Alphabet Advent – N is for...

Nutckracker

After the Brothers Grimm wrote and modified many folk tales, they set out to create the definitive German dictionary: Deutsches Wörterbuch. They were unable to complete the task, but they published their unfinished work in 1854. In their dictionary they defined nutcrackers:

Nussknacker - often in the form of a misshaped little man, in whose mouth the nut, by means of a leaver or screw, is cracked open

These “misshaped little [men]” began appearing in Germany somewhere between 1800 and 1830. They reached commercial production in 1872, when the Father of the Nutcracker, Wilhelm Füchtner, created a lathe that aided production.

For your nut cracking pleasure:

Will it Blend? – Nutcrackers
Nutcracker hands; crack nuts with bare hands
Nutcracker Around Town

2020 Update