Corona

Corona (pronounced kuh-roh-nuh)

(1) A white or colored circle or set of concentric circles of light seen around a luminous body.

(2) In meteorology, such a circle or set of circles having a small radius and ranging in color from blue inside to red outside, attributable to the diffraction caused by thin clouds, mist, or sometimes dust (distinguished from halo).

(3) In solar astronomy, a faintly luminous envelope outside of the sun's chromosphere, the inner part consisting of highly ionized elements; also called aureola & aureole.

(4) A long, straight, un-tapered cigar, rounded at the closed end.

(5) In botany, a crown-like appendage, especially one on the inner side of a corolla, as in the narcissus.

(6) In anatomy, the upper portion or crown of a part, as of the head.

(7) In architecture, the projecting, slab-like member of a classical cornice supported by the bed molding or by modillions, dentils, etc., and supporting the cymatium.

(8) The tonsure of a monk or other cleric.

(9) In ecclesiastical dress, a gold-colored stripe around the lower edge of a clerical headdress, as of a miter.

(10) A chandelier of wrought metal, having the form of one or more concentric hoops.

(11) In zoology, the head or upper surface of an animal, such as the body of an echinoid or the disc and arms of a crinoid.

(12) As Coronaviruses, a group of viruses which infect mammals and birds.  In humans, they cause usually mild (including 229E, the common cold) respiratory infections but forms such as SARS, MERS the famous COVID-19 can be lethal.

1555–1565: From the Latin corōna (garland, crown) from the Ancient Greek κορώνη (korṓnē or korōnis (crown, any curved object)), akin to korōnís (wreath; curved, beaked) & kórax (crow; raven); related was the Latin curvus (curved).  A doublet of crown, the plural forms are coronas & coronae.

COVID-19 and Coca-Cola

COVID-19 (an abbreviation of coronavirus disease 2019) was the name of the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2.  The name was adopted in February 2020, chosen by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses; until then, variously it had been called 2019-nCoV, Novel coronavirus or Wuhan coronavirus.  SARS-CoV-2 is related to MERS-CoV (which causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)) and SARS-CoV (which causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)).

The Sun and its corona (left) and a depiction of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (bottom).

The class to which these viruses belong is called corona because, when viewed under an electron microscope, there’s a resemblance to the crown-like corona (the halo or ring of fire) around the Sun, seem when viewed through an appropriate telescope or other device.  The corona around the sun has long been known but viruses have been seen only since the development of the electron microscope because human viruses are very small, typically 100 nanometers (1 metre = 1,000 mm = 1,000,000 micrometres = 1,000,000,000 nanometres).  In the evolutionary timeline of life on earth, it's believed bacteria emerged quite some time before viruses.  Bacteria appear to have been one of the earliest forms of life and, because no evidence of life has yet been detected anywhere else in the universe, they're perhaps among the oldest anywhere.  Single-celled organisms with a relatively simple structure and capable of independent reproduction, bacteria are thought to have appeared some 3.5 to 3.8 billion years ago (the Earth dating back 4.5 billion) and the evidence suggests the viruses emerged 2-3 billions years ago.  Unlike bacteria, viruses are not considered living organisms in the traditional sense because they cannot carry out metabolic processes or reproduce on their own; instead, they are genetic material (DNA or RNA) enclosed in a protein coat.

As far as is known, all life forms now extant (and all extinct forms known) are descended ultimately from the one initial instance; life started once which means humans are related to cats, dogs, trees & bananas as well as to bacteria & viruses.  That makes people, bacteria and just about everything else vulnerable to infection by one virus or another, the consequences ranging from nothing to death but the behavior can also be used to advantage and a certain class of virus, the bacteriophage, after a long period of neglect during the antibiotic era, is attracting new interest.

Some viruses can be helpful: A depiction of bacteriophages phaging.

Not all viruses are bad like SARS-CoV-2.  A bacteriophage, known almost always as a phage, is a virus which infects and replicates within bacteria.  Phages are composites of proteins that surround a DNA or RNA genome and may encode any number of genes from a handful to many hundreds.  Phages replicate within the bacterium following the injection of their genome into the target cytoplasm.  Phages exist naturally in the environment and are among the most common and diverse entities on earth.  Serious research began in several parts of Europe during the late nineteenth century and have been used for almost a century as anti-bacterial agents the former USSR and Central Europe.  In the West, phage therapy (using specific viruses to fight difficult bacterial infections) has been of interest for some time, attention heightened as the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (superbugs in the popular imagination) began to grow in severity (the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) attributes one death every 15 minutes in the US to superbugs).  Since the discovery of penicillin, antibiotics have been used as a reliable cure for those suffering from once lethal bacterial infections but, over decades, a handful (compared with the trillions and trillions killed) of bacteria have proved resistant to antibiotics and as these survivors multiply, new infections emerge.  Historically this had prompted the development of revised or new antibiotics but the biological arms race has reached the point where some infections caused by called antibiotic resistant bacteria cannot be treated and for many other serious infections, the number of potent “last resort” antibiotics is dwindling.

