TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee")

Humor for English majors

2026-05-29T12:47:51.670-05:00

A cartoon for English majors - updated

2026-05-29T12:44:06.031-05:00

This one was "over my head." I'll post now for other English majors to ponder, and update after the weekend with some relevant details and links.

Addendum: As I was preparing this series of memorial posts about George Booth, one of the library books included some biographical material. They indicated that Booth did not tend to use "gag writers" to provide the captions accompanying his cartoons, but that when he did encounter a potentially useful phrase, he saved it up until an appropriate cartoon came to mind. Two examples were cited.

The cartoon above has text based on the play Cymbeline (in Act III, Scene 6 "Wales. Before the cave of Belarius"), when they spot Imogen (dressed as a boy) in the cave:

BELARIUS
[Looking into the cave]
Stay; come not in.
But that it eats our victuals, I should think
Here were a fairy.
GUIDERIUS
What's the matter, sir?
BELARIUS
By Jupiter, an angel! or, if not,
An earthly paragon! Behold divineness
No elder than a boy!

Re-enter IMOGEN

IMOGEN
Good masters, harm me not:
Before I enter'd here, I call'd; and thought
To have begg'd or bought what I have took:
good troth,
I have stol'n nought, nor would not, though I had found
Gold strew'd i' the floor. Here's money for my meat...

The scene has been illustrated for various publications of the play, as in this example (a reproduction from the Dallas Museum of Art):

and again here:

and yet again here:

So the scene appears to be well recognized by artists and thespians. But the phrase "By Jupiter, an angel..." was totally unfamiliar to me (in my defense I would suggest that Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare/deVere's lesser-performed works). It wasn't until I read the Booth biography and the cartoon at the top was discussed that I was prompted to search Google for the true source of the quotation.

Interestingly, the biography went on to offer one more cartoon based on a quotation from someone. The caption in this cartoon -

- was credited to "Hank Martin." I spent a lot of time fruitlessly Googling that name before finally deciding that the reference must be to Henry Martin, who like Booth was a longtime New Yorker cartoonist.

But... to what is the text of the caption referring??? I have been unable to find a primary source for the "lone grape" sentences (searches typically lead to cartoon compilations that include both Booth and Martin). Perhaps the excitement on the bus was something spoken to Booth by Martin privately, or perhaps it exists in some correspondence or book. For now it remains a mystery unless some reader of this blog can suss it out.

Related: Humor for English majors and A jury of English majors.

Resposted from 2022 to accompany a new post about humor for English majors.

When the endgame is defeat - updated

2026-05-29T12:40:11.914-05:00

Excerpts from an article in The Atlantic last week:

... Trump’s repeated threats to resume attacks since then have proved to be bluffs. The leaders in Tehran have been calculating for two months that Trump would not launch another attack, and for this reason they have made no concessions despite the damage they suffered from 37 days of relentless strikes. On the contrary, their terms for a settlement are those of a victor: They demand war reparations, no limits on uranium enrichment, recognized control of the strait, and an end to sanctions...

In 30 days, moreover, the new Iranian strait regime may already be firmly in place. As the Institute for the Study of War reports, Iran has been using the cease-fire period to “normalize” its control over the strait by “compelling oil-importing countries” to establish transit agreements with Tehran and charging fees on vessels from nations without such deals. According to Iranian officials, the new strait regime will give Iran’s strategic partners, such as Russia and China, priority and allow nations friendly to Iran, such as India and Pakistan, to negotiate their own transit agreements. Vessels associated with nations that Iran regards as an adversary will be denied access to the strait entirely...

Several nations, including South Korea, Turkey, and Iraq, are reportedly already negotiating at least temporary transit agreements.. Those nations currently allied with the United States and friendly to Israel will feel pressure to distance themselves and make their peace with Iran. The international sanctions against Iran will collapse, and even more money will pour into the country’s accounts as its newly central role in the global economy becomes normalized. By the end of 30 days, most of the world will have a stake in the new arrangement and will oppose any resumption of hostilities, even in the unlikely event that Trump wanted to go back to war.

