In the 18th century mitts were elbow-length, fingerless gloves. Although there was a thumb, it was open and the fingers were left free. They were usually cut with peaked flaps over the knuckles. Embroidered floral motifs and fancy arm openings were popular adornments. Heavy mitts gave warmth in winter and light weight ones protected the arms from the sun in summer. In the winter the hands could be kept warm with a muff.

an example given of minimalist instruction in which experienced procedural programmers used specialized example-based tools to learn Smalltalk in 4-6 hours