Saci-pererê

A wooden carving of a cat-like figure, historically known as a Puss-and-Mew machine. Created in 18th-century London (around the 1730s) by Captain Dudley Bradstreet. It acted as an early, covert alcohol "vending machine" to bypass the strict and heavy taxation laws of the Gin Act of 1736. . . . During the 18th Century London Gin Craze, the British government passed the Gin Act of 1729 and 1736 to heavily tax and curb gin consumption. But Captain Dudley Bradstreet found a clever way around the law. He hung a wooden carving of a cat (often called "Old Tom") in his window. The customers would approach the cat, whisper "Puss, give me two pennyworth of gin", and drop a coin into its mouth. If the person inside the house had gin ready, they would meow back, and then pour the gin out through a small lead pipe hidden under the cat's paw. Because the buyer and seller never saw each other face-to-face, authorities could not legally prove who made the sale. #archaeohistories