Trump no doubt hopes that he can slip away without Americans noticing the magnitude of this defeat. The financial markets may stabilize if it is clear that oil will eventually start flowing again through a reopened strait, even if under the new Iran-controlled system. A major strategic setback for the United States need not affect Wall Street. The president may also hope that he can change the subject by launching another military operation, this time against the government in Cuba. And the news media have indeed begun writing more about Cuba than about the unfolding disaster in Iran.

Will Israel go gentle into this good night? That is the wild card that may disrupt the financial markets’ dreams of a new stability in the Gulf. A stronger, richer, more influential Iran will mean new life for Hamas and Hezbollah. It will mean the end of the Abraham Accords, as the Gulf States will have to make their own peace with Tehran so that their economies can survive. Trump says that Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do.” But can Israel stand by while Iran replaces the United States as the arbiter of power in the region?

Netanyahu is clearly the wild card, in every sense of the word, because the current memorandum of understanding that I have seen indicates that one of the conditions for opening the Strait is that Israel cease its attacks on Lebanon.

Addendum: This morning I saw Trump's latest pronoucement re the "deal" he's offering...

Strait opened with no tolls plus magical "destruction" of "Nuclear Dust" by methods that have not yet been invented. So, let me plug that reply into the Magic 8 Ball and ask what Iran's reply will be...

Well, the Magic 8 Ball skipped its 20 standard answers and instead replied "no fucking way, Jose."

So, what's the next step? Hostilities resumed (the U.S. has been bombing Iranian missile sites during the cease-fire), or kicking the can down the road ("resume negotiations")??? If someone could check Trump's management of his investments before the market closes this afternoon, that might give the answer...

Rechalking the Cerne Abbas Giant

2026-05-28T13:16:53.075-05:00

Readers here will certainly be familiar with the Cerne Giant. What I had not appreciated from casual reading is the depth to which the chalk is embedded in the hillside. Makes sense, of course, explaining how the figure came to be buried by natural growth and why it lay "hidden" for so long. Details re the history here.

Photos in a Guardian article show volunteers "rechalking" the figure.

The custom has been to rechalk the 55-metre-tall giant roughly every seven to 10 years. It was last done in 2019 and before that in 2008... The rechalking technique is being adapted. In 2008 and 2017, it involved packing in dry chalk and tamping it down. “But that’s very difficult because the hill is so steep,” Dawson said.

So this time they are experimenting with mixing chalk (they need 17 tonnes of it) with water to create a paste. Dawson said: “It’s like a putty, which makes it easier to make it stick.”

I'm impressed by the quality of the preservation work being undertaken.

O.K - here's the photo, for those unfamiliar with it. Now go to the links and read. And please nobody tell Donald Trump about this; a ballroom/bunker is bad enough.

News re the Strait of Hormuz

2026-05-27T17:59:54.924-05:00

From Facebook, so it might not be true...

But what is true is that I listed to an Al Jazeera interview with a fellow from Tehran who mentioned that closure of the Strait of Hormuz was not a new idea. Apparently Iran has had this strategic maneuver on their list of options for over twenty years. They have never exercised the capacity to do this because it was decided that doing so would be tantamount to declaring war on their Gulf neighbors. But once the U.S. and Israel initiated the war, they had justification for the maneuver. I will bet you a dollar to a doughnut that the old-time senior Pentagon generals who were dismissed by Trump must have been aware of this possibility. It would have come up in any serious war gaming strategies conducted over the past several decades.

Addendum: An excellent op-ed of the diplomatic consequences of the war makes note of the fact that closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a "commonplace doomsday scenario" used in non-military settings:

"Fatih Birol, the chief executive of the International Energy Agency, recently disclosed that in job interviews at the IEA, after asking candidates why they are applying for a job at the IEA, the second is: “What would you do if the strait of Hormuz was closed?” It was a commonplace doomsday scenario, yet the US had to improvise a response."

Why was it not considered (or why was it ignored) for this war???

p.s. - yes I know Andy Borowitz is a humor columnist...

Storytime chair (Penzance, Cornwall)

2026-05-26T15:36:47.416-05:00

Details of the chair's design elements from local folklore are clarified at the Neatorama via. I presume the colorful discs by the chair are little sit-upon pads for the children.

How very cool. I would be delighted to sit and listen to stories read by someone sitting in this chair.

