Timesquare – the Blackstone chair
Becky at The Life of B has a new square picture challenge for December – #timesquare. Follow the link for guidance if you have a timely contribution. As for me, I don’t have time to take part every day (well, it’s already on Day 7) but I’ll pop in when I have a minute to spare.
Last night, we attended an evening event for Glasgow University staff in the Hunterian Museum. On the way out, I spotted the Blackstone Chair. (Forgive the fuzzy photos – the light was poor and I’d had prosecco.) Can you believe that until the mid-19th century, all examinations took place orally on this chair? Your time was up when the sand ran through. Click on the gallery below for a full explanation.
The Blackstone Chair
The Blackstone Chair
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
Oral examinations are still a key part of the PhD defence here. However, they are not rigidly timed and usually take around two hours.
Jude
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PhD students have vivas here too. Imagine if every undergraduate had to be examined that way! Universities would grind to a halt 😀 How times change (fortunately).
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Am glad I didn’t have to go through an examination like that at university! It would have been very stressful (well exams were stressful enough anyway)!
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Exactly!
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I’m talking about the Blackstone chair too in my post on the Hunterian next week! I spotted it in the corner and had to check it out. I guess it piqued our interest for the same reasons!
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I guess so! I don’t remember seeing it before, it was Becky’s challenge that opened my eyes.
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Now that would be stressful! I’d be watching the sand more than focus on the question or concentrate on the answer. Interesting stuff, Anabel!
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Ah, but the sand is above your head so you can’t see it – that might be worse!
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That’s something, very unusual
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It certainly is! Thanks for visiting.
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Fabulous piece of history. Thank you. Imagine how our students would go now, if we had the time and examiners to continue such a method.
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Thank you! I’m glad you found it interesting.
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Torture indeed. I would never have graduated if I’d to rely on an oral exam. Apart from anything else, I am far too long-winded.
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I think I would forget everything I knew!
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Heavens! More of a torture chamber than a chair, Anabel! Great subject for the challenge though. 🙂 🙂 Happy weekend!
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You too Jo! I was delighted when this caught my eye as it seemed perfect for Becky.
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I’ve been in the Hunterian a few times and don’t remember seeing that unless its a new exhibit in the museum. Maybe where J.K.Rowling got the sorting hat idea from or a similar type of university tradition in the past.
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Might be! I’ve never noticed it either, or I don’t remember it, but because I knew about Becky’s time challenge it caught my eye. It’s at the beginning near the Roman exhibit before you go through to the main hall.
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To grt my professional qualifications ( manyyears ago now) I had to endure two oral examinations. So I think I know what it feels like 😬
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But did you have an egg timer above your head??
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No egg timer, but a clock!
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At least you could probably see that – though I’m not sure if that’s better or worse!
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I like the idea of a chair with a built in timer – I could have done with something like that when I used to speak to parents on parents’ evening when I was teaching. 🙂 Some of them loved to talk on and on and on…
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With an ejector seat? 😉
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Hee hee – perfect! 😀
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I can’t imagine how daunting this would be, firstly to be doing an exam orally and then to know the timer was going as well. I think I would go completely blank.
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Me too! Nobody seems to fancy trying it out …
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Most unusual one yet Anabel. And no, I wouldn’t fancy performing an examination sitting on it.
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It’s quite bizarrre, isn’t it? I think the consensus of opinion is definitely we would all be scared stiff!
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Think I would be dwarfed on that chair. And a bit scared.
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A bit like being on Mastermind!
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Exactly!
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That is a beautiful chair. It looks like something from Harry Potter. Scotland’s ancient universities have loads of these quaint and quirky traditions, like Edinburgh’s Geneva Bonnet.
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I have been in the Hunterian many times but don’t remember noticing the chair before. Or maybe I did but was only interested this time because Becky’s challenge was in my head. I had to look up the Geneva bonnet.
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I haven’t noticed the chair either. The Geneva bonnet is controversial. I knew someone who wasn’t looking forward to their graduation because of the link to John Knox.
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Although the bit I read suggests it is an 18C fake so they were probably safe!
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That chair would scare the heck out of me if I had to take an exam there….especially with the sand clock ticking!
Good idea about the prosecco.
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Never turn down free Prosecco is one of my mottos!
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Laughed at the part about the Prosecco. Prosecco makes everything better 🙂
The hourglass on the chair though! I agree with Becky … it would cause me serious performance anxiety!
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Maybe everything better, except the focus! I don’t think I would like the chair either.
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Nice photo. You found a bunch of shapes to put inside a square. Bye till next time.
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Thanks!
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Interesting!
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And bizarre!
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Yikes! What a chair . . . think I’d be panicking if I had to do my examination with a timer behind me. Maybe I’d be ok though if I had some prosecco first 🙂
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Your answers might be more creative!
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That’s true!!!
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