the.com/piggybank
a ceramic hostage forcing you to choose between savings and a satisfying smash.
means A small container, often pig-shaped, for saving loose coins and small change.
from The charming pig is likely an accident of language. In medieval times, a cheap orange clay called 'pygg' was used for jars and pots — a 'pygg jar' or 'pygg bank' simply meant a money pot made of that clay. As the word 'pygg' faded and 'pig' the animal sounded the same, the story goes that potters eventually started shaping the jars like actual pigs to match the name. This pun-turned-tradition is a popular tale and fits the timeline well, though the exact moment the clay-pot became a literal piglet isn't firmly documented.
- medieval origin
- named for pygg, an orange clay used for jars
- design flaw
- classic ones must be broken to retrieve coins
- global ritual
- smashing them marks holidays across many cultures
- oldest find
- a 14th-century pig jar surfaced in Indonesia