Scallop

Scallop (pronounced skol-uhp or skal-uhp)

(1) Any of the various marine bivalve mollusks of the superfamily Pectinoidea (genus Argopecten (Pecten)) and related genera (attached to a substratum (genus Chlamys)), distinguished by moving in water by rapidly clapping together their pair of fluted shell valves.  “Scallop” is used of other molluscs (including certain clams and oysters) and for commercial purposes, all (in the broad) are classed with the “saltwater shellfish”.

(2) The edible adductor muscle of certain species of such mollusks, widely used in cooking (in some places sold as “sea scallops” to distinguish use of “scallop” from other dishes (made usually with thinly sliced meat)).

(3) Either of the shell valves of such a mollusk, usually having radial ribs and a wavy outer edge (often used decoratively).

(4) A scallop shell re-purposed as a receptacle in which food (usually seafood) is served (and often baked).

(5) In cooking, a thin slice of meat, either so cut or something thicker “flattened” by pounding with a “meat tenderizer”, mallet or similar implement.

(6) Any of a series of curved projections (classically as multiple, symmetrical crescents) cut along the edge, used in sewing, knitting & crochet of necklines and other hems and in gardening, carpentry, art, engineering and architecture, of such shapes, used variously.

(7) In historic use (most associated with the middle & late medieval period), the badge of pilgrim (in the shape of a scallop shell).

(8) In certain places, potato (variously prepared) fried in batter.

(9) In design or construction, to finish (an edge) with scallops.

(10) In cooking, to escallop.

(11) To dredge for scallops to harvest (practiced by a scalloper).

1350-1400: From the Middle English scallop & scallop (edible bivalve mollusk), an aphetic variant of the Old French escalope (shell (of a nut); carapace), a variant of eschalope (probably from the Proto-Germanic skaljô (shell, husk, or scale), perhaps connected with the Old Norse skalpr (sheath) and the Middle Dutch schelpe (shell), from the primitive Indo-European root skel- (to cut; to split)).  English picked up the sense “thin slice of meat” from an association with French use in this context.  The process of aphesis (in linguistics & phonetics the loss of the initial unstressed vowel of a word) would have been gradual (and regionally differentiated) but, over time, the initial “e-“ vanished, “escalope” becoming “scallop”.  The use generally of shapes (clothing, architecture, garden beds) began to appear in documents in the seventeenth century although the shell (especially the larger and more colourful) clearly had for centuries been used domestically (they were nature’s pre-made serving dish) and contents (not always seafood) often were baked “in the shell”, cookbooks dated as early as 1737 detailing the methods, extending the term to describing the “decorative scalloping” used at the edges of the pastry atop pies and slices.  Before that use, “escallop” (in the sense both of “scallop shell” and “edge or border (of fabric) cut in the shape of scallops” had appeared in the late fifteenth century with the verb escalloped (having the border or edge cut out in scallops) appearing at much the same time.  The now less common alternative spelling was scallop (still seen in the UK) and the adjectival forms scallopesque, scallopish & scalloplike are non-standard.  Scallop is a noun & verb, scalloper is a noun, scalloping is a noun & verb, scalloped is a verb & adjective and scallopwise is an adverb; the noun plural is scallops.

Australian culture: The potato scallop (or “cake” or “fritter”).

In the barbarian nation of Australia, the potato scallop is a prized delicacy but while the methods of preparation and final appearance vary little from coast-to-coast, the warring tribes cannot agree on the name.  Unfortunately, use doesn’t precisely align with the state & territory boundaries but, as a general principle, it’s (1) Potato Scallop (New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory), Queensland and Western Australia, (2) Potato Cake (Victoria, Tasmania and most of the Northern Territory or (3) Potato Fritter (South Australia).  The use of “cake” and “fritter” is based on the use of those words for other dishes of a similar shape while the consensus among the “scallop faction” seems to be the name as an allusion to the “thin slice” rather than the shellfish definition and that does make sense because a potato scallop is several times the size of a typical scallop and thus dimensionally closer to the meat concoction.  Historians of food attribute the regional difference in terminology to the various terms been imported from England (where the spelling scallop was also used, the spelling influenced by certain regional pronunciations), sometime during colonial or post-colonial settlement of the continent, all the forms appearing in the British Isles at some time (although “smack” & “fairy chip” either never made the trip or didn’t survive).  In the UK, also documented is the use to describe a sautéed potato (a shallow-fried round potato slice).

Scalloped potatoes: These are different from a “potato scallop” in being thinly sliced potatoes, baked in a dish with a cheesy sauce; it's a winter favorite.

Whatever the nomenclature, the potato scallop is a classic example of “fast food” because it contains the elements (fat, salt, sugar) humans, their relatives and ancestors for millions of years stalked savannahs or jungles to hunt and harvest.  In developed nations, such substances are of course now available 24/7 “off the shelf” and a slice of potato dipped in batter and deep-fried until a golden-brown is not recommended by dieticians for frequent consumption but, for purposes of record, a “perfect scallop” is crisp on the outside with a fluffy interior the consistency of mashed potato.  The reliable Australian Food Timeline notes the long presence of this delicacy, including one recipe published in a Queensland newspaper in 1905: “Boil two pounds of potatoes, dry well, and pound in a mortar, adding three ounces of butter, half-a-gill of cream or melted butter sauce, and seasoning of pepper, salt and nutmeg. When quite smooth, butter some scallop shells, put in a teaspoonful of mixture, brush over with egg, and bake till brown; serve with watercress.”  Whether the side-dish of watercress would much mollify the dieticians is dubious but customers seem unconcerned, the item to this day a fixture on the menu-boards of fast food outlets and one that has withstood the onslaught of Burger King (Hungry Jacks in Australia), McDonalds, sushi, falafels and other international invaders.  While there may sometimes be differences in the products, these are as likely to happen within as between the regional factions.  For those who which to get a flavor of Australian culture, there’s a Potato Cake Appreciation Society run out of “cake stronghold” Victoria.

Saint James scallop shell necklaces.

