The Junk Drawer

Everyone has one, don’t they? You know…the drawer somewhere in your house full of junk. After repeated nudging to clean out ours (really, mine), I decided to do some research on this fascinating topic. Here’s what I learned.

First Known Junk Drawer

The first known recorded junk drawer was found in Mesopotamia, present day Iraq. Per Wikipedia, the true source of everything you’ve ever wanted to know and then some, “Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. It has been identified as having ‘inspired some of the most important developments in human history, including the invention of the wheel, the planting of the first cereal crops, the development of cursive script, mathematics, astronomy, and agriculture.’ It is recognized as the cradle of some of the world’s earliest civilizations.”

Evidence of a Mesopotamian junk drawer was found in what is believed to be the ancient city of Ur. In 1929, archeologists began their excavation of the Ziggurat of Ur and nearby tombs. What they found was startling. The tombs, which date to the Early Dynastic period (approximately the 25th or 24th century BC), contained an immense treasure of luxury items. Included were

• bits of precious metals and semi-precious stones
• discarded oil lamps
• the head of a lizard-headed nude woman
• bone shards
• miscellaneous teeth, human and otherwise
• bent bronze ornaments
• lyre strings
• broken idols

It was first thought these items were part of a ceremonial burial. However, after careful review of the site’s other findings, archeologists determined that this “treasure” was trash, or essentially a pile of junk.

Egyptian Junk Drawer

Most of us are familiar with the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter. When asked what he saw upon opening the tomb, Carter replied, “Yes, wonderful things!”

What he neglected to report, however, and what was soon forgotten in the excitement of the extraordinary finds, was one not so exceptional find. It seems, the tomb’s third chamber contained a stone box, similar to a sarcophagus. However, instead of items made of gold and/or precious stones, Carter and his team found

• remnants of embalming equipment
• broken lapis lazuli beads
• half a scarab
• busted hieroglyphics tablets
• torn linen mummy bandages
• a half-caked bottle of gelatin (used as glue)
• torn papyrus scrolls
• flakes of gold

Cast aside in a corner of the tomb, it was obvious to Carter that the box’s contents were superfluous. We’d call it a junk sarcophagus.

The Late 1500s

In the late 1500s, Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague (AKA the Maharal) created a golem from river mud to defend the Jewish community from antisemitic attacks. But eventually, the golem grew fearsome and violent. Thus, Rabbi Loew was forced to destroy it. Legend claims that the golem remains in the attic of the Altneushul in Prague, ready to be reactivated if needed.

The golem’s remains have never been found in the attic. There’s a simple explanation. When Rebbetzin Loew saw the mess her husband left, she was furious. Climbing the steep attic stairs with her straw broom, she swept the pile of clay into a burlap sack. Still annoyed, she went down to the synagogue, placing the sack inside the Rabbi’s schtender (lectern). It has remained there, along with broken quills, parchment fragments and empty ink wells. Thus, we have a record of the first Jewish junk drawer.

Modern Day Junk Drawer

Myt modern day junk drawer contains no papyrus, parchment fragments or broken clay figurines. But it might have the following:

• paper clips
• post-it notes with no “stick”
• scotch tape
• masking tape
• a tape measure
• reading glasses and cases
• sunglasses
• reading sunglasses
• cards with envelopes
• cards with no envelopes
• envelopes with no cards
• a wallet
• a magnifying glass
• a beat-up address book (most of the entries are no longer living)
• pads of paper
• address labels
• stamps

But wait! There’s more!

• scissors
• a letter opener
• a ruler
• old business cards
• credit card receipts
• a dreidel
• plastic beads
• mechanical pencils
• sharpies
• a bag of rubber bands
• ear buds
• small cloth purses
• batteries
• a hole punch
• twist ties
• medal “doohickies” that have no purpose one can remember
• key rings
• hand crochet kippah
• oven thermometer

Somehow, all this necessary stuff ends up in one place, where it’s impossible to find what you need. Thus, the frequent request to clean out the junk drawer. However, in a day or two, once again, the drawer will be a mishmash of hard-to-find junk.

Oh well. What’s the use of cleaning it out?

Let us know what’s in your junk drawer by leaving a comment below.

Read more by Eileen Creeger.