"Moral panic" over babydoll dresses

2026-05-26T15:17:29.305-05:00

Let's start with a definition:

A babydoll is a short, sleeveless, loose-fitting nightgown or negligee, intended as nightwear for women. It sometimes has formed cups called a bralette for cleavage with an attached, loose-fitting skirt falling in length usually around the upper thigh. The garment is often trimmed with lace, ruffles, appliques, marabou, bows, and ribbons, optionally with spaghetti straps. Sometimes it is made of sheer or translucent fabric such as nylon or chiffon or silk.

And an abbreviated history:

The creation of the super-short nightgown is attributed to the American lingerie designer Sylvia Pedlar, who produced them in 1942 in response to fabric shortages during World War II. Although her designs became known as "babydolls", Pedlar disliked the name and did not use it... The name was popularized by the 1956 movie Baby Doll, starring Carroll Baker in the title role as a 19-year-old nymphet...

Babydolls became a prominent part of the "kinderwhore" look during the early-to-mid-1990s, due to the popularity of Riot Grrrl and grunge performers such as Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland.

I personally would have some doubts that it was fabric shortages that popularized this look, and "Kinderwhore" might be worth a separate post, but for now I'll focus on the Guardian article that drew my attention away from the war.

Online discourse [about pop stars wearing the style] immediately exploded, with many lodging accusations that she was dressing like a “sexy baby” and promoting “pedo core”, while others defended the singer, stating that she can wear whatever she wants. Among those defenders was Ertay Deger, co-founder of brand Generation78, who told the Guardian: “the babydoll silhouette was never conceived as infantilising. For us, it sits within a long history of fashion references tied to rebellion, performance, romance, and girlhood culture. The look felt knowingly performative rather than regressive”...

Rodrigo isn’t the only pop star embracing the baby doll aesthetic right now. Sabrina Carpenter has worn a sheer version, leaning towards a retro-lingerie aesthetic; Addison Rae posed coyly in an understated, plain white minidress on her Instagram – then there’s gen Z’s favourite indie-sleaze icon Alexa Chung who has worn these dresses for years...

So why all the fuss? Gen Z has often been characterised as notably puritanical compared to other generations. Indeed, we live in an era when the exposed horrors of child sexual exploitation are at the forefront of public consciousness. But this wave of outrage towards a perceived sartorial perversion is arguably a projection that serves to police the status quo of young women’s fashion, rather than a mark of genuine concern.

You can also read more at Vogue Arabia:

Short, swingy, and deceptively playful, the babydoll dress is suddenly everywhere – from stadium stages to street style feeds. This isn’t just a trend. It’s a shift, and it’s unfolding in real time.... So why this dress, and why now?

According to Nyree Leckenby, founder of My Mum Made It, the label behind Rodrigo’s viral yellow look, the appeal is all about balance. “Babydoll dresses embody the ease and effortlessness we crave in summer,” she says. “The breezy silhouette keeps things light in the heat while still feeling styled and considered. From a design perspective, they strike the perfect mix of comfort and nostalgia without trying too hard. Celebrities love them because they photograph beautifully and carry a sense of romantic ease that still feels fashion–forward and unique.”

The babydoll’s comeback has been bubbling for a while, but Spring/Summer 2025 made it official. Designers like Chloé, Loewe, Valentino, Emilia Wickstead, and Alberta Ferretti sent it down runways with fresh structure and quiet drama.

More photos and design suggestions at the Vogue Arabia link.

Spend three hours with David Attenborough

2026-05-26T15:16:58.426-05:00

Via Kottke

Pythagorean tiling

2026-05-23T16:08:37.664-05:00

The painting is Street Musicians at the Doorway of a House, by Jacob Ochtervelt (1665). The pattern on the floor is an example of "Pythagorean tiling."

In geometry, the Pythagorean tiling or two squares tessellation is a tessellation of the plane by squares of two different sizes, in which each square touches four squares of the other size on its four sides. A tiling of this type may be formed by squares of any two different sizes. It also is commonly used as a pattern for floor tiles; in this context it is also known as a hopscotch pattern...

