Karen Hill 
Although we have since extended the meaning of the word “agony” to include intense physical suffering, such as we experience when in great pain, its original meaning in English referred to intense mental suffering or anguish, specifically that experienced by Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, for it was in the English translation of the … Read more
From very early times the women of East Asian countries, desiring to enhance their beauty, have stained their eyelids with a very fine dark powder. This they call koh’l. The cosmetic is usually obtained from antimony. English writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in describing this cosmetic, thinking the definite article to be part … Read more
Our ancestors were just as vain as we are, and, like ourselves, were always searching for ways to make the hair more attractive. Early in the nineteenth century a new unguent for the hair was produced which, its makers vowed, possessed marvelous properties. This oil, they said, came from the Dutch East Indies, from a … Read more
Strangely enough, even as recently as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, our ancestors were accustomed to speak of this protective garment as “napron.” The word was adapted from the French naperon; in modern French, napperon, now meaning “napkin.” But our forefathers were careless, even as we are, and “a napron” became slurred in speech into … Read more
The amphitheaters of ancient Rome were structures that resembled in many respects the stadiums in many of the colleges and cities of the United States. The structures, both ancient and modern, were erected so that spectators could easily see and enjoy the contests in the large open spaces which they surrounded. But the great difference … Read more
We use the word “arrant” now to mean downright, out-and-out, unmitigated; as, an arrant coward, an arrant scoundrel. But it was formerly just another spelling of “errant,” and it meant wandering, vagabond, nomad. Thus a “knight errant,” in the Age of Chivalry, was a knight, usually young, who roamed the countryside, seeking an opportunity to … Read more
If we were to use the word “arrive” only with regard to its source and original sense we would use it exclusively when the destination was reached by water. That was the usual application until about four centuries ago. The source was the Latin ad, to, and ripa, land or shore. Its meaning was “to … Read more
When a person dies the immediate concern of his heir or the executor of his estate is to determine whether he left sufficient property to pay his debts and legacies. In England, after the days of William the Conqueror, this was known by the Anglo-French legal term, aver assetz, from aver, to have, and assetz, … Read more
Back in the early sixteenth century, some Italian archeologists, in Rome, were digging about in the ruins of the huge structure now known to be the Baths erected by the emperor Titus. Unexpectedly running across some chambers that had long been buried, they found that the walls were covered with paintings. These paintings were of … Read more
One of the oldest of the Grecian myths tells of the struggle for supremacy between Zeus and the Titans, the sons and grandsons of Uranus and Gaea. The leader of the Titans was the powerful Atlas. And when the Titans were overcome, Atlas, in punishment, was obliged thereafter to bear the weight of the heavens … Read more
Justinian, emperor of the Byzantine Empire from A.D. 527 to 565, was one of the few really great emperors of that division of the old Roman Empire. He is noted especially for the framing of the legal code, since known the Justinian Code. Among the attendants at his court was the historian, Procopius, who, when … Read more
Card playing has been known in Europe since about the middle of the thirteenth century, but it is not known how soon thereafter the players discovered ways to cheat their opponents. But by the late sixteenth century, at least, the players had learned that cheating was more difficult, more easily detected, if the cards around … Read more
Originally “anthem” was the same word and had the same meaning as antiphon, a response, sung or chanted. Introduced into Christian worship, the Greek antiphon, in the speech of the priests, became Old English antefne. Then and for many centuries thereafter it referred to a composition for two voices or two choirs sung or chanted … Read more
Nowadays when we are in full agreement or have a fellow feeling with another, we say that we see eye to eye, or that we are hand in glove with him. Back in the thirteenth century and for the next several hundred years, the saying was to be at one, or to set at one … Read more
We must turn to the Bible to see why the feminine proper name “Abigail” started to become a synonym for servant. In the First Book of Samuel, the twenty-fifth chapter tells how David, in return for past favors, made a peaceful request to the wealthy Nabal for food for his followers. Nabal rejected the request … Read more
