What’s that sideways-B-shaped thingy people hang over their garage door?

June 15, 2018 9:44 PM

I feel it’s something to do with horses, but I can’t for the life of me figure it out! It looks like a “B” turned 90 degrees clockwise with a gap between the two “loops”, and it’s usually on older homes. I’ve seen it both in New England and in Pennsylvania. Also, what does it mean, if anything?
posted by Seeking Direction to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

Best answer: A yoke.
posted by greta simone at 10:05 PM on June 15, 2018

Response by poster: Thanks. Do people just like the way yokes look, or does it symbolize something? Like a lasting marriage?
posted by Seeking Direction at 10:09 PM on June 15, 2018

Best answer: I’m sure it has all kinds of variations of symbolic meanings, but mostly I just think people like it for its folksy connotations, like decorating with wagon wheels and antique wheelbarrows and shit.
posted by greta simone at 10:14 PM on June 15, 2018 [4 favorites]

Best answer: People like them because of the way they look, because they may remember a parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent who used horses or oxen to do farm work, or even the horses or oxen themselves, and because they may have been found in the barn they're displayed on.
posted by Gnella at 1:56 AM on June 16, 2018

Best answer: Agreeing with greta simone and Gnella on the why. Ox yokes were once common in farming areas, and ox teams were used for transport and hauling freight as well. The yokes were often hung up when not in use in barns and such, and in places like general stores. Once they were not in common use, they often remained behind as decoration, and for nostalgia purposes. You might check out the surprisingly interesting history of the decor in places like T.G.I. Fridays and Cracker Barrel, see this article. Apparently every Cracker Barrel includes an ox yoke as part of the decoration.
posted by gudrun at 7:24 AM on June 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This reminds me of
Odysseus’s final gesture in Homer’s epic. The homecoming veteran of the Trojan War is commanded by Tiresias,

Carry your well-planed oar until you come
to a race of people who know nothing of the sea….
whose food is never seasoned with salt, strangers all
to ships with their crimson prows and long slim oars,
wings that make ships fly. And here is your sign –
unmistakable, clear, so clear you cannot miss it:
when another traveler falls in with you and calls
that weight across your shoulder a fan to winnow grain,
then plant your bladed, balanced oar in the earth….
then journey home and render noble offerings up
to the deathless gods who rule the vaulting skies,
to all the gods in order. – The Odyssey, Book 11, Trans. R. Fagles.
posted by theora55 at 9:06 AM on June 16, 2018

Best answer: I've seen the yokes decorated with (christian) religious messages as well.
posted by I'm Not Even Supposed To Be Here Today! at 12:10 PM on June 16, 2018

Best answer: The Bible verses this might pertain to, if a religious meaning is intended, are most likely Matthew 11:29-30 or 2 Corinthians 6:14.
posted by jocelmeow at 4:11 PM on June 16, 2018