The scallop shell was a symbol of Saint James the Great, worn or carried by pilgrims who had travelled to his shrine in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, where his remains are believed to lie.  James the Great was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and, in the New Testament, it’s asserted that when beheaded, (circa 44 AD), he was the second apostle to die (after the notorious Judas Iscariot) and the first to be martyred, pilgrims adopting the scallop shell because of its connection to maritime legends surrounding the saint's remains and its abundance along the Galician coast.  The concave shape also made them a practical thing to have during pilgrimages (handy utensils and cups) and scallops came often to be carved into baptistries or on baptismal fonts with shells (now not always genuine) used by priests to pour holy water on a child, initiating a new soul on a pilgrimage toward heaven.  According to legend, after James was martyred, his decapitated body was cast adrift in an unattended, rudderless boat, guided by angels to Iria Flavia in Hispania, where, on a shoreline covered with scallop shells, a large rock closed around his body.  There are variants of the tale but that’s the most popular.  Symbolically, the shell’s distinct lines (radiating outward) were said to represent the many different roads and paths across Europe converging on the single sacred destination at Santiago de Compostela.  The other practical value in the object was as a “proof of pilgrimage”, pilgrims gathering the shells from the sands at Cape Finisterre as tangible evidence they had completed the journey to the saint's shrine.

The logo of the Roman Catholic parish of Mary, Queen of Martyrs in Carver, Massachusetts was built with a central scallop, the crosses representing the three churches (Our Lady of Lourdes, Saint Kateri Tekakwitha & Saint Peter).  The parish provides an explanation of the scallop’s place in Christian iconography, noting the role as a “guide for pilgrims” (it takes an imaginative leap) on the path to their destination and the symbolic value of “authentication of completion of task”.  Historically, for pilgrims in the medieval era, the journey often was undertaken to fulfil a penance given by a priest and to verify compliance there was no other way but to make the trek and then collect a souvenir to show at mass so the priest world “tick the dutiful penitent off the list”.  However, commerce rose to the occasion and by the twelfth century traders had identified a lucrative market, selling shells from what would now be called “pop-up” stalls near cathedrals and churches.  It was from the tradition of Saint James the Great that the scallop came to be associated generally with the notion of pilgrimage, extended ultimately to the Christian’s earthly journey to heaven evoking the Letter to the Hebrews in which it was written: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13; King James Version of the Bible (KJV, 1611)).

Shell Oil’s logos: Greta Thunberg (b 2003) disapproves of all.

Shell’s current logo dates from 1971 and was a revision by French born US designer Raymond Loewy (1893–1986) whose work spanned a remarkable number of sectors in the era of mid-century modernism, extending from corporate logos, Studebaker’s post-war automobiles, the Coca-Cola bottle & vending machines, locomotives and farm equipment; he had quite a portfolio.  For the company, a shell was always in the branding but the first image was pure “generic shellfish” and not until 1904 did something recognizably “a scallop” appear.  Unlike the use in Christianity, the logo of Shell Oil is wholly secular.  In 1833, an enterprising trader set up in London an import company to sell seashells to collectors and it stayed a family business, the product-mix shifting when a scion (Marcus Samuel, later Lord Bearsted; 1853–1927), sent in 1892 to the Caspian Sea to collect saleable specimens, realized there was potential in exporting the “lamp oil” that bubbled from the ground.  Accordingly, the company commissioned the world’s first purpose-built oil tanker (naming it the SS Murex, from the Latin where it described a type of shellfish with a highly sculptured, elongated shell with distinctive spines or fronds) to enter the market; by 1907, the company had a fleet and “the age of oil” had begun.  The origin of the Latin murex is murky.  Etymologists suspect it may be from mūs (mouse), source of mūsculus (saltwater mussel) but, along with the Ancient Greek μύαξ (múax) (sea mussel) it may be from a Mediterranean substrate language.  So, what was once the Shell Transport and Trading Company became famous as “Shell Oil” although the corporate identity has over the years changed; long known as “Royal Dutch Shell”, it’s currently listed as Shell plc (publicly limited company), the word “oil” now avoided in corporate branding by fossil fuel traders.

Scallop theorem is from the discipline of fluid dynamics; it states that to achieve propulsion at low Reynolds number (in physics, a dimensionless parameter that determines the behavior of viscous flow patterns) in simple (ie Newtonian) fluids, a swimmer must deform in a way that is not invariant under time-reversal.  Introduced in the paper Life at Low Reynolds Number (1977) by physicist Dr Edward Mills “Ed” Purcell (1912–1997) who shared 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics, scallop theorem used math to prove that at microscopic scales (where the Reynolds number is extremely low), a swimmer executing a reciprocal motion (a sequence of movements identical when played in reverse (a la a scallop opening and closing its shell)) cannot achieve any net movement.  It means in cases where the subject’s mass is negligible compared to water's viscosity, this method of propulsion fails.  Tiny organisms (cells, bacteria and such) cannot push water out of the way and thus use flagella (whip-like cellular appendage) to move through water; the motion is thus less of a “swim” (in the conventional human sense of the word” and more of a “screw” as ship designers would understand.  At these scales, viscous forces overwhelm inertial forces, a “return stroke” perfectly cancelling the progress of a “forward stroke”; whatever the energy expended, a “microswimmer” would be left “wiggling in place”.  The theorem ceases to operate at the mesoscale (the range between between microscale and macroscale) because inertia is no longer zero so the mechanical action can provide propulsion.

Dr Purcell's Scallop Theorem explained by 632NM.

Although examples have been cited where scallop theorem doesn’t operate in situations where the definition suggests it should, it is accepted in orthodox science as a foundational principle in fluid mechanics, biophysics, and micro-hydrodynamics.  The critiques discussing the “breakdown” or “violation” of scallop theorem are not wrong but nor do they debunk, rather they provide examples of scenarios in which the theorem’s strictly defined mathematical constraints are bypassed, the most common example being “collective locomotion” in which multiple reciprocal micros-swimmers interact with one another, using their combined fields to generate movement.  Of course, in non-Newtonian Fluids (mucus, polymer solutions etc), the properties of the fluid breaks time-reversal symmetry and the necessary frictional resistance exists for the action (to varying degrees) to work.  All these so-call “edge cases” do is further validate the theorem by defining the exact boundaries where the original rules operate.