When the hair stands up from fright or dread, we have the literal meaning of abhor. The Latin source of our verb was abhorreo, from ab, away from, and horreo, to stand on end, to bristle. Thus the literal meaning was to shrink back from with horror, but, though the verb still expresses great repugnance, … Read more
When anything is in abeyance now we mean that it is in a state of inaction, that the matter, whatever it was, is dormant, although some action is expected to occur eventually. It was that expectancy that gave us the word, for it came as a law term, after the Norman Conquest, from the Old … Read more
When things are in such profusion as to be like the waves of the sea overflowing the land, we may properly say that they abound. Literally, that is what the word means. It comes to us from the Latin, abundo, to overflow, from ab, from, and unda, wave, billow, surge. Our words abundant and abundance … Read more
The Romans were intensely superstitious. Any chance event or chance remark that occurred on the eve of an undertaking was carefully examined to determine whether it might indicate good luck or bad luck. Thus Cicero tells us that Crassus, when about to embark upon his ill-fated expedition against the Parthians, should have turned back. At … Read more
Scarcely known nowadays, except in stories laid in olden times, is the verb affray. Its ancient meaning was “to startle out of one’s rest,” as by a clap of thunder or other sharp noise. That is, one who was affrayed was one who was alarmed. From alarm to fright was a natural development in meaning, … Read more
The so-called sport of bear-baiting was widely known among the Teutonic countries a thousand years ago, but it became nowhere more popular than in England, especially after the fourteenth century. For the pleasure of the spectators, a bear, freshly caught and starved. enough to make it vicious, was fastened to a stake by a short … Read more
The early sense of the word “accost” was nautical, so much so that it was often written accoast, as if the meaning were “to lie along the coast of.” The original meaning was not far from that, because the word was derived from the Latin prefix ad, to, plus costa, which, though actually meaning “rib,” … Read more
The Old English word for “acre” was ecer. In the Middle Ages, however, it was adapted to the Latin of the period and became acra, which gave rise to our present spelling. The word originally meant unoccupied country, whether field or woodland. But through increased interest in agriculture, the meaning became limited to land that … Read more
From time immemorial, perhaps as proof of our relationship with the ape, man has amused himself by performing feats of daring upon ropes, ropes hanging from trees or high structures, or ropes tautly or loosely stretched high between two trees or other supports. In ancient Greece, skill in such feats became highly developed, though, like … Read more
Abu-Bekr, the first successor to Mahomet, who died in A.D. 632, had been his faithful follower for many years. Upon taking the new title, Caliph, or “successor,” he relinquished his former title, “The Faithful.” This latter title was then taken by Omar, the man appointed to succeed him, who announced himself to be “Commander of … Read more
Helen, who later became noted as the owner of the “face that launched a thousand ships,” was the fabled Grecian queen whose abduction by Paris brought on the Trojan War described by Homer almost three thousand years ago. As a little girl in Sparta her beauty was even then so remarkable that, according to legend, … Read more
The years preceding the enactment of the Constitution saw the need for a stronger national government. The Congress that had been active since 1774 was weak, and while it technically had the right to coin money, regulate Indian affairs, declare war and peace, and appropriate funds, it had little power to carry out these responsibilities. … Read more
In the third century B.C., Eratosthenes needed no more than a gnomon, or shadow stick, to measure the whole earth, and his answer missed our contemporary, sophisticated measurements by only 5 percent. On the summer solstice, Eratosthenes stood at Alexandria with his gnomon. When the sun reached its zenith over Syene, a city 5,000 stades, … Read more
On October 16, 1793, Marie Antoinette, former Queen of France and Navarre, mounted an open tumbrel led by cart horses, her hands bound behind her. With a constitutional priest beside her, she was driven through the chill autumn morning from the Conciergerie, where she had been held prisoner, over the Pont au Change, toward the … Read more
The Aztecs smoked tobacco through a hollow reed or cane tube, and elsewhere in Central and South America the indigenous population rolled shredded tobacco in corn husks and other vegetable materials. The conquistadores who witnessed this returned to Spain with something resembling our present day cigar. Wealthy Spaniards smoked these cigars and often tossed the … Read more
When Christopher Columbus died in 1506, he adamantly believed that the scene of his adventures and exploration was eastern Asia. This conviction prevented his assigning a new name to the vast continents that by rights should bear his name. His error was the first in a chain of quirky occurrences through which a counterfeit letter … Read more
