Sure , it ’s a play name , but is there a link between this spotted pattern and actual polka ? The solvent is a resonating “ form of . ”
Let ’s begin at the beginning . What we now call polka back breaker have been around for 100 and , over the year , they ’ve pop off by several false name . In the mid-1800s , for example , little circular spots were a common view on northerly European apparel , prompting many Germans to call these circlesthalertupfenafter a similarly - sized coin knight the“thaler . ”During that era , Deutschland and the continent at large were being sweep away by a melodious torrent of polkamania . This Czech export spread like wildfire , finally reaching American shores somewhere around the1860s .
So what ’s the connectedness ? In fashion — as in clowning — timing is everything . Halfway through the 19th hundred , constellate dresses and polka saltation were simultaneously surge . Therefore , most historians have conclude that the former were simply named after the latter by virtuousness of being trendy at the same fourth dimension . However , the bond between them may actually be a bit more definite : Some gilded years polka clubs commence encourage their members to wear spotted garments as a kind ofuniform .
Regardless of their origins , polka dots have had an enormous impact on popular culture , from Miss America 1926 and her speckle swimming costume to Winston Churchill ’s charmingbow - affiliation . Even Batman ’s go toe to toe with an obscure villain named “ Mr. Polka Dot , ” whose magnate lie in of plucking the blotches off his outfit and transmute them into various dastardlyweapons(there ’s no Christian Bible yet on whether or not he ’ll be appearing in the Dark Knight ’s next pic , but we ’ve certainly got our fingers traverse ) .
You may also be wondering where the word “ polka ” itself come from . In Poland ’s aboriginal tongue , it means “ Polish Woman . ” However , it could have or else been base on “ pulka , ” theCzech termfor “ half - step . ” At the ending of the day , etymology is n’t always an exact scientific discipline .