Hence the interest in phages, a type of “friendly virus” which can be weaponized to fight even the most virulent and persistent bacterial infections.  Phages work as well as they do because viruses like the tiresome SARS-Cov-2 that makes humans sick, phages can infect only bacteria and are selective about which they target, a vital aspect of their role in medicine because human survival depends on the billions of bacteria in our bodies.  These phages are far from rare, existing in the natural environment almost everywhere on the planet and scientists conducting research find dirty waterways or damp, aerated, warm, decaying soil (both areas where high bacterial growth might be expected) are good places to collect samples.  The advantages phages offer are well known but there are also drawbacks and indeed some of the features of phages manifest as both.  For example, the great specificity of phages helpful in that they can be administered safely with the knowledge that no other organisms will be harmed but this can be a practical disadvantage in clinical medicine when it’s not known exactly which bacteria need to be targeted, which is why broad-spectrum antibiotics proved so effective at scale.  Being wholly natural, the shelf-life of phages is highly variable and there’s little experience in their administration beyond some communities in Eastern Europe where they’ve been part of medical practice for over a century.  Additionally, bacteria can develop resistance even to phages and one practical impediment to deployment not well recognized until recent years is that compared to chemical molecules, phages are quite big and there are sites in the human body which will be inaccessible.

Electron micrograph of a Coronaviruses in colorized and in grey-scale.

The images captured from electron microscopes are always in black-and-white but are often artificially colored in the post-production process for better visualization and to assist with analysis.  Because of the resolution limit of the optical microscope, even at the highest magnification, viruses couldn’t be seen because their size meant they lay beyond the spectrum of visible light, the range of resolution being limited by the wavelength of the visible light that illuminates the specimen.  It was the resolution of the electron microscope, developed in the early 1930s, and able to offer an illumination with a wavelength much smaller than visible light which first made viruses visible.  An electron has the properties both of a particle and a wave so an electron’s wavelength is determined by its energy (or speed).  If an electron is accelerated to a speed of a million meters per second (circa 2.2 million mph (3.5 million km/h)) the physical wavelength is around one-tenth of a nanometer or about the size of an atom.  This permits an electron microscope to probe the structure of atoms in a crystal and thus see viruses.

Lindsay Lohan taking a 330ml lunch.

In February 2021, at a time when the official number of people with COVID-19 was around 107 million, mathematicians calculated all the COVID-19 causing SARS-COV-2 virus then circulating the planet easily would fit in a single (330ml) Coca-Cola can.  Using a model based on the viral load per currently infected victim (which varies during the duration of the infection), it was estimated there were at the time around two-hundred quadrillion (200 million billion or 2x10¹⁷). SARS-CoV-2 virus particles in the world.  Using that number, knowing the size of the virus, it was possible to calculate the total volume and even after accounting for the distinctive projecting spike proteins meaning the spherical particles will leave gaps when stacked together, the total is still less than the internal volume of the 330 millilitre can.

Two-hundred quadrillion is a really big number, there are said to be about that many grains of sand on the planet, but Sars-CoV-2 particles are really small, around a hundred nanometres (one nanometre is a billionth of a meter) so the radius of Sars-CoV-2 is roughly a thousand times thinner than a human hair.  The mathematicians multiplied the numbers, worked out the wastage of space caused by the troublesome spikes accounted for about a quarter of the total volume and concluded that in February 2021, the volume of SARS-CoV-2 in the world was 160 millilitres.  By mid-2021, cases had almost doubled so by then, either the can would be full or, given the margin of error associated with such calculations, a second can might be required.  The caveat to all this is that the math is based on the official number of infected people and nobody knows what the real is although all agree it will be higher but by what factor is guesswork, reliable data just not available to build a model.  Guesses have been proffered ranged from double to twenty times higher.  Depending on which of those is closest, a six-pack or a carton of cans might be filled.

Rare collector’s item: Lindsay Lohan MH Corona Extra tobacco card #480: US$5.00 on eBay.  Unrelated to this card is the specification of the corona cigars, straight-shaped cigars with rounded tops (the end taken to the lips) and defined by length: a corona about 5½ inches (140 mm) long; a petit corona (or corona chica) about 5 inches (125 mm) long, a tres petit corona about 4½ inches (115 mm) long & a half corona about 3¾ (95 mm) inches long.

The Toyota (Corona) 1600GT

1958 Toyota Corona "Van".

It was the Toyota Corona (1957-2001) which not only established the company in the vital US market but lent respectability to the very idea of the “Japanese car”, that term in the early 1960s not the by-word for quality and reliability it would in subsequent decades become.  Noting the success of the small (by US standards) Volkswagen Beetle and other imports, the company shipped a small number of Coronas to the US in the late 1950s but they were unsuitable for the environment (as indeed were a number of the diminutive European models which lacked the ruggedness of the VW) and interest was minimal, the Corona withdrawn from sale in 1960 although unsold models lingered on the lots for another year.

