HENRI’S LIMO PART 1
HENRI DEUTSCH DE LA MEURTHE was a French John D. Rockefeller, “the Oil King of Europe.” What’s more, Henri’s oil was second-generation, in more ways than one. And whereas Rockefeller’s … Continue reading
GETTING SCREWED—HISTORICALLY
NOW THAT I have your attention, let’s talk about the historical standardization of fasteners: nuts, bolts, and screws. Today’s tidbits include a gunboat rush order, a Cadillac exhibition, and which … Continue reading
POSTWAR ARCHITECTURE: SPECIALISTS’ VIEWS
T, THE NEW YORK TIMES Style Magazine is published with the NYT Sunday edition and recently ran “The 25 Most Significant Works of Postwar Architecture.” Kurt Soller and Michael Snyder … Continue reading
IS THERE AN ALCHEMIST IN THE HOUSE?
ALCHEMY WAS MORE than changing base metals into gold. Malcolm Gaskill reviews Jennifer M. Rambling’s The Experimental Fire: Inventing English Alchemy, 1300–1700 in the London Review of Books, July 15, … Continue reading
THAT’S A PARAPROSDOKIAN TO ME!
THE WEBSITE Inspiring Quotes is entertaining. Plus, I learned a new word from it, “paraprosdokian.” The word has a Greek etymology: παρά, para, “against,” and προσδοκία, prosdokia, “expectation.” Inspiring Quotes, … Continue reading
KOREAN TIDBITS, OLD AND NEW, GOOD AND BAD
MORE THAN 71 YEARS separate us from the outbreak of the Korean War, the subject of several of today’s tidbits. Another tidbit is as recent as The New York Times, … Continue reading
WE OTTER KNOW MORE ABOUT METABOLISM
HOW DO SEA OTTERS keep warm in frigid water? Sure, they’ve got thick fur, but there’s more to it than this. Sacha Vignieri gives the high points in “Keeping Warm … Continue reading
MY GARBLED TALE OF STRAVINSKY’S DUMBARTON OAKS
STRAVINSKY’S JAUNTY CONCERTO in E-Flat had just been broadcast on SiriusXM‘s “Symphony Hall.” And I thought, how neat that he composed it for that big-deal conference at Dumbarton Oaks. What … Continue reading
GLUBB PASHA—A SECOND LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
SIR JOHN BAGOT GLUBB was a British soldier who trained and led Transjordan’s Arab Legion between 1939 and 1956. Controversially, the Legion had several victories against Israel in the 1948 … Continue reading
DEADLY CONS PART 2
YESTERDAY’S CON WAS a Ponzi scheme expanded to absurdity. Today in Part 2, a man’s death is related to something as seemingly innocuous as his Twitter hand. Handles For Sale. … Continue reading
