The More Things Change...

All my life, people in Charleston have been agitating on behalf of the horses who draw the tourist carriages. You can take a tour of the historic parts of Charleston (which is most of the peninsula) on a carriage, while a costumed guide tells you tall tales. Some companies tell better (and more accurate) stories, while others just fib.

For decades, the carriage trade has been controversial. In the summer - the height of tourist season - it's often 90 degrees or more in the city. And it's humid. Like Hu-Mid. So every year the paper prints letters decrying the cruelty of making horses drag tourists around in the heat.

Turns out that's not a new story. Above, from September, 1877, an appeal to riders of New York's commuter carriages. These pre-dated the subway and were basically streetcars. The horse appeals to riders to think of his comfort when, on hot days, they pile into the cars.

Everything old is new again, right?