MAPANARE—IN THE TROPICAL FOREST AND IN THE AIR
THANKS TO a Facebook colleague sharing aeronautical and flight-simulation interests, I came to learn about the mapanare, a species of pit viper found in the tropical lowlands of northern South … Continue reading
THE EARTH’S MOST ABUNDANT MINERAL
THE MINERAL bridgmanite got its name only recently. Despite this, specialists in Earth science have long known that the stuff is Earth’s most abundant mineral. I gleaned this, and other … Continue reading
THE NAME GAME
A RECENT brouhaha in the name game got me thinking about questionable automotive monikers. Infiniti has been on again/off again about its 560-hp Q50 Eau Rouge, this sports sedan named … Continue reading
FLIGHT OF THE ?
CHARLES LINDBERGH and his Spirit of St. Louis were the first, in 1927, to fly solo non-stop from New York to Paris. However, aircraft cognoscenti also recognize the Navy-Curtiss NC-4 … Continue reading
A LUDDITE’S VIEW?
PRESERVATION OF hair on the top of my head was one reason for my choosing a Honda Crosstour . See “2012 Honda Crosstour,” http://wp.me/p2ETap-9S. Another reason that continues to satisfy … Continue reading
LA PLUME DE MA TANTE’S
I HAVE long been puzzled by double possessives, also known as the double genitive case. “The feather of my aunt” versus “The feather of my aunt’s.” Which is correct? This … Continue reading
WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE—AND PLENTY TO READ
THE DECEMBER 18, 2014, issue of London Review of Books features an article by Rose George titled “No Bottle.” It’s a review of three books, Drinking Water: A History by … Continue reading
THE HISPANO-SUIZA ALFONSO XIII
ONE OF the world’s first sports cars was named after an auto enthusiast who was also a king. The Hispano-Suiza Type 45CR, introduced in 1911, possessed everything sporting of the … Continue reading
TRANSLATION (ПЕРЕВОДА)
I HAVE Englishwoman Constance Garnett to thank for my discovering Russian classics. Publisher Random House played a role as well for its striking red cover of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and … Continue reading
A WRIGHT WHIMSY
THE FOLLOWING two fantasy correspondences are offered for your amusement: Wilbur Wright, 7 Hawthorne Street, Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A. April 11, 1909 My Dear Wilbur, Greetings from the little bathing town … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 