Day 20: So, uh, they talk about dildos in this play, y'all

I really don't understand why The Winter's Tale isn't more popular. It's one of my favourites, plus it has the AWESOME stage direction "Exit, pursued by a bear" AND (as if that weren't enough) it contains one of the earliest written usages of the word "dildos." 

Yup. You just read that. 

In the play, the character of Autolycus (pictured above in a painting by Thomas Charles Wageman, thanks to Wikipedia) is a travelling salesman (as well as a thief, a huckster, a con artist and all-around entertaining asshole) who sells, among other things, gloves and dildos. And no, it didn't have a different meaning then.

In this painting by Charles Robert Leslie, Autolycus is seen selling his wares. BUT WHERE ARE THE DILDOS? WHERE? I'm guessing he sold those first.

One of the shepherdesses, Mopsa (real name) asks her boyfriend to buy her some gloves. I guess she didn't know about the other things.