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jableshables OP t1_jcpbkqt wrote

More interesting facts about Grip from the same article:

  • Her favorite phrase was "halloa old girl". Like her novel counterpart, she may have also said "Polly, put the kettle on, we'll all have tea", "keep up your spirits", and "bow wow wow".

  • She roamed freely around the household until she repeatedly bit the children's ankles, at which point she was banished to the stables, where she slept "generally on horseback".

  • Among the items she enjoyed burying are coins, cheese, potatoes, a brush, and a hammer that was apparently stolen from a carpenter.

  • She was succeeded in the Dickens household by two other "Grips" who were regarded as impudent and less intelligent.

  • Upon her death, she was taxidermied and mounted above Dickens's desk until his death, at which point she was auctioned for 120 guineas (around $20,000 USD in today's money). After which, having had various owners, she was purchased by an American businessman who willed her to her current owner, the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Truly a remarkable bird.

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AdvonKoulthar t1_jcreuz0 wrote

If the first Grip wasn’t impudent, imagine how bad the next two were!

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jableshables OP t1_jcrm4jv wrote

Right? If attacking the dog and eating its food and biting the children is respectful, the replacements must have been pretty awful.

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80sBadGuy t1_jcrzoyx wrote

It did seem like a very intelligent animal, which makes me wonder how delicious lead paint must be.

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jableshables OP t1_jcsgr87 wrote

I've wondered this myself, as apparently it was a big problem back in the day that unattended children would just munch on paint chips and get lead poisoning.

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Brief-Secretary9387 t1_jcpdn3o wrote

ooks like Grip was a real-life pirate buried treasure and all, but instead of a parrot, Dickens had a raven to keep his secrets safe

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