Was That A Salt And Pepper Shaker at the SOTU?

Heads were scratching and jokes were flying last night at the mysterious placement of … something in front of Speaker Boehner during President Obama’s State of the Union speech.

The twitter speculation was rampant.  Was it an ashtray for the still smoking Speaker?  Was it Salt, Pepper and Old Bay shakers for those “seasoned politicians”? Could the speech be so long that dinner would be served at an intermission? Inquiring minds wanted to know!

Well it turns out it was a historical artifact that has been around Congress for a very long time.

It’s a silver inkstand, and it’s believed to date back to about 1819, making it the oldest artifact in the House of Representatives. No one knows when it first arrived in the House, but it appears in an 1821 painting of former Speaker Henry Clay. Over the years, House speakers have placed it on the rostrum on opening day of new House sessions and also during presidential addresses to Congress.

By: Mark Quincy Adams

A proud 'pragmatic progressive' Mark Quincy Adams has been a political
talk show host and prolific pontificator since 1992. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @politicalglutton