Omnibus Cafe

A horse-drawn bus from the 1890s

BuffaloRon @BuffaloRon

Jul 14, 2025

There is no way a horse drew this.

its a photograph.

When I read Sherlock Holmes or history books (usually Jack the Ripper books), they refer to this kind of bus, usually calling it an "omnibus." "Omnibus" meaning in Latin, the internet tells me, "for all," in other words public, not private. The word "bus" is just a clipped version of that.

The term originated in Paris, where it began as "voiture omnibus," or "carriage for all" or "public carriage." They lopped off the "voiture." In London, the term was quickly shorted to the modern word "bus," by the 1830s.

But I swear I see "omnibus" when I read a history or period book in the 1890s.

I couldn't visualize what this "omnibus" looked like. I couldn't figure out if it was short-ish like a Wild West coach or long-ish like a modern bus. So, of course, it's short-ish like a Wild West coach. Duh.

Here's one from 1895, packed top to bottom with advertising.

More details here, including "buses" packed with people and absolutely jammed with luggage.

German shepherd protects his cat buddy.

Cat sneak-attacks the German shepherd.

Dog is perfectly hidden.

Saving a cat who got stuck in the middle of a highway.

Giant ears like a fuzzy bat.

Kitten practices his pouncing.

If you ever feel like you're being watched, it's probably goats.
People keep brining their dogs to weddings for some reason.

Puppy's first howl.

Pupper's keeping his head on a swivel.

Happy puppy puts on a show for air travelers stuck in delays.

Kind of like "Raygun" the retarded Australian breakdancer except actually awesome.

In case you missed it:

Wacky Races:

posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 07:20 PM

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