When did we start signing our names to authenticate documents? (2011)
slate.com
slate.com
Wealthier patrician households shared mail centers to retrieve messages sent from other provinces. When entering the mail center, you had to provide a series of code words that were changed every time new consuls were chosen. Then if the code words were accepted, the mail house would take a print of the right thumb and compare it against ink prints on file. If a patrician hadn't visited a mail house in a while, there was a third step to make extra sure of the patrician's authenticity. He would be shown a series of drawings, and would have to identify which ones contained buses.
Split tallies were used, effectively a lock and key mechanism of receipt. A stick was marked with a contract and broken in two. If you've ever broken a piece of wood, you'll know the roughness it embodies is remarkable, and on top of that the wood itself is intrinsically patterned and readily identifiable by even cursory examination. Thus it was virtually impossible to replicate. As to how these things were enforced, I do not know. Paper contracts also leveraged this model of receipt validation for some time.
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Really well done, I was amazed initially. But a series of drawings... ok. Buses. MWAHAHAHAHA
This sentence shows the cultural and religious focus of the author, to the point it hides a richer history. Seals were used in this region thousand of years before the Hebrew tribes appeared.
The cylinder seals of Mesopotamia are my favorites. It was simple to use (roll it on the clay that wraps the tablet). Forgery was hard. And some of the seals were marvelous art. Rich people often had Lapis Lazuli seals, from stones excavated in modern Afghanistan. Many seals are in museums, with images available online.
Referencing the best selling book of all time doesn't reveal any cultural or religious focus. Especially considering that the previous paragraph was about Jews and Muslims.
“Best selling book of all time” is a classic trope of Christians in the USA. It’s possible you can’t see that factor (along the lines of the “a fish doesn’t know it’s wet” metaphor).
I think a signature these days mean that you claim to have read and understood the document — rather than authentication.
After all, when was the last time most of us signed a cheque?
I was sitting on my phone with bad connection during a camping trip trying to scribble a signature that looked like the magic reference signature (that I didn't know) so that my purchase didn't fall through.
What a stupid way to authenticate people.
The cashier agreed with me that it _clearly_ wasn't my signature & "didn't know how it happened". I was in a big rush that day & no longer have the account, but I really regret not escalating it though.
The cleaning service and the car detailing service were cash or check only as was every vendor at the farmers market - which as small operations kind of makes sense.
But so was the propane service, garbage service, the dump - and the electrical utility charged $36 a year to use an E-check (no credit cards accepted).
I wrote a lot of checks.
I assume that they only checked the signature because the payment was outside of my normal habits, because my signature is an inconsistent mess in the best of times (I sign about 10 cheques/year because reasons).
The worst case for me is the stylus pads at checkouts. I can barely use those coherently when I'm not under pressure, so when there are people behind me in line and a cashier waiting for me to leave, the social anxiety kicks in and I get a pair of initials and some extra lines, at best.
That allows companies to get any old doodle from you and it can be considered (part of evidence for) a legally binding agreement.
Last week.
I don't write a lot of checks but there are a fair number of service people, for example, where that's the standard way of paying them.
Certainly my signature is just a scrawl at this point though.