Was the handkerchief One of the Best or Worst Inventions?

While you're tying your do-rag this morning, or pulling  your hankie out of your purse to wipe your child's snotty nose you have to wonder, how many uses are there for this 417th wonder of the world?

Handkerchiefs...I can remember watching TV westerns as the bad guys would pull them up from around their neck to cover the bottom portion of their face as they went in to rob a bank. In that same western, cowpokes were pulling them up to cover that same portion of their face as they battled a dust storm.

I remember my Grandpa had one in his back pocket, and he was either pulling it out to either wipe the sweat off his face or to wipe his running nose. I never could figure out how he knew which end had been used previously and how close he was paying attention when he had pulled it out for the seventh time that day.

I remember my Mom pulling one out her purse (or a Kleenex) after we pulled up to our destination. Of course, she dabbed the hankie with her spittle and delicately wiped the grime off my face. (Dang...I hated when she did that!)

From my research I'm seeing the handkerchief was first used by King Richard II of England to wipe his nose. He used a square piece of cloth to conduct the duty.

I know I've used them through the years to wipe up, wrap up, and to carry items. I have two or three handkerchiefs in the top drawer of my chest in the bedroom. I've got a green one so I can always be good to go for at least once a year on St. Patrick's Day.

So whether you use one for the good things in life or if your mom is still using one to wash the dirt off of the youngest child's face due to the latest dirt pie he or she has consumed, you have to love the handkerchief.