Antiques Road Show

Being an avid lover of old objects I was drawn to the Antiques Road Show listed on my local cable channel list. I was expecting a knowledgeable host who borders on intimidating but who has enough wit to carry off the program without a hitch. I was pleasantly surprised to find something completely different.

The Antiques Road Show is more than mildly entertaining. Many may think of looking at a bunch of old things would be comparable to watching paint dry but the host of this show is really charming and downright funny. His quirky
character makes the Antiques Road Show a real pleasure to watch and his knowledge of the various items is outstanding.

I used to think that I may have missed my calling when I enter antique stores. The dealers in my area pretty much know me by name if not by sight. I spend considerable amount of time looking through objects of interest and I also spend a lot of time reading about the various items. The Antique Road Show has shown how little I really know.

My interest in objects from the past is closely linked to my interest in history in general. I like to think that I have a good grasp on historical events as well as the items associated with different eras. However, after watching a few episodes of Antique Road Show I have come to the conclusion that there is way more information than I could imagine getting into my head.

The amazing thing about the program is that the host seems to have all of this pertinent information stored in a data base between his ears. I learn something new each time that I watch Antiques Road Show and I really find that the things I learn help me understand our history much better. It also makes me realize how much studying an appraiser has to do in order to make
an assessment.

An example that immediately pops into head when thinking of interesting things learned from the Antiques Road Show was about an old bathtub. The unit was unusual in shape. In fact, it looked nothing like a tub as we know them today. The host mentioned that babies were last in the family to use the tub, adding, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” as part of his illustration. Not only did I learn about the object I also learned about an old saying that until that moment made no sense to me.

You can learn a lot in just one episode of Antiques Road Show. If you have any interest in the past or if you own any older objects you may want to give this show a try.