The story of the search for radium is a romantic and stirring one. Behind it is a woman who was passionately curious, daring in her convictions, and determined to work in an age hardly encouraging to professional aspirations among those of her sex. From a dilapidated shed, described by one German chemist at the time … Read more
Corn holds a vital spot in the birth of our country as the staple on which the first Pilgrims survived. With no farm animals and little aptitude for tracking game, the Pilgrims might all have starved (as it was, many of them did) had it not been for corn. Yet before landing on these wild … Read more
On Near Year’s Day, 1946, the Emperor of Japan addressed his people, now battered by war, shamed by defeat, and fearful for the position of their divine leader: “We stand by the people and we wish always to share with them in their moments of joy and sorrow. The ties between us and our people … Read more
For thousands of years stories circulated about a vast river without water concealed beneath the barren sands and dunes of the Sahara desert. Here, where rain falls only once in 30 to 50 years, the possibility of a riverbed seems ludicrous. But in November 1981 the space shuttle Columbia had a more penetrating look at … Read more
With his genial disposition, lack of political drive, and tastes for wine, women, and poker, Warren Gamaliel Harding was not only a startling choice in 1920 but one of the least qualified candidates ever nominated by the Republican or Democratic party. But the young politician from small town America, Blooming Grove, Ohio, had good looks, … Read more
As simply as possible, for the most economical and efficient production to date. The Model T was the car for the masses, the car that revolutionized the industry in its early days, that ten years after its appearance sold for an average of $400 retail while Ford netted over $80 million annually. “You can have … Read more
Time magazine was the child of two ambitious Yalies who grew up in a time and of a class that cultivated self-assurance and initiative. The first issue hot off the press in March 1923 appeared when the two men behind it were only 24 and 25. They were Henry Robinson Luce, born in China on … Read more
Emily Dickinson was born in 1830 in the quiet, respectable town of Amherst, Massachusetts, and died there 56 years later, her genius as yet unrecognized, her manuscripts, like her life, safely hidden from the world. As daughter of the treasurer of Amherst College, Emily might have taken part in society but chose not to, turning … Read more
When Al Capone’s armor plated Cadillac with its bulletproof glass and tail gunner’s movable back window cruised along the streets of Chicago, people spilled into the streets hoping to catch a glimpse of Scarface. Inside, the king of the underworld reclined on silk cushions and puffed on a fat cigar, while his bodyguard, armed with … Read more
Attempts to map the earth began thousands of years before the birth of Christ. The first known maps were made by the Babylonians and the Egyptians, who transcribed information gathered from direct measurement of the ground. Babylonian ground plans, made for the purpose of taxing property, were inscribed on tablets of baked clay and date … Read more
No other gem in history has provoked such fascination and mystery as the deep-blue 45.52 carat Hope diamond. This stone, however rare and beautiful, allegedly brought evil and misfortune to all who wore it. That, legend claims, is why Louis XIV died in disgrace; Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette fell beneath the blade of the … Read more
What would the weather forecast be without a map of highs and lows? How could the weatherman guarantee us a sunny weekend or predict a blizzard if it weren’t for the barometer? This instrument is undoubtedly one of the meteorologist’s most useful tools, but there’s nothing magical or complex about it, its precursor was invented … Read more
When Superman speeds across the heavens to save Lois Lane or fearlessly dives and swoops around the skyscrapers of Gotham or over the San Andreas Fault, kids really believe he’s flying and many of the rest of us come close to believing, too. That’s because the moviemakers put a lot of effort into not only … Read more
Heinrich Schliemann, a self-made millionaire with a lifelong belief in the historical accuracy of the Greek classics, discovered ancient Troy, the site of the battles fought in Homer’s Iliad. Born in 1822 in Mecklenburg, Germany, Schliemann was introduced to the Iliad and the Odyssey by his father, a Protestant minister. As a boy Heinrich would … Read more
Hannibal, born in 247 B.C., grew up in Carthage during the First Punic War between the great powers of Rome and Carthage, rivals since the days long before when Dido of Libya had died of love for Rome’s Aeneas. At the tender age of nine, Hannibal vowed a sacred oath before his father, the renowned … Read more
