Wooden spoon

From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.

The wooden spoon was originally associated with the Cambridge University mathematical tripos exams, and was a booby prize awarded by students to the student ranked lowest in the final exams. The last one was awarded to Cuthbert Lempriere Holthouse, an oarsman of the Lady Margaret Boat Club of St. John's College, in 1909 at the graduation ceremony in the University Senate House. There were actual wooden spoons which were large and measured up to 1.5 metres long. By tradition they were dangled in a teasing way from the upstairs balcony in front of the recipient when he came before the Vice Chancellor to receive his degree.

Nowadays the term, "wooden spoon", is used more generally. For example, it is used to denote the last-placed nation in the Rugby Union Six Nations Championship held every year between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales (in alphabetical order). No physical spoon exists or has ever existed in the case of rugby, however.

External link

• A photo of the last wooden spoon to be awarded, now held at St. John's College, Cambridge.