Application of a different scallop theorem: Lindsay Lohan cooking scallops & crab claws on a yacht anchored off Cannes while attending the Cannes Film Festival, May, 2017.

Stone Oven Grill's Pan Seared Scallops for two

Ingredients

10 scallops (5 per person)

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Truffle powder (Optional)

1 tablespoon avocado oil

¼ stick butter (some prefer to use more)

Splash of white wine (some prefer to use more)

Instructions

(1) Lay scallops out on a cutting board and pat dry on both sides with paper towels.  Season all over with salt & pepper and (optional) truffle powder.

(2) Heat avocado oil in a large pan over medium high heat and once heated, add scallops to pan.  Work scallops in batches, ensuring pan is never overcrowded the pan.  Cook for 3 minutes per side; 30 seconds before the first flip, add butter to the pan to begin the melt.

(3) After flipping scallops, begin basting them with melted butter; continue basting process for the first two minutes.  While basting need not be continuous, it must periodically be done during this time.  Add white wine with 1 minute remaining and continue to baste, removing scallops once final minute is up.  Serve immediately.

Notes

Pan seared scallops, mid sear.

With a texture unique in the world, scallops offers many possibilities and the pan seared variety is a favorite, one of its many attractions being needing few ingredients, simple equipment (there are “basting spoons” available but a standard dessert spoon is serviceable) and but a few minutes preparation time.  It’s also one of those dishes amateur chefs can create at home and emulate exactly what real chefs so in real restaurants; it’s that simple.  Chefs do however have a few tips to prefect the process: (1) Pat scallops dry prior to cooking.  This is vital because it will remove any excess moisture liquid that can hinder the formation of the crust, a perfect crust being the essence of the dish.  The patting process takes only a couple of minutes: Lay them out flat and pat both sides dry with and absorbent paper towel.  (2) Pan must be hot prior to beginning the searing.  (3) Do not overcrowd pan.  While it’s tempting to fill the whole surface area, results are much better if no scallops are touching with each given a little “room to move”.

Evening gowns with scalloped necklines in a vibrant red by Georges Hobeika (b 1962) from his Spring-Summer 2017 Collection.  The scalloped cut-outs framed a sheer illusion panel, with an understated waist bow and the look worked best with a sleeveless bodice (left), the full-length sleeves and additional intricacy (right) a distraction.

Although never has the scalloped neckline defined the look of a season, never has it vanished and even if from time-to-time seen only rarely on the catwalk, it has remained a staple of high street fashion.  In the narrow technical sense, something qualifies as a “scalloped hem” by virtue of the shape being repeated along whatever line is being finished but the effect is most obvious only beyond a certain dimension.  If the arc of the curves is too small, the look can “become lost” although, paradoxically, the small scale most closely emulates the edge of a scallop’s shell.  While it shouldn’t be treated as a “rule”, as a general principle, smaller scalloping adds refinement while a larger cut is a “statement” or “playfulness” (depending on the garment) so it’s best to keep intent aligned execution.  What is possible successfully to achieve is dependant also on the fabric or material used, some scalloping demanding a degree of rigidity (such as with necklines although heavier fabrics can be difficult to persuade into the right contour) while other uses (like a skirt’s hem) can be more free-flowing.  On an outfit that really “busy”, scalloping can “get lost” in all the detail though that can work as a “highlight among highlights” if well done; it not, it’s just “making a mess”.  That’s why scalloping is recommended as a focal point, existing as the sole feature to draw the eye, explaining why designers like to add them to something sleeveless or strapless on a garment with little other detailing, even the most delicate lace inserts tending to draw the eye.

Lindsay Lohan in a black, off-the shoulder, floral cat-suit (with embedded crystals) from Balenciaga’s Summer 2024 collection, Kering Foundation’s annual Caring for Women dinner, The Pool, New York City, September 2024.

Although by any standards a “busy” fabric, this is an example of how scalloped neckline can work well if integrated with the whole.  Here, what the scallops did was “follow the pattern” and with the whole ensemble (including the very pointy knife pumps and “built-in” demi-gloves) in black, there was nothing extraneous to disturb the line.  What was clever about this piece was that although “floral” motifs intrinsically are made from curves, the overall effect was of straight lines (horizontal, vertical and diagonal) and that included the “squared-off” neckline, producing a nice effect highlighting the clavicles and bare shoulders.

1953 Aston Martin DB3S (Works).

When applied to cars, the term “scallop” is used with a different emphasis than with frocks and such in that what’s being referenced in the shell’s inside, the idea being of a shell used to “scoop out” some sand from where the sea has just receded, the lacuna creating a “scalloped” effect.  The Aston Martin DB3S was the factory’s standard competition model between 1953 and 1956 and despite being rather hastily improvised after the DB3 (1951-1953) was found to be uncompetitive (underpowered and too heavy), it enjoyed some success although it ran in an era when the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR (W196S) and Jaguar D-Type had been perfected so championship trophies proved elusive.  The performance was however competitive and it was tough and reliable; as well as the eleven built for the factory’s team, a further 20 were sold to private teams and like the Maserati 250F, it enjoyed around the world a long career, running near the front even after obsolescent.

1953 Aston Martin DB3S front brake and scallop.  The holes were one of the many ways attempts were made to reduce temperatures (and thus “brake fade”) when using drum brakes; it was a lost cause, the answer being disc brakes.

The distinctive scallops in the “pontoon” front fenders were functional in being the most effective way to provide much-need cooling for the big Al-Fin aluminum, finned drum brakes.  Although the works cars quickly would adopt the vastly superior Girling disc brakes, right to the end of production these were an expensive option on the “customer” cars; tellingly, in the decades since, many such DB3s were upgraded to discs (some on all four wheels but most with a front disc-rear drum combination.  Although ducts to deliver cold air to brakes had long been common, the scallops were a most effective way to evacuate the hot air although, in one of those trade-offs familiar in engineering, the shape did at high-speed induce some unwanted handling characteristics, an experience many manufacturers would suffer in an age before prior testing in wind-tunnels became de rigueur and computers on which to run simulations were far in the future.  The DB3S was replaced by the DBR1 which used a form of brake cooling that didn’t so affect the aerodynamics and it proved effective, winning the 1958 World Sports Car Championship including a prized victory in the Le Mans 24 Hour endurance classic.

