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Peripatetic News - from a defunct blog

Prince Claus Anti-Necktie Society (PeCANS)

October 2003

I’m thinking of starting PeCANS, a group of fellow nuts, who follow the advice of the late Prince Claus of the Netherlands (September 6, 1926 - October 6, 2002). In December 1998 he took off his tie.

“In a speech opening a show of African fashion, Prince Claus ceremoniously wriggled free of his Windsor knot, yanked off his navy blue necktie and tossed it rather inelegantly at the feet of his wife, Queen Beatrix..

"A snake around my neck," the 73-year-old prince snarled to a standing ovation.

Reporting the story that evening, one TV anchorman peeled off his tie. In solidarity, so did the sportscaster who gave the soccer scores. Now, a week later, Claus is a folk hero, and an open collar has never been more in vogue.

The phenomenon already has a name: "Claustrophilia," which celebrates the prince for denouncing ties.”

The story was reported around the world, and the extract above appeared in CANOE, a Canadian News website, but has since disappeared.

Unfortunately, Claustrophilia is already a word for the love of small (cramped?), artificially lit places. Hence the suggestion that we use the title - PeCANS for the name for a society of fellow nuts.

However, it now appears that there is medical support for eschewing ties.

“Wearing a tight necktie can increase the chances of developing glaucoma, a group of serious eye diseases, researchers have found.

In today's issue of the British Journal of Ophthalmology, researchers report that a tight necktie raises blood pressure in the eye, which is a leading risk factor in the illness that can lead to damage to the optic nerve and loss of vision.

"A tight necktie increases IOP [intraocular pressure] in both normal subjects and glaucoma patients and could affect the diagnosis and management of glaucoma," said Dr Robert Ritch of the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary in the United States.

Ritch and his colleagues tested IOP of 20 healthy men and 20 who suffered from glaucoma while they were wearing an open-neck shirt, before putting on a tight necktie and three minutes after loosening it.

Their results showed that 60% of the men with glaucoma - and 70% of the healthy volunteers - had an increased eye pressure after wearing a tight necktie.

In addition to raising the risk of glaucoma, donning a tight necktie during an eye examination could lead to a false diagnosis of the illness, they said. The researchers suspect that a tight necktie constricts the jugular vein, which increases blood pressure and IOP.

Glaucoma affects about 3% of people by the age of 40, and 5% at 70. Over 300,000 people are estimated to have the condition in Australia, only half of whom have been diagnosed. Optometrists recommend an eye exam every two years, especially if you have a family history of glaucoma, are shortsighted or over the age of 40.”

This news was reported around the world in July 2003 and the extract above comes from the ABC website.

So there you have it fellow PeCANS, we have a Secret Society we can belong to.

Perhaps the next step is to design a logo that we can … put on a tie?

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Last modified Sunday, 24 February 2008