This tiling is called the Pythagorean tiling because it has been used as the basis of proofs of the Pythagorean theorem by the ninth-century Arabic mathematicians Al-Nayrizi and Thābit ibn Qurra, and by the 19th-century British amateur mathematician Henry Perigal. If the sides of the two squares forming the tiling are the numbers a and b, then the closest distance between corresponding points on congruent squares is c, where c is the length of the hypotenuse of a right triangle having sides a and b. For instance, in the illustration the two squares in the Pythagorean tiling have side lengths 5 and 12 units long, and the side length of the tiles in the overlaying square tiling is 13, based on the Pythagorean triple... By overlaying a square grid of side length c onto the Pythagorean tiling, it may be used to generate a five-piece dissection of two unequal squares of sides a and b into a single square of side c, showing that the two smaller squares have the same area as the larger one.

Reposted from 2012 to accompany a related post.

Tessellated pavement tiles in Granada

2026-05-23T16:07:27.623-05:00

It just absolutely fascinates me that each of these hexagonal tiles has the same pattern, but that the resultant overall result can be so variable.

Tessellation longread in Wikipedia.

The price of eggs

2026-05-22T13:01:13.928-05:00

I've been doing my own grocery shopping for the past 58 years. I open the egg carton to peek inside and check the bottom for wet spots. And I'm aware of the pricing. Yesterday on a weekly visit I was somewhat startled by the low price, so I searched for a chart. Found this one at a Federal Reserve website:

The gap in the curve several months ago reflects the absence of data that occurred during the government slowdown/shutdown, but the trend is clear.

The fallling price was a somewhat startling revelation since my focus (and most consumers' focus) has been on rising prices for gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, fertilizer etc etc since we started the war, and the anticipated roll-on effect on other commodities and goods. I had frankly forgotten about the reason for the spike upward in egg prices in recent years, which is explained here.

Lots of other interesting data available at that Federal Reserve website for those interested.

U.S. Consumer Sentiment Index

2026-05-22T12:40:30.832-05:00

Offered without comment from me.

World Central Kitchen in Gaza

2026-05-21T16:53:40.489-05:00

Regular readers here may remember that World Central Kitchen is far and away my favorite charity. I believe my last report on their work in Gaza was two years ago. Because I'm a regular contributor, today I received an email update, which I'll share:

WCK is still cooking in Gaza—and we want to be direct with you about what is changing and why. Due to significant financial pressure, including rising food and fuel costs driven by regional conflict, WCK is making the difficult decision to reduce the scale of our meal distribution in Gaza. This decision reflects financial reality, not a reduction in need. Our teams remain on the ground, delivering hundreds of thousands of hot meals every day.

Since the start of the conflict in 2023, WCK has invested more than half a billion dollars feeding the people of Gaza—surging to one million hot meals a day. But no single NGO, funded primarily by small private donors, can sustain that level of output indefinitely. We specialize in emergency food relief, not long-term food security—and the long-term responsibility of feeding Gaza cannot rest on our shoulders alone. The people of Gaza have lost their homes and their economy. Governments, institutions, and international partners must commit the sustained, secure funding this crisis demands.

We know you have questions—here are answers to what we are being asked more frequently.

They note in the email that the upcoming wildfire season is expected to break records. It's shameful to consider how much $ is currently being expended on weaponry and reparations to insurrectionists when basic human needs like this go unmet.

U.S. treasuries being dumped

2026-05-21T11:34:51.371-05:00

China has also publicly announced that they are lightening their reserves of U.S. treasuries.

Here is a table of foreign holders of U.S. treasuries (latest data are from before we started the war). The consequences of such shifts are complex and may be country-specific. It's a bit over my head, so interested readers will need to do some searching or offer suggestions in the Comments.

The author of that Facebook post is a world-renowned economist and the former President of Queens College, Cambridge.

Addendum: Here's an article about what happens if other countries stop buying U.S. debt. I haven't read it yet. It was written a year ago, so probably in response to tariff matters, but the principles outlined may be valid.

I don't know if all of this is true...

2026-05-21T11:24:44.040-05:00

... but I have heard that parts of it are true, and if most or all of it is true, it's tremendously interesting and important.

2026-05-20T13:43:12.701-05:00

Santa Marta, Colombia. An activist demonstrating during a conference aimed at transitioning away from fossil fuels. Photograph: Iván Valencia/AP, via The Guardian.

