Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for April 11, 2011

Unbelievable! Is that really Zonker?

What’s with the wig?

@Grimma — Years back, Zonker purchased a British lordship. He is Lordship the Viscount St. Austell-in-the-Moor Biggleswade-Brixham.

The only ‘titles’ ever flogged to gullible Americans were ‘Lord of the Manor’ type things. Which aren’t ‘lordships’ at all. Might get you an invitation to the vicars garden party ;-)

You won’t see anyone turning up to the Royal Wedding wearing a horsehair wig. They are the the anachronistic workwear of barristers and judges.

In the era when Lords wore that sort of headgear, so did Washington and Jefferson

Zonker’s not known for his historical knowledge.

Evidently, nor geography, otherwise he’d realise he’d been sold a pup. St Austell isn’t in a moor, and is nowhere near Biggleswade.

That’ll just be the Law Lords and a few such as the Lord Chancellor - not the hereditary or life peers.

I’m not sure the normal laws of reality apply to the British House of Lords either but I’m a pedant ;-)

Although just a fashion now, wigs had a purpose at one time. They were used to to keep from getting head lice. I clicked around a little, and found this for anyone interested:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Hairstyles-of-the-British-Court-Whigs-in-Wigs

I thought the Wiggs were spelled with 2 “G”s.

@ Lewrreader - Whiggs with two g’s were a political party.

@ sandfan - yes they were introduced for that purpose. Shaving the head of someone with head lice and putting on a wig gave you something of the look of still having hair. Trouble is they were made from horse hair so unless you took care of them they created the same problem. Of course the wealthy had servants to do that, and could afford new ones as needed so it became the symbol of the upper crust.

So far as I know only the British Court system still uses them daily

The political party had only one “g”, Kerovan, and one “h”: Whig.

Why wouldn’t Zonker’s wig still fit? Did he expect his head to grow or shrink?

I was going to remark that Zonker, being (I believe) an American citizen could not legally hold a title of nobility. However, a little research before writing this post indicated that thought was in error; American citizens can hold noble titles. What the U.S. Constitution forbids is American states and the Federal government issuing titles of nobility. This means, of course, that American citizens cannot hold home-grown titles of nobility, but foreign noble titles are acceptable. There is one restriction on noble titles held by American citizens: the Constitution (Article 1, Section 9) prohibits any person of noble title from holding any public office, unless Congress consents. This may put a hitch into any political ambitions Zonker may have.

LOL

Never mind the wedding, where’s the red rascal?

I do say, you look rather becoming, your Dudeship.

What could possibly go wrong, especially with Zonker……

So that would mean it was originally flea powder? Might want to consider soap.

Wait… -Zonker- is being the voice of reason and caution? These must surely be the end times.

Or maybe it’s just the wig…