Sixty years ago, an important item for car lovers was a chamois to wipe away water drops after washing car. I haven't seen one for a very long time. I'll bet that few members have ever seen one, or know how it is pronounce, or where original material came from.

Dear SilkMuse: My dictionary says original was an Alpine goat antelope. I guess it is French.
I doubt that many were imported, and that the ones my dad owned were also sheep.
I have no idea how they were processed to make them so soft and absorbent. I think I
have seen vests made of it. Imagine a shimmy in a chamois chemise.

Dear Dr bill, its a shame you are housebound, (and i bet, bereft of a drivers liceince too, ) i actually go into automotive stores, (i need to buy flares, i use my supply, and hadn't replenished it.
Chamois, (shammy, soft as silk, silken muse,) are still sold. but upscale folks like me, find in 15 minutes, the car/wash detailer, will wash, wax, buff, vacuum and stuff for $10-- and i can just sit back and read, or make calls, or sometimes, sit in a nice cubby they have, and pay bills! why would i get wet, and have have buy car wash detergents, and wax and wheel cleaner, and spend an hour?

the sheep name is (sha moi) (moi, just as Ms Piggy says it!) some sort of wild mountain sheep right?

Dear Dr. Bill,

Yep, I knew it was pronounced "shammy," but I just thought it was some kind of sheep's skin.

I think it would get pretty hot doing a shimmy in a chamois.

Best regards,
WW

Hi Dr. Bill! We have his and hers chamois (chamoises?)! We wash the cars together on the weekend and each dry a side...goes pretty fast with both of us doing it. Gotta get it dry before the sun does its thing with our hard water here. Actually, my hubby just found a new trick for the leaf blower and blows alot of the water off the car before we chamois (it is a verb too, isn't it?) it.

...his and hers chamois (chamoises?)

Now if you took a couple of old shirts or blouses to use for rags, couldn't you call them "chemises," pronounced "shim-mees'", that's French for blouses and be using approximately the same word?

Approximately the same word, yes, but the stress is different, especially at the outset of shimmies. I mean, from the get-go you've gotta put a lot of muscle power behind the shoulders to get 'em rollin' in a proper (or improper) series of shimmies. That's why the stress is on shimmies right away, first syllable. Now "chemises"...that's altogether different stress-wise. A more relaxed, soft kind of word, chemises is not stressed till its end, like the cloth itself wearing out after one too many shimmies.

Alpine goat antelope
Chamois (Rupicapra Rupicapra) are quite abundant in Switzerland and other alpine countries of Europe. They are something of a tourist attraction, because they are able to climb steep rocky slopes. Their crooked horns are appreciated as trophies by hunters.

Just so's you know, chamois are known down this end of the planet, and by young'uns and all... altho I doubt that the chamois my dad used to use haad ever actually seen a sheep... did do a lovely shimmy to bring up the shine, however.

alexis

AhHa Bill! I remember AND use them for windows, mirrors, tile, all types glass anywhere!

Now, do you remember - the KOZAK Auto DryWash cloths? They are still available and do a great job.
They have a camel logo and are a soft, brushed fabric with something impregnated into the cloth. You use it folded - NEVER scrunched up - change the fold as it gets dirty. Shake out. Re-use again and again and again.
After using the KOZAK most all car dirt is gone, then you just hose the car off - or wait for the next rain - and the car is all shiny new again!

No I do not own stock in the company ... I remember my Grandfather using the cloth so its been around awhile and doesn't need me to plump for it!

I'll bet that few members have ever seen one, or know how it is pronounce, or where original material came from.

Apparently that's a bet you'd lose, Uncle Bill! Before I read the thread, I knew these things....I remember my brothers using them on their cars. I could use one, come to think of it - last time I washed my car, I left it to dry, and sure enough, it dried spotty and streaky. Sigh.

But unlike....um....was it of troy? someone here, anyway! - I quite happily wash my car myself. It's kinda nice to be out in the sun, working away - and like doing the dishes or your laundry, you have something to show for the time you spent: Look! that which was dirty, is now clean!

I wonder how much a chamois goes for these days? Bet I could find one at Crappy Tire (as my brothers and I call Canadian Tire, the store whose branding is "more than just tires" or something silly like that! kind of an extremely glorified hardware/garden/appliances store).

So, Bill, you thought you'd get our goat on this one?

SilkMuse, how about ushing thoshe shilky shammies to make a nische sheet, and shimmy supinely thereuopon? I've had several chamoix, and can attest to their softness.

Tommy Hare, a giant of a man, 's father became rich while his son Tommy and I were frequenting the road houses of Jefferson County. Ed Hare, when not getting us out of jail, would spend his time polishing his collection of vintage Ford cars, but only with a chamiois. He pronounced it sham-i-o-us. But our young ears heard shamanus. This secret was part of our rite-of-passage.
Tommy Hare, bless his heart, is still in jail today.
Milo.

Tommy Hare, bless his heart, is still in jail today.

Ah, Milo, good to know you stayed a Hare's breadth away from infamy!

you shweet-talkin' sheductive shmuck! I'm sho ashamed!

Ah, well, we dirty old goats gotta dream! Sho musch for my shilly schtick!

you shweet-talkin' sheductive shmuck! I'm sho ashamed!

...Sho musch for my shilly schtick!

Ladies and gentlemen, Bogie is alive and well at AWADtalk!