PAPAL HIGHJINKS
THE ACCESSION of Pope Francis I has been taking place with high ceremony and, given His Holiness’s nature, a sense of humility. But it wasn’t always that way. In the … Continue reading
TOYOTA, HONDA SITTING EPA-PRETTY
WITHOUT A lot of fanfare last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published an update of automakers and their emissions credits amassed since 2009. Toyota and Honda are sitting pretty. GM … Continue reading
THE ROYALS—OLD AND NEW
HILARY MANTEL is a marvelous writer, whether she’s documenting the Tudor goings-on of Henry VIII et al or delivering a lecture as part of the London Review of Books Winter … Continue reading
BUGATTI 100P
ETTORE BUGATTI combined artistry with his engineering of cars, boats, railway transport—and an airplane, the Bugatti 100P. In the mid-1930s, he teamed with Belgian aeronautical engineer Louis de Monge to … Continue reading
WAR BY BITS AND BYTES
CYBER WAR: Does this describe the next major world conflict? Or is it merely electronic saber rattling of those hoping to profit from a non-threat? An item in 1 March … Continue reading
WHAT’S ISINGLASS?
“WITH ISINGLASS curtains y’ can roll right down/In case there’s a change in the weather.”—“The Surrey With The Fringe On Top,” from Oklahoma!, 1943. What do you suppose “isinglass” was? … Continue reading
NANO BRIGHT
KEEPING GRANDMA’S silver tea service nice and bright has always been a pain—until now. Researchers in the University of Maryland’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering have applied nanoscience to … Continue reading
H2 PRODUCTION
THE WORD “breakthrough” can get overworked in science news, but Virginia Tech researchers may have a legitimate claim to it. They’ve discovered an efficient way to extract significant quantities of … Continue reading
BUY THE MARQUE, NOT THE CAR
WE ALL love our cars, though personal mobility may be approaching a shift of paradigm. A recent survey of ownership options suggests this. A marketing idea with the Fiat 500e … Continue reading
U OR NON-U, REDUX
IT USED be so simple. Beginning with October 14, 1066, one was either Norman or non-Norman. Up until recently (two days ago), it was U or non-U, the “U” standing … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 