A 13TH-CENTURY PUZZLE, PART 1
HAVE YOU ever heard of the Voynich Manuscript? Me neither. Until the London Review of Books, July 27, 2017, and Meehan Crist’s article “Who Knows?” Crist’s review of the book … Continue reading
KABUKI SHOWDOWN IN BOSTON
THE MUSEUM of Fine Arts, Boston, is reviving a competition between two woodblock print artists, Utagawa Kuniyoshi and Utagawa Kunisada, that began in 19th-century Japan. It’s a fascinating exhibition, especially … Continue reading
HCCI TO HIT THE STREETS WITH MAZDA SKYACTIV-X IN 2019
MAZDA HAS announced a production breakthrough coming in 2019 with its Skyactiv-X, hitherto a research goal known as Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition that combines the advantages of gasoline and diesel … Continue reading
HOLMES AND THE ALLEGEDLY SINKING PARSLEY
DR. JOHN H. Watson tantalized us in “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons” wherein he quoted Sherlock Holmes citing “the dreadful business of the Abernetty family.” Like the possibly better … Continue reading
MOVIN’ THE METAL, SIXTY YEARS AGO
PART OF the charm of leafing through old R&Ts is car advertising. Here’s a sample from the 1950s, with a caveat that addresses and phone numbers are likely no longer … Continue reading
MEDIEVAL DNA SLEUTHING
A TWELFTH-CENTURY Gospel of Luke and an even older York Gospels are giving today’s bookworm biologists an opportunity to study the actions of actual 900-year-old book worms in these medieval … Continue reading
B&W: THE FIRST BOEING
WILLIAM E. BOEING was a prominent Seattle timber executive, land owner, and yachtsman. His friend Conrad Westervelt was a U.S. Naval officer assigned to a Seattle shipyard. Like lots of … Continue reading
SALUTING THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
IS THIS karma or what?? Just when the Boy Scouts of America are entangled, honorably I’m sure, in alternative facts, I go and uncover a Boy Scout of America neckerchief … Continue reading
A FANTASTIC TALE FROM THE ISLE OF MAN
I WAGER that most who ever think of the Isle of Man do so within the context of its 38-mile round-the-house race circuit and annual display of motorcyclic mayhem known … Continue reading
GOODBYE, INTERNAL COMBUSTION? PART 2
PLENTY OF countries around the world are questioning fossil-fuel mobility. Yesterday, we looked at proposed gasoline and diesel bans, of one sort or another, in the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, and … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 