In 1925, when Detroit was alive and well with a burgeoning auto industry, some car manufacturers were producing two-tone models. Flashy, yes, but a nightmare to paint. So the car makers turned to the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company 3M for a sturdy tape they could run along a seam while painting to keep clean … Read more
Paleontologists believe Neanderthal man to have lived in the world from 100,000 to 40,000 years ago, a period that began in a warm interglacial phase but included the last ice age (70,000 years ago) as well. Thus these primitive humans, found predominantly in Western Europe and the Mideast but as far north as southern Siberia, … Read more
Fifteenth century Europe, at last stirring from the sleep of the Middle Ages, was a place of exploration and invention. Universities opened their doors; drama’ and poetry flourished; a wave of humanism peaked in Italy and spread northward; Prince Henry the Navigator and Christopher Columbus set sail for new shores. In Germany, the city of … Read more
Although the principle and construction of the parachute might seem pretty elementary in these days of advanced aerodynamic technology, early experiments with the devices were feats of considerable daring, usually performed before breathless crowds at country fairs. Louis Sebastien Lenormand of France was the first to demonstrate his rustic canopy parachute in action when, in … Read more
When the five Marx brothers and their parents, grandparents, and miscellaneous relatives lived crammed together in a tenement on East 93rd Street in New York, it was Minnie, the boys’ mother, who was always plotting and scheming to get them onto the stage. A legend in show business, she had the energy and inspiration to … Read more
The largest man-made construction on earth, and, it is often said, the only one visible from the moon, the Great Wall of China began as many different walls linking already existing fortifications and watchtowers. During the period of the Warring Kingdoms (c. 500-221 B.C.), myriad principalities were subsumed under huge kingdoms, which inevitably fought and … Read more
Beethoven noted the first signs of deafness as early as 1801, when he was only 28, with numerous piano and chamber works behind him but only one symphony yet created. “Let me tell you,” wrote the young composer to Karl Friedrich Amenda, “that my most prized possession, my hearing, has greatly deteriorated.” He commented parenthetically, … Read more
In this century convention appears to have the upper hand with men’s clothes. The standard, acceptable uniform is dutifully worn by legions of businessmen pouring into offices five days a week, despite the buttoned collar that grows smaller with passing hours, despite the choking necktie cramping one’s style. For some, fumbling with a necktie at … Read more
In the popular legend, poor old Mrs. O’Leary’s cow takes the rap for the devastation of downtown Chicago, with a loss of 17,000 buildings and $200 million. The accused allegedly kicked over a lantern, which ignited the straw, the cowshed, and three and a half square miles of the city. No one else shouldered the … Read more
When Franklin D. Roosevelt was assembling his Cabinet in 1932, labor leaders had their own ideas about who should be Secretary of Labor. By the time the President met with them, however, his mind was made up. He, had not only rejected their choices, he had selected a woman: Frances Perkins. Eleanor Roosevelt sympathized with … Read more
Godwin, Earl of Wessex, scalped his enemies way back in the 11th century. Six hundred years later the Dutch and English brought the custom to North America, not as an official method of warfare, but as a bounty to ease the fury of the frontiersmen. Outlaws, runaways, and freethinkers were the early settlers of the … Read more
No one was more vigorously opposed to unions than Henry Ford. As waves of strikes disrupted factories across the country in the late 1930s, as General Motors and Chrysler made concessions, Ford stood firm, convinced to the bitter end that unions were controlled by “predatory money interests in New York.” The recalcitrant tycoon, by then … Read more
Although “wiener” and “frank” and “hot dog” are interchanged quite freely today, old-time sausage makers insist that originally Vienna’s wiener and Frankfurt’s frankfurter were two distinct breeds, the latter being more coarsely ground and highly seasoned. To confuse matters even more, the hot dog’s antecedent is called a wiener Wurst in Frankfurt and a Frankfurter … Read more
While moviegoers across the country flocked to the films of Humphrey Bogart to swoon over his aloof machismo or be dazzled by his daring, teenaged Betty Bacal stood in the shadows of the streets of Brooklyn, as yet unknown. Hanging out in front of Sardi’s, she sold a theatrical sheet, Actor’s Cues, and brazenly introduced … Read more
In the early days of atomic physics, the overriding concern was the search for knowledge, pure and simple, unencumbered by the controversial moral and political ramifications that since 1945 have surrounded the atomic bomb. In the forefront of the drive to reveal the secrets of the atom was one of the greatest physicists of all … Read more