1958 Ferrari 250 TR.

With the standardization of disc brakes, Aston Martin didn’t carry over the DB3S’s deeply scalloped pontoon fenders but in 1958 they appeared on updated versions of the Ferrari 250 TR (Testa Rossa (literally “red head”, an allusion to the color of the cam covers), 1957-1961).  Although the looks and “end of an era” vibe have made the 250 GTO (1962-1964) the most prized (and expensive) vintage Ferrari, on the circuits, the 250 TR was much more successful, three times winning Le Mans (the final variant in 1962 the last front-engined car to win the event) and the World Sports Car Championship constructor's title.  The scallops were used on the 250 TR for the same reason Aston Martin fitted them: cooling the drum brakes.  Ferrari’s reluctance to adopt disc brakes will seem strange because by 1957 the technology was well proven; while the early disc system were sometimes noisy and pedal pressures could be high, they were effective, stopping distances shorter and fade less prevalent.  However, because Ferrari’s focus was on longer-distance events rather than sprint races, virtues like reliability and robustness were afforded a premium and it was true there were advantages, the linings in drums wearing consistently unlike the pads on discs that suddenly could lose efficiency; additionally, the hard linings of a drum brake’s shoes lasting longer than the pads of the era, meaning it often was possible to complete an event without a lining change.  None of that much convinced the drivers who wanted better brakes and the technology anyway continued to evolve, improvements by Girling meaning Aston Martin’s pit crews were by 1958 able to effect a brake-pad change in some 45 seconds, less time than it then took to re-fuel.  In 1959, Ferrari accepted reality had bitten and disc brakes became a standard fitting on all 250 TRs.  One quirk of the production history is that of the 33 250 TRs built, the 19 allocated had either the scalloped “pontoon fenders” or an enveloping front section while the 14 sold to private customers were all “scalloped”.

1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III Convertible.

Despite the coincidence in the timing, it can with certainty be said neither the Aston Martin nor the Ferrari in any way influenced Lincoln’s designers, despite distinctive “scalloped” front fenders appearing on the 1958 Lincoln Continental Mark III, a vehicle that was a remarkable change from the restrained elegance of the (highly unprofitable) Continental Mark II (1956-1957).  Although eye-catching, the Lincoln’s scallops probably don’t make as much of an impression as they might because they have to compete for attention with other “highlights” of the styling including dagmars, slanted headlights in hoods, fins, rear fender skirts, skegs and a reverse-angle rear window; it was quite a gallimaufry, assembled in a package measuring 229 inches (5,817 mm) bumper-to-bumper.

Model Adriana Fenice (b 1994) in pink stretch top with scoop neckline.

In fashion, the “scoop” neckline uses a “scalloping” effect analogous with the use by Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lincoln, the industry jargon having separate terms to avoid confusion between a “scooped” and “scalloped” neckline.  Technically, the Mark III was conventional (just scaled-up) but it’s of note because at the time it was the largest passenger vehicle ever built using unitary construction (ie no separate chassis); it still is.  While a notable achievement in pre-modern body engineering, so much internal strengthening was required (especially for the convertible) that weight could be between 5,000–5,700 lb (2,300–2,600 kg), out-weighing even a modern EV (electric vehicle) like the Tesla Model S (2012-2026) that weighed in between 4,300–5,000 lb (1,950-2,270 kg) and the Lincoln didn’t have the excuse of carrying a big battery weighing 1,000-1377 lb (454-625 kg)).  The Lincoln also had drum brakes that, like the Ferraris, sometime fought an unequal battle with the physics of inertia.  The look really was “too much” (the “moment” for such things quickly passed) and was toned-down for 1959 & 1960 although what’s often forgotten is the 1958 range out-sold the 1961 version, the latter now regarded as a classic.  However, while the 1958-1960 body was a cul-de-sac, the 1961 Lincoln Continental endured for the rest of the decade and influenced the industry in a way (and to an extent) the earlier cars never did.  What happened in 1958 proved an outlier with scallops since only hinted at.

Centaur

Centaur (pronounced sen-tawr)

(1) In classical mythology, one of a race of monsters having the head, trunk, and arms of a man, and the body and legs of a horse (modern depictions in the age of the internet seem to prefer the upper body of a woman).  The synonym is hippocentaur.

(2) In astronomy, the constellation Centaurus (initial capital letter).

(3) In astronomy, any of a group of icy bodies with the characteristics of both asteroids and comets, orbiting the Sun in elliptical paths, mostly in the region between Saturn & Neptune.

(4) In modern slang, a skillful (male or female) rider of a horse.

(5) In rocketry, a US-designed and built upper-stage (with re-startable liquid-propellant engine), used with an Atlas or Titan booster to launch satellites and probes.

(6) In chess, team comprising a human player and a computer.

(7) By extension, in AI (artificial intelligence), a human and some form or AI, working together.

1325–1375: From the Middle English, from the Old English, from the Latin centaurus, from the Ancient Greek, from Κένταυρος (Kéntauros), thought to mean “a member of a savage race from Thessaly” although some etymologists are sceptical.  Historically, Thessaly was known as Αἰολία (Aiolía (Aeolia in modern use)) and that’s how it was referred to in the Odyssey (Homer’s epic poem from the eighth or seventh century BC); the gentlemen in Athens were quick to describe those from elsewhere as savages or barbarians, .  The half-human, half horse Centaur from Greek mythology belongs in the class of mixtumque genus, prolesque biformis (a mixed or blended race, offspring of two forms), the phrase made famous when it appeared in the Roman poet Virgil’s (Publius Vergilius Maro (70–19 BC)) Aeneid (29-19 BC) description of the Minotaur, the mythical creature with the head of a bull atop a human body.  The most common use of the adjective centauric was a reference to the mythological creatures (resembling or of the nature of a centaur) but in the sometimes weird world of spiritualism it was defined as "characterized by an integration of mind and body for consciousness above the ego-self" (whatever that means).  When the adjective is used in SF (SciFi or science fiction) it's with an intital capital if referring to the residents or natives of the constellation Centaurus.  The case difference matters because there no reason why in SF half human, half-horse beasts can't be part of the ecosystem in Centaurus and they would have to be described as Centauric centaurs.  In fantasy fiction, a centauress was a female centaur (a she-centaur) and the term centaurette has also been used; it does not (as the -ette prefix might be thought to imply) mean a “a small centaur”).  Presumably, a centauress, while possessing the secondary sex characteristics of a human female could, anatomically, in the hind quarters either colt, stallion, filly or mare so it could be helpful if authors differentiated centauress & centaurette thus.  Centaur & centaurdom are nouns, centaurian is a noun & adjective and centauresque, centaurial & centauric are adjectives; the noun plural is centaurs.

