Gibsons sweeping away the taterbugs

[journeybear]

Out with the old - in with the new! I do want everyone to know the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo did not have an enormous marble dome atop it - despite its stature as the Capitol of the Mandolin World.

[mandroid]

The competition in Nazareth PA was making Bowl backs . (I used to own one)-

[pfox14]

Here's something that really cracks me up. A 'tato buggist' poen that came from a 1911 issue of Gibson's magazine "The Sounding Board" - oh, hully gee

[Petrus]

It was a cost-cutting measure. Bowlbacks are harder to made well, getting those curved ribs to fit together just right. Solution? Made it more like a guitar or banjo. The carved top with f-holes was inspired by the violin (as was the scroll, I suspect; though some bowlbacks have a violin-like scroll at the headstock.) They were also easier to hold onto than a bowlback. I have a nice bowlback (S.S. Stewart) and much as I like it, it is a bit slippery in the lap and constantly wants to slide away. I've never seen one with a strap, though I guess that's an option.

[DavidKOS]

I mean, how can you look at this critter and not think of a bowlback mandolin? Humans have a surprisingly common tendency to name (or nickname) their creations after what they see in nature.

OK, taking the hint to use the search function before posting something, I found this post.

NO WONDER THEY CALLED THEM TATER BUGS!

My mandolin even has that same pattern on the back:

[sunburst]

...considering the colloquialisms of those who settled most of the United States, and considering that most of them were farmers, I would rather tend to think that the term grew from the natural similarity to the actual potato beetle (which must have been an infuriating pest for potato farmers). I mean, how can you look at this critter and not think of a bowlback mandolin? Humans have a surprisingly common tendency to name (or nickname) their creations after what they see in nature.

I never doubted that that was where the name came from, and it never occurred to me that anyone would think otherwise, or not be familiar with potato (tater) bugs. Now, to find that some are offended by the term, well that is a surprise. How about "punkin seed" (pumpkin seed)? Does that offend people too? Look at a pumpkin seed with an A-style carved mandolin in mind and the similarity in shape must be obvious.

[Darryl Wolfe]

OK, taking the hint to use the search function before posting something, I found this post.

NO WONDER THEY CALLED THEM TATER BUGS!

My mandolin even has that same pattern on the back:

Outstanding posts Tobin and David. I am not a farmer, and I have never seen a "tater bug"

[DavidKOS]

Nor have I seen one, growing up in south Louisiana.

I've seen plenty of other bugs though!

[PaulBills]

I was lost til "Colorado Beetle" was mentioned...they're not the most popular of beetles, are they