Thank you! I actually hadn’t thought of that. I think I’m gonna be forced to go up there and take a closer look. :/

Be carful,many people find bats in their attic they had no idea was up there.

It's pretty easy to lay thick plywood over the rafters. You can put plywood down for storing boxes and some planks to walk on.

Wear a goalie face mask and carry a tennis racket.

I don't think there were extension cords in 1926. LOL.

Only half of America had any electricity and it was very primitive. We were the second owners of our house built in 1911. Gorgeous wood work, peach hardwood floors, leaded glass cabinet fronts. The owner had electricity put in sometime in the 1920's but in each public room there was one outlet in the middle of the floor. Even after the house was wired and had a board, he left the plugs in the floor. This is similar to the fuse box we had when we bought the house in '72. We had extra fuses in case one blew.

The plug allowed for a table light in the middle of a (usually round) table. Chairs positioned around so the family could read after dark.

Is there any truth in pennies being used as substitutes for those glass fuses? Is there any truth in replacing fuses with pennies were insurance companies' worst nightmare? Is that how the saying "penny wise,pound foolish" originated?

It looks like window film to me, too. I remember a similar one I’ve seen (Gila brand) … not sure if same colors, but similar pattern:

The example above with yours:

I’m curious what it is — please tell us what you discover. :)

@klem1 A fuse is designed to blow when the circuit is overloaded, stopping all electricity to that circuit. If you replace it with a penny (or other piece of copper or conductive metal) then, if the circuit is overloaded, it will overheat and can cause a fire. Older houses often have wiring not designed or able to stand up to modern loads. So, an overloaded circuit will keep blowing the fuse, so, it's annoying. And if it's in the kitchen and the circuit can't handle your microwave, you really need to hire an electrician and upgrade the wiring in your house, which is expensive and can require opening walls. A penny is cheap and easy, but dangerous.

Is there any truth in pennies being used as substitutes for those glass fuses?

I remember getting my hand slapped as a young kid because I was trying to reach into the exposed fuse box at my grandparents house to get all the pennies that I saw in there.

I also remember asking why there were pennies in there, and was told it was so they didn't have to keep replacing the fuses.

Is there any truth in replacing fuses with pennies were insurance companies' worst nightmare?

Oh yeah, and fire departments as well. Sigrid explained it perfectly.

Is that how the saying "penny wise, pound foolish" originated?

Nope. The origin of penny wise - pound foolish is about avoiding spending a lot to save a little in British monetary units.

I've heard pennies in fuse boxes can cause stained drawers. If pennies cause fires as Sigrid claims,I suppose you could say they can also tint windows.