from Hamdom's Traditions - QST, May 1934, page122
The second instrument of torture, the Rettysnitch, which stands for decency in operating and shares the editorial chamber with its mate, the Wouff-Hong, was presented to Traffic Manager Fred Schnell by the Washington (D. C.) Radio Club at the 3d District Convention in 1921. It was already minus two of the teeth, giving evidence of earlier use.
The name of the sacred Wouff-Houng has been otherwise perpetuated by the Modesto (Calif.) Radio Club, whose annual trophy is a replica of the original Wouff-Hong, moulded from the melted-down elements of tubes from five hundred record-breaking transmitters; and by the Royal Order of the Wouff-Hong, a mystic society conceived by a ham group in Flint, Michigan, some years ago.
All good hams, and otherwise, stand in dread of the Wouff-Hong and Rettysnitch and The Old Man. The three have become traditions in amateur radio. There have been many reports of coming upon The Old Man, but somehow or other they always blow up--but that is another story.
