ebth.com. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Wiktionary: Scutula". Wiktionary.org. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Änglamakerskan i Helsingborg dränkte åtta fosterbarn". Hemmets Journal. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
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