In the sky

Judy Volker’s annotation of Sea & Sky’s sky-chart of the Centaurus constellation.

Centaurus is one of two constellations said to represent Centaurs and is associated primarily with Chiron (Cheiron), a wise, immortal being who was king of the Centaurs and said to be a scholar & prophet skilled in the healing arts.  In some of the myths, from his cave on Mount Pelion, he is said to have raised, tutored, or counselled several figures prominent in Greek mythology, including Jason, Heracles and Asclepius.  Of Chiron's association with the constellation, there are several tales.  In one legend, Chiron was the first to identify the constellations and teach them to mortal humans, placing an image of himself in the sky to help guide Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece.  A different story has Chiron placed in the sky by Zeus and of this telling there are variants but the most common element is Chiron being accidentally wounded by a poisoned arrow and giving up his immortality as a way to escape the never-ending pain.  A twist on this has Chiron simply bored with life and wanting it to be over and this came to the attention of Prometheus, the Titan undergoing permanent torture for stealing fire from the gods to give to humans.  For Prometheus to be released from his torture, an immortal had to volunteer to renounce eternal life and go to Tartarus in his place.  Someone (Zeus, Heracles, or Chiron himself depending on the author) suggested Chiron's offer be used to release Prometheus and for this Zeus honored Chiron with his place in the sky.  There’s even a tale in which the constellation represents the Centaur Pholus, honoured thus by Zeus for his skill in prophecy.

Centaurus, copperplate engraving by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687) from Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia (1687), his atlas of constellations.

In English, the southern constellation of Centaurus has been so described since the 1550s but was known by that name to the Romans (to the Greeks it was Centaur).  The ninth largest constellation, visible in the far southern sky in the months around March, since classical times, it has been confused with Sagittarius.  In astronomy, a centaur is a small, icy celestial body orbiting the Sun in an in elliptical paths, most tracking between Jupiter and Neptune, the name gained from them typically having the characteristics of both asteroids and comets, that dual-nature the link with the half-human, half-horse from mythology.  Centaurs are considered transitional objects that may originally have been KBOs (Kuiper Belt Object) and often have unstable orbits due to gravitational interactions with the giant planets.  Orbiting mostly between 5.5-30 AU (an “astronomical unit”, the average distance between the Earth and Sun (about 150 million km (93 million miles)) from the sun, such is the gravitational effect of the big planets that most centaurs (which range in diameter between 100-400 km (60-250 miles) are expected over millennia to be sent into the inner solar system or even ejected into interstellar space.  Astronomers first became aware of the objects in 1977 with the discovery of Chiron but the technology of the time didn’t permit the structure fully to be understood and the body was thus initially classified both as a comet (95P/Chiron) and minor planet.  It was improvements in observational hardware which demonstrated that while appearing as asteroids, when closer to the sun the comet-like behavior of developing a coma or tail will manifest.  The largest known centaur is 10199/Chariklo.  Listed as a minor planet, it orbits the Sun between Saturn and Uranus and in 2014 it was announced it possessed two rings (nicknamed Oiapoque and Chuí after the rivers that define Brazil's borders), the existence confirmed by observing a stellar occultation.  One implication of the rings is it's likely it also has at least one shepherd moon and infrared images indicate the Chariklo is named after the nymph Chariclo (Χαρικλώ), the wife of Chiron and the daughter of Apollo.

On four hooves

Front (left) and rear (right) of the gatefold cover of the album Ride a Rock Horse (1975) by The Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey (b 1944).  The artwork was the work of his cousin Graham Hughes who produced a number of album covers during the 1970s.  Until the early 1980s when the CD (compact disc) reduced the size of packaging, the album cover was the most distributed form of pop-art. 

Things rarely were consistent in the evolution of the myths from Antiquity and the mythical centaurs were described variously as being wholly equine from (human) torso down or with the from parts of the legs also human, the latter a popular depiction during the Medieval period while in Classical era, they had four horses' hooves and two human arms.  Living on raw flesh and inhabiting mountains and forests, they were descended either from Centaurus (the son of Apollo & Stilbe) or of Ixion & Nephele although the Centaurs Chiron and Pholus were of a different descent lineage: Chiron was the son of Philyra & Cronus while Pholus was fathered by Silenus and born of an unnamed Nymph; what distinguished that pair was that unlike the other herds, they were hospitable and non-violent.  The cooking of food being a marker of civilization, it was recorded that when Heracles was hunting the Erymanthian boar, he visited Pholus who received him hospitably, giving him cooked meat whereas Pholus himself ate exclusively raw food.

When Heracles asked for wine, Pholus told him that there was only one jar, which either belonged communally to the Centaurs or had been a gift from Dionysus who had told them to open it only if Heracles should be their guest.  Telling his host not to be afraid, Pholus broke the seal but when the Centaurs smelled the wine they galloped from the mountains, armed with rocks, fir trees and torches to attack the cave.  The first two Centaurs to attack were Anchius and Agrius (killed by Heracles) but Pholus was killed in the aftermath of the fight: while burying a fallen Centaur he drew one of Heracles' poisoned arrows from a wound but it fell from his grasp, piercing his leg and almost instantly he died.  Heracles drove off the remaining Centaurs and pursued them to Cape Malea where they took refuge with Chiron.  In the ensuing battle Heracles shot Elatus in the elbow, but Chiron either dropped one of Heracles' arrows on his foot or was shot in the knee by Heracles.  The wounds of Heracles' arrows could not be healed and the immortal Chiron begged the gods to make him mortal.  It was Prometheus agreed to take on his immortality, and Chiron died, leaving most of the Centaurs to take refuge in Eleusis.  Their mother (Nephele) aided them by summoning a rain storm but that didn’t deter Heracles who slaughtered a dozen including Daphnis, Argeius, Amphion, Hippotion, Oreius, Ispoples, Melanchaetes, Thereus, Doupon, Phrixus & Homadus.

