I can't remember why I searched for "Underwater Basket Weaving" on wikipedia, but when I did I was surprised to discover that it's a real craft. I had frequently heard the phrase used in college as a joke to mean an easy class, and it always made me imagine people submerged in a swimming pool trying to weave a basket. I never thought it was something real. But turns out it is real.
Wikipedia defines it as:
a process of making wicker baskets which involves dipping reeds or stalks of plants into (or, as the name suggests, under) water and allowing them to soak. This process will provide a very supple and flexible reed which can then be woven into a basket given enough time. The baskets then will be allowed to dry and provide a sturdy container.
I'm assuming that Wikipedia's definition is correct. After all, it sounds reasonable. But it made me wonder how the term came to mean an easy class, and whether any colleges actually offer Underwater Basket Weaving.
The second question is the easiest to answer, since the Wikipedia article also states that: "The University of California, San Diego's recreation department first offered an underwater basket-weaving class in 1984. Saint Joseph's College in Indiana offers this class as well."
I want to verify that UCSD and St. Joseph's actually do offer such a course. But assuming they do, do any other colleges offer it? I'm not sure. All I can say is that I've never seen it listed in any college catalog. (Wikipedia links to an
Underwater Basket Weaving syllabus supposedly offered by the University of Portsmouth, but the syllabus reads like a joke, so I'm guessing it is a joke.)
The earliest reference to the term that I could find, searching on
Newspaper Archive, was May 9, 1960. The author of a
Pasadena Independent trivia column noted that "Son Herbert reports that underwater basket weaving is all the rage among college students who want to spare the brain cells." So evidently the joke had been well established by 1960. I would guess the origin of the term dates to the late 1950s. Did the joke start after a college actually began offering this course? I don't know, but it seems possible.
Comments
The students who took the regular classes during the day referred to the adult education night class stuff as "basket weaving." I've heard that term applied to things like the Learning Annex as well. I never heard the word "underwater" attached to the derogative term though.
Just an aside: the class I took was allegedly about comedy performance (the instructor wasn't very good); the guest he brought for one class was Alan Abel, the hoaxer, with whom I've been loosely associated with ever since. So I got something out of my tuition after all.
Same here. When I had to pick electives for highschool (which was a big waste, since I ended up un-enrolling myself before it began) my homeroom teacher made a big deal out of filling everthing out & turning it in on time, if we didn't she would auto fill that we wanted to take "underwater basket weaving 101".
Christopher...I am so very sorry.
I've never heard the term 'underwater basket-weaving' used to refer to an easy class, however; only a waste-of-time class that does not count as credit towards a major.
As in, "Watch out for that one counselor, she will have you convinced that you need six hours of Underwater Basket Weaving to graduate, but it's not on any of the degree plans."
Now Evening classes are something else. At least "Needle Craft For Junkies" gets them off the streets for a few hours each week.
Usually baskets are woven by repeatedly dipping the reeds into water to keep them supple. With the reeds constantly submerged they are easier to weave. Generally the class is taught with the students up to their shoulders in water, once the instruction is done, the students can use snorkels to stay underwater.