Busybodies

This 3-mirror device called a “busybody” allows residents to see who’s at their door without being seen. (Photo by Jim Murphy, author of “Real Philly History, Real Fast.”)

Transcription:

John Weber: I'm John Weber and this is your WHYY Philly Phun Phact. Take a walk down Third Street just before you get to Pine Street and the site of the Kosciuszko house, and you'll see something really unusual on the right hand side. Three homes in a row with something called a busybody.

Jim Murphy: “Busy bodies are 3 mirror devices placed above your doorway. They let you see from the second story who's at your door. You can also see who's going in and out of your neighbor's doors. That's why they're called busybodies.”

John Weber: That's tour guide Jim Murphy, author of Real Philly History, Real Fast, who says the invention of the busybody is often attributed to who else, Ben Franklin.

Jim Murphy: In October 1901, the Atlantic Monthly claimed the busybody was distinctly a Philadelphia institution with no other city anywhere in the world having such a device.

If you would like a busybody, some Philly hardware stores reportedly still stock them. I'm John Weber, and that's your WHYY Philly Phun Phact.