Wedding reception gone bad: Rape of Hippodamia (The Lapiths and the Centaurs) (1636-1637), oil on canvas by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain.  The painting was one of a large cycle of mythologies by Rubens for the Torre de la Parada, Philip IV's (1605–1665; King of Spain 1621-1665 and (as Philip III) King of Portugal 1621-1640) newly built hunting lodge on the outskirts of Madrid.  One of Rubens’ oil sketches for the work is on display at Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique in Brussels, Belgium and is of interest to art students and critics because of the detail differences in the final composition.  On the basis of content shared on the internet, wedding receptions these days are sometimes torrid affairs. 

Lindsay Lohan AI generated as a centaur by EnjoyLingerie on DeviantArt.

The Centaurs also fought a legendary battle against the Lapiths (a Thessalian people who originally inhabited Pindus, Pelion and Ossa; they drove out the native people, the Pelasgians).  Pirithous invited the Centaurs (who regarded themselves as his parents) to his wedding feast and it went well until, unaccustomed to the effects of wine, the Centaurs became drunk and one of them tried to rape (in the classical sense of "abduction") Deidamia (Pirithous' bride and more commonly known as Hippodamia), resulting in a violent brawl which ended with the Lapiths driving the Centaurs out of Thessaly after killing many.  Containing so many wonderful subjects (Centaurs, a feast, a rape scene, a brawl), the disrupted wedding reception (which came to be known as “the Centauromachy”) for centuries drew artists to the theme.  In Antiquity, the Centaurs got a bad press because they appear in so many legends involving rape, abductions and violence.  In many ways the myths can be deconstructed as violent soap operas with an undercurrent of licentiousness, typified by the tales of Eurytion attempting to rape Hippolyta or Mnesimache, the daughter of Dexamenus.  In one version Dexamenus had betrothed his daughter to Azan (an Arcadian) and Eurytion (again as a guest at the wedding feast) attempted a kidnapping but she was saved by the hero Heracles arrived in time to kill him, returning bride safely to groom.  Most scribes were members of the Heracles admiration society and there also the story of how Heracles, on his way to Augias, seduced the girl, promising to marry her upon his return.  While he was away, forcibly she was betrothed to Eurytion but just as the wedding ceremony was about to begin, Heracles stormed in, killed the Centaur and had himself declared her husband.

Cupid and Centaur (1992), photograph by US photographer Joel-Peter Witkin (b 1939).

Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, recurring themes in Mr Witkin’s work includes death and corpses (or dismembered body-parts), often artfully arranged for staged photo-shoots, his subjects including dwarfs, transgender and intersex persons.  As might be imagined, his images sometimes attracted controversy although some in the disabled community did praise his depictions of those living with a range of physical features not often documented in art.  Witkin claims his elaborate creations are not at all exploitative and are intended to “honor and elevate” those often neglected and “hidden from view”, rarely presented in an artistic context, motifs sometime drawn from paintings in both the sacred and secular traditions.  In an interview, Mr Witkin recalled his interest in what would many would think macabre was trigged when, as a child, he saw the decapitated head of a young girl killed in an automobile accident.

On four wheels

1976 Chrysler Centura GL.  Despite the visual resemblance, the (optional) styled steel wheels were unrelated to those used on Oldsmobiles between 1966-1987.

Whatever processes led to Chrysler Australia adopting the name “Centura” for their local version of the European Chrysler 180 (1970-1982) may still exist in the corporation’s archives but it seems the details have never been published though it can be assumed it was not an Anglicized adaptation of the Romanian centură (belt, girdle).  In Latin centum meant "one hundred" and the term centuria referred to (1) a unit of the Roman army, nominally consisting of 100 soldiers (historians suggest in practice the establishments varied between 60-160) and headed by a centurion, (2) in real estate a unit of area, equal to 100 heredia or 200 iugera (circa 125 acres (50  hectares)), (3) a group of citizens eligible to vote, the system apparently one of the reforms introduced by Servius Tullius (king of Rome 578-535 BC) and based on the ownership of land, one of the many systems which, over millennia, have codified a relationship between ownership of property (usually land) with a right to in some way participate in the polity (usually by voting) and (4) figuratively or literally, things in some way related to "100".  In modern Romance languages, things of course evolved: the Romanian centura (belt or girdle) was from the French ceinture (belt), from the Latin cinctura (girdle, belt), thus by extension used also to refer to the to beltways (ring roads) around cities.  In Spanish & Portuguese, the related cintura (waist; belt) is from the same Latin root cingere (to gird; surround).

The name of the short-lived Chrysler Centura (1975-1978) may have been an allusion to the Centaurs of myth because, like them it had a dual nature, combining the platform of a European four-cylinder with a much more powerful (and heavier) Australian built six.  That had been a concept Holden (GM's (General Motors) Australian outpost) in 1969 introduced when they installed their six-cylinder engine in a modified Vauxhall Viva and called it the Torana.  It proved a great success and Ford Australia in 1972 responded by fitting still larger displacement sixes to the Cortina which, being longer than the Viva, didn’t need the four inch (100 mm) stretch of the wheelbase required for things (tightly) to fit in the Torana.  Given the way local journalists would within a few years decry the inherently unbalanced Cortina six, it is remarkable how well the press received the thing upon debut.

