Zurich -
The definition itself is questionable. The Oxford Dictionary says that ephemera are “things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time.”
I don’t think so. After all, comic books, journals, menus, notes, papers, posters, recipe cards, sheet music, and trading cards transcend the ages, and with due care, tell interesting, fulfilling stories about the human experience for a very long time. They are not trifles. They present human history. But barf bags! Really?
Yes, indeed. The magazine and website “To Have and to Hold” specializes in paper-based ephemera. Yes, there are media for absolutely everything these days. Their first three issues focused on paper bags from bookshops and museums and, yes, drum roll please, air sickness bags.
Who knew that there’s sufficient interest in and a market for barf bags? Hopefully, the unused ones. An editor at “To Have and to Hold” told Monocle Radio’s “The Stack” show last week that there are rabid barf bag collectors. I didn’t believe it, either, but just check out Steve Silberberg’s (in photo) website, airsicknessbags.com
It seems barf bags are not without their sense of humor, either. Eurowings’ bags, for example, assure vomiting passengers that, well, “It’s Alright to Think of Other Airlines Sometimes.”
Jokes aside, a life well lived includes an appreciation of ephemera, and all that it represents, as well as a willingness to generate and collect it for future generations. Just not the barf bags, please.
Image courtesy of My London