Neolithic trackway in Somerset

2026-05-20T13:33:02.120-05:00

This interesting image was in a Guardian article describing and illustrating several of the most ancient pathways in England. Shown above is the "Sweet Track", "built nearly 6,000 years ago (3806BC) by early farmers who needed access to an island, the collapsed boardwalk was preserved in peat."

It was interesting to me because of the technique used to secure the planks - suggestive of more sophisticated engineering than the most common corduroy roads.

The other ancient paths at the Guardian link are also interesting for different reasons; the article is worth a quick browse if you enjoy walking.

Top image cropped for size from the original, credit Craig Joiner Photography/Alamy. Lower diagrams from Avalon Marshes.

Satire

2026-05-20T13:12:27.628-05:00

Fortress Washington, drone-proofed and with friendly snipers

2026-05-20T13:07:51.225-05:00

Holly Baxter of The Independent reported today that in the midst of all the chaos—including his war on Iran and rising fuel and food prices—Trump called a sudden, urgent press conference today as Blanche was testifying. But what was on his mind was not Iran, or prices, or his corrupt agreement with the Department of Justice. He wanted to talk about his ballroom.

Trump’s comments in that press conference have invited commentary suggesting he is turning the White House into a fortress. Describing the ballroom, he said: “Between the drone-proofing, the missile-proofing, we have ah, and the drone capacity upstairs, we can have all sorts of military—I hate to use the word snipers—but we have great sniper capacity. It’s built for our snipers, not enemy’s snipers, our snipers. And because of the height we get a very clear view of everything all over Washington.”

Via Letters from an American, May 19. This is the report in The Independent. I know some readers think this is normal behavior, not mental illness, but really... WTF?

Odd structure found "in the middle of nowhere"

2026-05-19T14:05:39.032-05:00

I was delighted to discover what it is and was impressed to note how well-designed and constructed it is. Read all about it at the whatisthisthing subreddit.

The economic cost of the Iran war

2026-05-19T13:51:04.631-05:00

The embed is a screencap because I don't know how to embed the live graphic. So by the time you read this the numbers are way out of date. Go to this link to see the live numbers changing:

Energy Cost Tracker

Note that this does not include the cost of the military equipment being expended or destroyed (or replaced). This is important, so please share the link freely.

A tip of the blogging cap to reader Kyle, who included the energy cost tracker link in a comment.

The antithesis of "diplomacy"

2026-05-18T12:34:52.781-05:00

If anyone sees a way to a "negotiated settlement" based on this rant, please let me know. This is a rant by a mentally ill man facing defeat and unable to accept such. My only hope is that his hand-picked military brass who replaced the seasoned veterans can find a way to sweet-talk him out of putting more U.S. troops at risk.

Addendum: Live coverage from Al Jazeera English at 1300 CDT (~10 pm in Qatar) indicates that Iran and the IRGC are expecting a resumption of active hostilities targeting Iranian government and military facilities very soon. Lots of coverage there also of the Ebola outbreak in Africa; much less attention to that in Western news media.

Update: A couple hours later Trump posted this message on Truth Social, indicating a postponement of aggressive action, which he describes as being in response to pleas from Gulf leaders (not because his military is advising him against it).

So perhaps less risk fot hot war (unless Netanyahu opts to intervene), but no obvious way forward to resolution, which means increasing pressure on world oil prices.

Addendum May 27:

After another week of negotiations, during which "great progress" was made, Trump proceeded to post this antithesis of negotiating:

Why bus steering wheels are so big

2026-05-17T17:24:51.067-05:00

I had never considered the question before, but thought I'd share an answer I discovered in the explainlikeImfive subreddit:

Back in the late Cretaceous when I was learning to drive, most cars and trucks did not have power steering. Larger/heavier vehicles had larger steering wheels because you actually had to muscle the front rolling wheels around to turn the vehicle, and the additional leverage from a larger steering wheel was important. (Incidentally, you could tell if one of your tires was low because it literally got harder to steer. Local truckers and other frequent drivers tended to build up their arm muscles from navigating corners.) My dad's little MG sports car had a 13" steering wheel; my VW van had a 16" steering wheel; pickup trucks' were more typically 17"; and buses were more typically 18-20".