1975 Chrysler Centura brochure shot (GL left; XL right).

Had the Centura been released in 1973 as planned, it might have found success but the timing was unfortunate, the decision by the French government of Georges Pompidou (1911–1974; President of France 1969-1974) to conduct tests of nuclear weapons in its South Pacific territories, prompting the leadership of Australian trade unions to blacklist French goods arriving in ports (Australian trade unions in those days running an independent foreign policy and the ACTU (Australian Council of Trade Unions) a kind of co-government).  As a consequence, it wasn’t until 1975 the Centura arrived in showrooms and by then the market had moved on, competition rather more intense.  Although the Centura offered class-leading performance (indeed, in a straight line it was quicker than many V8s) by virtue of its optional 4.0 litre (245 cubic inch) straight-six (even the 215 (3.5) version could run with the 4.1 (250) Cortinas), increasingly buyers were more tempted by the equipment levels and perceptions (sometimes true) of superior build quality and economy of operation offered by vehicles with origins in the Far East.  As it was, Chrysler in 1976 began local production of the Japanese Mitsubishi Sigma and it proved a great success, even without the six cylinder engine once thought such a selling point.  Tellingly, although a prototype Centura with a 5.2 (318) V8 was built, the project rapidly was abandoned.  Officially, the explanation was the body lacked the structural rigidity to handle the additional torque, the same reason Ford never contemplated their V8 Cortina entering production; engineers familiar with the structures of both platforms agree that was true of the Cortina but maintain the Centura was robust enough and suspect both companies, having observed the subdued demand for the V8 Holden Toranas (1974-1978) decided Holden was welcome to its exclusive presence in the niche sector.  Fewer than 20,000 Centuras were built during its dismal three year run, a fraction of what was projected as its annual production.

On three wheels

Rupp Super Sno-Sport, 1969.  If an object moves (or can be made to move), the chances are high an American will at some point have installed a V8.

Although it seems now the company’s best-remembered product, the Rupp Centaur was built only during 1974-1975 with production reaching barely four figures.  A fibreglass-bodied, wheeled tricycle available in red, white, blue, and yellow, the Centaur was something of a departure from Rupp’s traditional lines and its existence was a product of (1) climatic conditions, (2) a downturn in the economy and (3) the sharp increase in the price of gas (petrol), induced by the first oil-shock of 1973-1974.  Rupp Manufacturing had in 1959 been founded in Mansfield, Ohio by Herbert Edward “Mickey” Rupp (1936–2023), initially as a small-scale operation producing Dart Go-Karts but the venture proved successful enough for the company to expand and in 1960 a line of mini-bikes was introduced.  Simple to manufacture and sold with an attractive margin, the cash–flow enabled further development and by 1964 Rupp’s prototype snowmobiles had been sufficiently refined to be suitable for mass production, an encouraging 500 sold the following year, demand steadily increasing.  By the end of the decade, Rupp Manufacturing had a staff of over 400 and a catalogue of RVs (recreational vehicles) including mini-bikes, small ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and a signature range of Sno-Sport snowmobiles, by then available in five models.  This being the US, there was also the sport of “snowmoble drag-racing” and Mickey Rupp fabricated the “Super Sno-Sport”, a genuinely exotic entrant using a special 308 cubic inch (5.0 litre) V8 from Ford’s racing research department with braking provided by a combination of disk brakes on the drive axle and a parachute, activated by a cable-release mechanism.  Whether it ever attained its theoretical maximum speed (150 mph (241 km/h)) isn’t clear but, in 1969, it was recorded at 95.5 mph (153.7 km/h) during a run at West Yellowstone.

Rupp advertising, 1970.

While the V8 Super Sno-Sport was a useful publicity tool, Rupp Manufacturing’s core business was more modestly powered snowmobiles and the company entered the 1970s as one of the industry’s most successful, annual production in 1970-1971 reaching almost 40,000 units.  However, while the economy was beginning to slow, what really affected things was two successive seasons of poor snow conditions, Rupp especially suffering because it had borrowed money to expand production and built up a large inventory of product to meet an anticipated strong demand,  With falling sales and rising debt-servicing costs, the rapidly dwindling profits of 1972 quickly became unsustainable losses and, in 1973, facing imminent bankruptcy, a controlling interest was sold to a investment group (what would now be called a PE (private equity) company).  The takeover provided the necessary injection of cash but of course involved also the inevitable “restructuring” (lay-offs and cost-cutting), leading to a market perception was of reduced quality and the possibility of Rupp being closed once the new owners worked out an asset-strip would likely be more lucrative than on-going production.  However, defying expectations, product development continued and in 1976 Rupp introduced its “Nitro” line of snowmobiles, now with liquid-cooled Xenoah power-plants.  These were a considerable technical advance and reviews were glowing but development costs had been high and the sector had become crowded; although sales were encouraging, profits became marginal as the machines often had to be sold at a discount.  In 1977, despite the publicity generated by the Rup 440 Nitro being capable of a genuine 80 mph (130 km/h), the company filed for bankruptcy, even a joint venture with the more stable Arctic Cat operation unable to stave off the inevitable.  In 1978, Rupp was wound up.

1974 Rupp Centaur (single seater).  Based on the photographic record, most buyers seemed to have chosen red.

The change in ownership and troubled history of the early 1970s explains the existence of the Centaur.  With an existing product line rendered unsuitable by the sudden decline in the snowmobile market, Rupp needed a new offering that could (1) quickly be developed, (2) be produced using existing assembly lines and (3) be sold at a price acceptable to its market segment and for that roll of the dice, planners settled on a powered-tricycle, a configuration familiar to customizers and specialist applications (police forces, postal services etc).  Rupp was targeting not commercial operators but the recreational market and that the machine would offer better fuel consumption than even small economy cars was an attraction, the project conceived when gas  had become not only suddenly expensive but also often scarce.  Unfortunately for Rupp, the scarcity didn’t last and in retrospect, even if it had, the Centaur’s many impracticalities might anyway have been enough to see it doomed (it was very much a “fun machine” for fine weather and the original version was strictly a single seater; in the recession year of 1974, it was not a compelling formula).  Although priced at US$1,700, for what one got, the cost-breakdown didn’t make sense for most because a small Toyota or Datsun could the leave the showroom for as little as US$2,800 and for that buyers got something that could seat five under a roof with a radio and heater.  Fun came at a cost and too few were prepared to pay the price.

