Working on a bit of writing this morning on waterfowl conservation efforts, in part led by the political cartoonist and Hoover Republican Jay “Ding” Darling, appointed by the FDR to be the Director of the Bureau of Biological Survey.

@dwalbert Is this a bad time to mention I picked up the nickname “Knife” in grad school?

@jaheppler there’s an old welsh joke that comes to mind …

@JohnPhilpin Please elucidate! (Examples of Welsh, or any other, humour always welcome!)

@jaheppler That probably has a better story behind it than “Ding.”

@jaheppler That’s kind of a badass nickname. I hope there’s a good story behind it.

@the I will look it up - because it needs a build … and fair NSFW warning - because it might not be taken in the best of taste - hence the obscure reference - YKIYK works.

@jabel @dwalbert Interesting of a sort I suppose 😂 My surname likely derives from the Middle High German word heppe which was a curved knife used in vineyards and orchards. I mentioned this to a friend who promptly gave me the nickname. Spread far enough that even some of my professors used it 🤣