Don't slide down the banisters

@JudyEv (382542)
Rockingham, Australia
July 12, 2025 10:27pm CST
We visited New Norcia on our recent road trip. It is named after Norcia in Italy where St Benedict and his twin sister, St Scholastica, were born. St Benedict founded the Benedictine monastic system and New Norcia is Australia’s only monastic town, presided over by the Benedictine monks. There is a huge story to be told about New Norcia but I’ll just pick out bits and pieces to tell you. The photo shows a staircase in what was once the boys’ boarding school. All the wood carving, and there is a lot of it, was done by the Spanish woodcarver Juan (John) Casellas. Can you see the very small knobs on the banister? There were put there to discourage boys from sliding down the banisters and were apparently given the name of ‘nut-crackers’, for obvious reasons.
12 people like this
9 responses
DE
@DaddyEvil (174708)
• United States
13 Jul
I wonder how many tried to slide down the banisters, anyway...
3 people like this
DE
@DaddyEvil (174708)
• United States
13 Jul
@JudyEv And sore body parts.
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
@DaddyEvil Yes, that too!!
2 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
Only those with bad eyesight! lol
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vikingswest
@Vikingswest1 (7443)
• United States
13 Jul
Yep. A guy would only slide down once.
3 people like this
vikingswest
@Vikingswest1 (7443)
• United States
13 Jul
@JudyEv I don't know. My three older brothers convinced me to stick my tongue on a metal fence post in January. In a twenty below zero Minnesota. Took me over an hour to convince my little sister to do it. And who got in trouble? That's right, the one with a tear on his tongue and blood stains on his jacket. I'm guessing quite a few still tried.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
@Vikingswest1 Oh dear. I never gets that cold here, thank goodness. Has your sister forgiven you yet?
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
True. I wonder how many did that. lol
rsa101
@rsa101 (41028)
• Philippines
13 Jul
I've also seen one in some old stairs, but I was unaware that it served that function. And now I understand why they placed it there logically. Before, when I was younger, I also liked to slide there.
1 person likes this
rsa101
@rsa101 (41028)
• Philippines
13 Jul
@JudyEv Yes, and I used to be that boy who enjoyed sliding down stairwells. I was fortunate that there weren't any bumps like that.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
It's very tempting for kids to want to slide down banisters.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
14 Jul
@rsa101 We had similar railings at my school but they were iron and knob-free. Some boys used to slide down those too.
1 person likes this
MeMoneyAndLove
@abhi_bangal (7679)
• Ahmednagar, India
13 Jul
I never knew that the origin of this word can be so interesting. No wonder how many times you would ask kids not to slide down. They would. But not after seeing those small knobs.
3 people like this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
I think the knobs would put them off.
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MeMoneyAndLove
@abhi_bangal (7679)
• Ahmednagar, India
13 Jul
@JudyEv A problem with one will make all others see sense
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
@abhi_bangal Yes, I think that would be right.
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Anna
@LadyDuck (502809)
• Italy
13 Jul
Norcia (Italy) is a beautiful small town and the place where the famous Norcia truffles grow. I have always seen those knobs on most banisters, may be it was for the same reason.
1 person likes this
Anna
@LadyDuck (502809)
• Italy
13 Jul
@JudyEv Subiaco is another Italian city that is 160 Km north from Norcia. Norcia in southeastern Umbria, Subiaco is part of the municipality of Rome.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
@LadyDuck I'm sure we have other cities whose names have originated in Italy - and other countries.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
The other Italian city that comes up in connection with New Norcia is Subiaco. Here, it's a suburb in Perth. My sister-in-law lives there. That's interesting about the knobs.
1 person likes this
Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (135988)
• Marion, Ohio
13 Jul
Those would stop you from doing that
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Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (135988)
• Marion, Ohio
13 Jul
@JudyEv I can picture boys still doing it and trying to bounce over them.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
@wolfgirl569 I'm sure some would have tried that.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
It would be very painful to hit one of those.
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Always smiling
@allknowing (153529)
• India
13 Jul
Perhaps there were no slides in their play area.
1 person likes this
Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
I didn't see any playgrounds at all but the schools have been closed for a long time.
1 person likes this
Jim Bauer
@porwest (112929)
• United States
15 Jul
lol. I must admit, this would greatly discourage me from doing any sliding.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Jul
A simple fix I guess to an age-old problem - how to stop people sliding down the banisters!
1 person likes this
Jim Bauer
@porwest (112929)
• United States
18 Jul
@JudyEv As they say, the boys will protect the boys. We're pretty partial to them. lol
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M Cheung
@Beestring (15372)
• Hong Kong
13 Jul
That's a good idea. Some boys may did if for fun.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (382542)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Jul
I suppose there was always the worry that they would fall and hurt themselves.
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