1975 Rupp Centaur (two seater).

There was also the Centaur’s mechanical specification.  Designed originally to use the Volkswagen Type 1’s (Beetle) 1,285 cm³ (78 cubic inch) flat-four engine & transmission, the two companies couldn’t agree to terms so the tricycles were released with a 336 cm³ (21 cubic inch) two-stroke Kohler twin from the snowmobile line.  The fuel consumption certainly was low but while in the lightweight Centaur the VW engine would have delivered sparkling performance with an entertaining ability to cruise at 75 mph (120 km/h and by 1974 anyway unlawful because of a 55 mph (88 km/h) speed limit imposed nationally in as a “fuel-saving measure” by Richard Nixon (1913-1994; VPOTUS 1953-1961 and POTUS 1969-1974)), with the little two-stroke, only (a claimed) 55 mph was possible and at that speed the engine was very busy (and noisy), one reviewer remaking “one can almost hear it wearing out”.  Compounding the problem, the centrifugal clutch for the automatic transmission (an apparatus that had been a paragon or reliability in snowmobiles) proved troublesome when handing the greater weight and forces transmitted by the relatively wide contact area of the tyres.

Elvis Presley with 1975 Rupp Centaur, Memphis, Tennessee, 1975.  Keeping a cigarette burning while riding a motorcycle is a reasonable achievement.

Additionally, despite the minimalism of the body structure, flaws in the design (apparently a miscalculation of lateral loadings) meant the fibreglass had a tendency to crack, leading buyers unhappy and Rupp with expensive warranty claims.  It took not long for Rupp to work out the Centaur was not going to be the company's saviour but while a re-design was impossible and Volkswagen refused to lower the price of its engines, some adaptation was possible and in 1975 a two-seat version was released, obviously doubling the seating capacity but further adding to the weight and thus the load on the anyway hard-working engine and its vulnerable clutch.  Given all that Rupp probably did well to sell some 1,200 of the things over two years (although some are documented as lingering (discounted) on dealers’ lots as late as 1977).  One discerning buyer with a taste for the unusual was Elvis Presley (1935-1977) who purchased his in the summer of 1975 (it’s on display at Graceland) but he found the performance unsatisfactory (he was by then quite bulky which wouldn’t have helped) and after a few weeks replaced it with Super Cycle Stallion tricycle, powered by a Volkswagen flat-four.  It’s not known whether Elvis’s dissatisfaction with his Centaur was ever so intense he shot the thing (as he did when his De Tomaso Pantera refused to start) but his feelings were not unique because a number of the surviving Centaurs have been re-powered with Volkswagen engines and at least two have been converted to electric propulsion.

In art

Stormy Daniels (2019) drawing in ink, correction fluid & graphite on paper, by Robert Crumb (b 1943).  The image is available on the “Stormy Tee Shirt” (in black or pink) from Platform Art with 10% of sales revenue going to Safe Horizon, a New York-based organization supporting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. 

It’s not known if  Donald Trump (b 1946; POTUS 2017-2021 & since 2025) is a student of Greek mythology (stranger things have happened) but he did provide us with his unique vision of the half-horse, half-human beast, labeling content provider, actress & director Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Gregory Clifford; b 1979) “horse face”.  In May, 2024, the memorable phrase returned to the news as matters came before court related to “hush money” allegedly paid to Ms Daniels (on behalf the of the President) in exchange for her maintaining a silence about a certain “intimate encounter” they had shared, their apparently brief tryst including her spanking him on the butt with a rolled-up magazine featuring his picture on the cover.  Mr Trump denies not only the spanking but the very encounter, claiming it never happened.  To give a flavor of the proceedings, at one point counsel asked Ms Daniels: “Am I correct in that you hate President Trump?” to which she replied: “Yes.”  No ambiguity there and although not discussed in court, her attitude may not wholly be unrelated to Mr Trump’s rather ungracious description of her as “horse face”.  Really, President Trump should have been more respectful towards a three-time winner of F.A.M.E.'s (Fans of Adult Media and Entertainment) much coveted annual “Favorite Breasts” award.

Death of a Centaur (1912), oil on canvas by Arthur Lemon (1850–1912).  For Lemon, the Centaur was what would now be called his "spirit animal" and the work was painted when he was close to death. 

Born on the Isle of Mann, Arthur Lemon spent his childhood in Rome before moving to California to work as a cowboy; there he became a devotee of what he would call en plain air (by which he meant “an outdoor life”).  Later he would return to Europe to study art and for the rest of his life he would travel between Italy and England where regularly he staged exhibitions at London's Royal Academy; his work most associated with scenes of the Italian countryside and the daily lives of the rural peasantry.  Lemon's fine eye for painting a Centaur was a thing of practice.  He became close friends with English artist Henry Scott Tuke (1858–1929), noted for his prolific output of works in the Impressionist tradition focused on nude adolescent boys and during the 1880s the pair for a time lived Florence where they “spent time sketching male nudes in the Italian sunshine.”  

The Wooing of Daphnis (exhibited 1881), oil on canvas by Arthur Lemon.

Daphnis possessed the youthful beauty of the kind idealized by Tuke and the many nymphs who so adored him.  A victim of that beauty, his life ended badly.  The artistic approach of Lemon and Tuke was interesting in that their nude youths often were shown in a contemporary setting and in that they differed from the many paintings and sculptures of Ancient Greek gods and mythological which, historically, enabled an exploration of the male nude without upsetting public decency; what Lemon and Tuke especially did was eroticise their young subjects.  From his time as a cowboy, Lemon was well acquainted with the physicality of the horse and knew from his studies that in Greek art Centaurs often were depicted as highly sexed figures; being not wholly human, Centaurs could be treated as creatures able to ignore the strict moral expectations of society and accordingly, formed their own community.  Lemon and Tuke in their own ways noted this and both took the Centaur as something of a model although while Lemon devoted much of his energy to painting horses, Tuke’s attention on the nude male youth was obviously his obsession.  After decades of little interest, in the more permissive atmosphere of the 1970s, Tuke emerged as a cult figure among those collecting gay-themed art but Lemon remained a footnote as a minor artist of rural life.