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well, define it. i keep hearing it. dont know what it means. wikipedia doens't have it
yup thats me! appreciate it.
A gaper is a stone head, often depicting a black man, on the front of a building in the Netherlands.
It was used to indicate that this building is a pharmacy.
The literal translation of gaper would be yawner; the figure is always displayed with an open mouth, and sometimes you can see a pill he has taken resting on his tongue. In fact he wasn't yawning, but opening his mouth to take medicine.
The existing "gapers" in Amsterdam are almost all of Moorish appearance but this wasn't always the case and earlier ones, now in museums, show white Dutch faces as the gaper. The gaper represents the assistant of the travelling apothecary, the forefather of today's pharmacist. The apothecary would attend market days all over the country and his assistant would play the character of an ill man. After taking the pill, the assistant (often a Moor) would all of a sudden feel much better and perform a dance.
It is also said (on the Dutch wikipedia) that the southern appearance of the gaper was a symbol for the origin of the ingredients of the medications. This exotic link might also have suggested effectiveness.
a ball cap with a football team on it and or sunglasses is almost always required.