The violins of Antonio Stradivari are renowned throughout the world for their perfect proportions, vigorous and bright tonality, responsiveness, and remarkable flexibility in the hands of different musicians playing continually new music throughout the ages. The gifted instrument maker, who lived in the town of Cremona in northern Italy, did not, however, spring out of … Read more
For many years James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, was the authority on the age of the earth. Calculating from the genealogy of patriarchs in the Old Testament, the Irish prelate pronounced in 1648 that the world was created in 4004 B.C. So convinced was he and nearly everyone else of the divine origin of the … Read more
Marrying the notorious blonde with the gargantuan ego was probably the worst move Frank Wallace of Long Island ever made. Mae West was decidedly unfit for monogamy. Wallace, on the other hand, was blinded by her skirt-swishing dance numbers and her imagination in the sack. He didn’t realize why she agreed to marry, and even … Read more
Potato chips were originally called Saratoga chips after the site of their discovery. In the late 19th century a Native American named George Crumb worked as chef for Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York, where a fashionable crowd convened to take the waters of the spa. A persnickety guest reportedly disliked the cut … Read more
At about 3:30 A.M. on November 4, 1953, Dylan Thomas staggered from the White Horse Tavern to his hotel room in the Chelsea section of New York and announced to his girl friend, Liz Reitell, “I’ve had eighteen straight whiskeys. I think that’s the record.” That, at any rate, became the legend. Today students, writers, … Read more
On October 1, 1929, a wrecking crew of 700 arrived at the stately Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to begin demolition of what had been a fashionable center of New York social life for 36 years. On this site, imbued with tradition, several leaders of big business would build the tallest skyscraper to date, one surpassing others in … Read more
The first attack came on May 24, 1940. Leon Trotsky, the powerful revolutionary and political strategist, Lenin’s comrade and appointed successor, had been living in exile for 11 years. Though his health was failing, he continued to work feverishly from behind the high walls of his villa in Coyoacan, Mexico, writing and plotting worldwide revolution. … Read more
Nestled in the mountains surrounding Bogota, Colombia, lies a rather unspectacular lake called Guatavita. But a very strange ritual was once performed here, one that caused Spaniards and Englishmen alike to forsake the comforts of home, battle alligators and jaguars and cannibals, suffer scurvy and starvation, and lose their way in the torrid jungles, all … Read more
With the demise of his first marriage in the early 1920s, Hughes abandoned himself to 30 years of rampant promiscuity—bizarre and often underhanded. Enamored of Hollywood, he was equally smitten by its leading ladies. Marian Marsh, Jean Harlow, Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Ida Lupino, and Carole Lombard were all associated with the tall and mysterious … Read more
According to Arab legend, a lone shepherd named Kaldi was roaming the hills with his herd of goats sometime around A.D. 850. One day he found his usually quiet herd behaving very strangely: old and young alike frolicked and cavorted, scampered up and down the rocky slopes bleating excitedly. The bewildered shepherd hid and watched … Read more
John Quincy Adams, who served as President from 1824 to 1828, was noted for his austere reserve and cold manner. Critics labeled him an aristocrat and tyrant. Even Anne Royall, the caustic newspaperwoman who left no scandal concealed, no political machine unscathed, found Adams a difficult man to get to. Time and again she pounded … Read more
At 4 A.M. on March 30, 1867, Secretary of State William H. Seward and Baron Edouard Stoeckl, Russian Minister to the United States, signed the Treaty of Cession, by which Alaska passed from Russian to American hands for a mere $7.2 million, culminating three weeks of intense negotiation carried on in unusual secrecy. Seward rushed … Read more
Chaplin’s trademark, the derby cocked on his head, thick swatch of a moustache, and gargantuan shoes, was the result of Mack Sennett’s request that he “get into a comedy make-up” for Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914). With a little ingenuity, he concocted the outfit in a dressing room while Fatty Arbuckle and Chester Conklin … Read more
Johann Sebastian Bach was the third choice of the Council of Leipzig, definitely not the most desirable of the six applicants who turned up in 1722 to compete for the enviable post of music director in Leipzig. Georg Philipp Telemann was indisputably the star. As the prestigious music director and cantor of Hamburg, and a … Read more
Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated on April 6, 1814, and the Allies attempted to determine his fate, according to the Treaty of Fontainebleau, signed six days later. The Emperor (who might still call himself that) was to assume sovereignty not over an empire but over the little island of Elba, lying between Corsica and the western coast … Read more
On April 10, 1912, the magnificent Titanic, called unsinkable, steamed slowly away from Southampton on her maiden voyage with her cargo of aristocrats, her lavish dining rooms, suites, and cafés. She picked up passengers at Queenstown, then turned her bow westward toward New York, with 1,316 passengers and 891 crew members. Nearly 900 feet long, … Read more
“Quickly” is the answer to this question, before Napoleon could change his mind. In the early 19th century, New Orleans was already a vital port, strategically located at the mouth of the long Mississippi. Early settlers in the West shipped nearly a third of their produce in flatboats along its tributaries and down the river … Read more
There may be just one basic way to conceive a child, but people over the ages have concocted an array of ways not to. The human race has seen fit to control its numbers for diverse reasons, be it shortages of food in Neolithic times or eugenics in ancient Sparta, and the means to this … Read more
Hovering over the steep Pleistus Valley and shielded by rugged Mount Parnassus is the ancient sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi. Here at the crossroads of several trade routes, men of the mercantile world would meet and exchange wares. Others would come to seek the wisdom of the fabled oracle, the frenzied prophetess through whom Apollo … Read more
It was not the searching eye of an astronomer but the enormously complex calculations of mathematicians that made Neptune known to the world. If skeptical at first, people were dazzled when the new planet was finally seen and the computations thus confirmed. This was the first planet to be discovered mathematically, and the method seemed … Read more
Since the 19th century, the Mason-Dixon line has represented the demarcation between North and South, the front where opinions clashed on the incendiary issue of slavery. In Civil War days, the line ran along the Maryland-Pennsylvania border and westward along the Ohio River to the Mississippi. But Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon actually had no … Read more
The fight to save the endangered whooping crane began as early as the 1930s. Since then the struggle has acquired a certain mystique, exemplifying the recent awareness that man cannot live at the expense of other creatures. The United States government and the National Audubon Society initiated studies and programs to aid the majestic cranes, … Read more
From the moment the Sun King arose from his sumptuous gold bed, aligned with the rising sun at the centerpiece of his beloved Versailles, the château was alive with activity. The life of every courtier, minister, lovely lady, doctor, and cook was finely tuned to the rituals of the King, his dressing, shaving, dining, meetings, … Read more
The statutory mile (as opposed to the slightly longer nautical mile) has an unlikely and seemingly arbitrary length of 5,280 feet. The measurement derives from ancient Rome. As walking was then the primary mode of transportation, the Romans measured a distance in paces-2 steps to the pace, a pace spanning about 5 feet, thus milia … Read more
No one throughout the ages has enjoyed so sublime a tomb as that of King Khufu, builder of the magnificent Great Pyramid of Giza. The son and successor of King Snefru and Queen Hetepheres, Khufu reigned for 23 years, a period marked by economic stability and artistic progress. The able and energetic King erected several … Read more
“That’s where the money was,” quipped Willie. At dawn on March 9, 1950, the most notorious criminal in the country, number one on the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list, Willie Sutton, was getting ready for work. In his refuge on Staten Island, the Actor stood before the mirror staining his skin a dark olive, thickening his … Read more
Obviously, somebody wanted to get rich. And that somebody was not the McDonald brothers, who lived a quiet, comfortable life in southern California, content with their pretty white house and its pleasant view. A man of a different ilk proved the dynamo behind the scenes, the relentlessly driving entrepreneur who would see those now familiar … Read more
DNA is virtually synonymous with James Watson and Francis Crick in popular belief, largely because their contribution to its study was momentous and relatively recent. But Watson and Crick were not the discoverers of the miraculous substance that embodies the secret code of genetic characteristics. These two, who fathomed the complex structure of DNA, were … Read more
During the summer of 1977 many Americans walked the streets with a distracted look in their eyes and glanced frequently, apprehensively, at the sky. That was the summer aliens hovered overhead in a chandelier spaceship, sounding a sacred chord for mystified mortals. More spectacular than an oil refinery seen from the air at night (that … Read more