Nowadays, practically every vehicle has power steering assist, but (CyberTruck aside) they're basically all designed so that if the power steering fails, you can still steer the car -- it's just harder to do so. So the big bus steering wheels are still around, as a safety measure.

Additional information at National Bus Sales:

A bus driver has to maneuver through lanes the same size as small cars but with a lot less clearance. With a smaller steering wheel, any adjustments could be too abrupt for safety. With a larger steering wheel, you can make a correction without changing the turning radius of the bus too dramatically. Smaller adjustments won’t cause any instability.

And this response to why the wheel is more horizontal:

This feature has changed over the years and varies in vehicles, but initially, the large steering wheels on buses sat almost horizontally. The driver sits directly above the tires, so for the steering column to correct the tires, the steering wheel needs to be positioned at a different angle. More recent bus models have options for the driver to adjust the position of the wheel.

Increasing upward pressure on oil prices

2026-05-17T17:14:58.969-05:00

As reported by CNBC (Consumer News and Business Channel):

Oil prices rose Friday as President Donald Trump is likely to turn his attention back to the stalemated conflict with Iran after leaving a summit in China with President Xi Jinping.

International benchmark Brent crude futures for July gained more than 3% to close at $109.26 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for June advanced more than 4% to settle at $105.42 per barrel.

Trump told Fox News that he is losing patience with Iran. “I am not going to be much more patient. They should make a deal,” the president said in an interview that aired Thursday evening.

Trump is talking tough, but there is nothing he can do. I can confidently report from frequent views of broadcasts on Al Jazeera that the current Iranian leadership do not intend to bow to pressure, including military pressure. They are under an economic strain because of prior sanctions and the current situation, but are willing to outlast Trump from what they consider a position of strength. If Trump increases hostilities, Iran has enough weaponry still available to wreak havoc on U.S. military bases and on Gulf Coast allies of the U.S. (several of whom have already denied the U.S. continuing access to their airbases for maneuvers). If Trump does nothing, the Strait remains closed or subject to limited passage by ships paying tolls to Iran. Many countries with absent fuel reserves are already instituting restrictive measures on their citizenry. The price of oil is going to continue to increase. Trump's idea of rescinding the U.S. tax on gasoline is a drop in the bucket and will not materially sustain the U.S. economy. The only logical response to the current crisis would be for Trump to "declare victory" and withdraw.

Those who want to "play" the situation financially and don't want to trade commodity futures directly might consider JETS on the NASDAQ. That is the symbol for an exchange-traded fund that holds shares of major U.S. airlines (top holdings are DAL, AAL, UAL, and LUV. Put options are available.

Chart from Trading Economics.

Addendum: The Economist has an insightful article about why world oil prices have not increased more than they have (optimism by traders of an imminent Gulf settlement, tapping of strategic reserves, and some demand destruction).

Egyptian mummy buried with text from Homer's Iliad

2026-05-17T16:48:14.667-05:00

Researchers discovered the mummy at a funerary complex located south of Cairo, in Al Bahnasa, the modern-day location of the ancient Greco-Roman city of Oxyrhynchus, during an excavation in late 2025. Upon examination, the team revealed a sheet of papyrus inside the mummy’s abdomen that contained text from the Iliad, the ancient Greek poet Homer’s epic account of the siege of Troy.

The passage is from Book II of the epic poem, in which Homer cataloged the Greek ships that came to do battle with Troy after Helen, the queen of Sparta and a daughter of Zeus, was taken there by Paris, the son of the king of Troy.

The researchers previously found scrolls in some of the other mummies interred inside three limestone chambers at Al Bahnasa, all of which date to the era of Roman rule over Egypt, which began in 30 B.C.E. and ended around C.E. 640. The newly examined mummy’s tomb dates to about 1,600 years ago, according to the researchers. None of the scrolls discovered inside other mummies at the site, however, contained any references to the Iliad, which would have already been considered a literary classic at that time.

I think it is reasonable to assume that this was not incorporated in the mummy as reading material for the afterlife. More likely intended to grant safety for the "voyage" of the deceased.

Image and text excerpt from Scientific American.