1966 "shovel-nose" Toyota Corona.

It was the third generation Corona, launched in September 1964 in an array of body styles, which was the Toyota passenger car to achieve international success, including in the US.  It was a thoroughly conventional design (ie mechanically a scaled down US sedan) with a body which was modern, inoffensive and practical although some thought the reverse-slanted nose strange.  It came to be nick-named the “shovel-nose” and proved ahead of its time, adopted in 1972 by Lancia for the Beta and in 1976 it appeared on Ford’s Escort RS2000 before variations of the shape eventually became the default for manufacturers seeking to eke out as much aerodynamic efficiency as possible.

The "shovel-nose" caught on: 1972 Lancia Beta (left) & 1976 Ford Escort RS2000 (right).  

The export range appeared in volume but the most desirable models were reserved for the JDM (Japanese domestic market), a long-standing, industry-wide practice which has had the effect of creating a minor export business for those who can satisfy the demand in markets like Australia, New Zealand & North America for the high-performance versions which have something of a cult-following.  The 1967 1600GT (or GT-5 for those with the optional five-speed gearbox) coupé (for this JDM “halo” model the Corona badge wasn’t used) was modest compared with some of the wild machinery which would appear in subsequent decades but by the standards of its time, there was some genuine sophistication.  The body was the standard two-door hardtop but the centrepiece was a double overhead camshaft (DOHC) cylinder head atop the 1600 cm³ four cylinder engine, the head designed by Yamaha which had also developed the one used on the straight-six in the exotic Toyota 2000 GT sports car made famous by the appearance of a custom built roadster version in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967).

1967 Toyota 2000GT roadster.  Two 2000GT coupés were converted into roadsters for You Only Live Twice (one used for filming, the other a "back-up"), the work undertaken by Toyota’s special Toyopet Service Centre in Tsunashima.  The wire wheels were exclusive to the roadsters (15×5 inch magnesium wheels were used on the coupés) and the pair were very much movie props, neither vehicle fitted with side windows or a soft-top.  The "back-up car" is now on display in the Toyota Automobile Museum.

Known internally as the 9R, the 1600GT engine took a traditionally English approach to increasing power: twin carburetors, big valves and a high-compression ratio, the combination yielding a then impressive 110 horsepower at 6200rpm, the latter number something to note given the crankshaft was supported by only three main bearings.  Still, being a Toyota engine, reliability was solid and no history of bottom-end failure emerged; whether the unusual firing order (1243) had anything to do with this seems not to be discussed anywhere.  To cope with the new-found power, the Corona’s suspension was strengthened with re-calibrated springs and dampers along with two torque rods to locate the back axle.  That improved things but the Japanese manufacturers, although matching the Europeans in power, still had some way to go in achieving their dynamics; the 1600 GT was no cut-price Alfa Romeo.  It was though very well equipped, another lesson Toyota and other Japanese factories would (painfully) teach the West.  Always a low volume model, production of 1600 GTs totalled 2222, the last built late in 1968.

1967 Toyota 1600GT.  They were available also in red and white.

1974 Toyota Corona advertising.

The 1600GT's cult following notwithstanding, it really wasn't representative of the Coronas which went around the world and for decades provided owners and fleets with reliable, if uninspiring transport (very much the Camry of their time).  That made them memorable for many who may have enjoyed the charms of British, French or Italian machinery but found the quirks, oil-leaks, fragility or apparently insoluble issues electrical issues (often described as "gremlins") made ownership tiresome.  Toyota were aware of the advantage their approach (which put a premium on basic engineering and quality control over the finer points of handling and high-speed braking) and their advertising for the Corona in the 1970s said explicitly: "When your heart says Europe but your head says Japan".  People increasingly followed their heads and by 1989 Toyota released the Lexus, proving they were as good at building a Mercedes-Benz as they were at building Toyotas.  It took many attempts for Mercedes-Benz to become (almost) as good at building Toyotas.

Bacchanal

Bacchanal pronounced (bah-kuh-nahl, bak-uh-nal, bak-uh-nl (noun) or bak-uh-nl (adjective))

(1) A follower of Bacchus.

(2) A drunken reveler.

(3) An occasion of drunken revelry; orgy; riotous celebration.

(4) Of or pertaining to Bacchus; bacchanalian.

1530-1540: From the Latin Bacchānālis (having to do with Bacchus) & Bacchānālia (feast of Bacchus), plural of Bacchānal (a place devoted to Bacchus), from Bacchus (the god of wine), from the Ancient Greek Βάκχος (Bákkhos).  By extension, the meaning "riotous, drunken roistering or orgy" dates from 1711.  Bacchus, known also as Dionysus (Διόνυσος) (Dionysos) was in Greek Mythology the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility, theatre and religious ecstasy.  In Antiquity, most attention focused on wine and given consumption was both high and enthusiastic, the worship of Bacchus became firmly established.  A quirk of Bacchus’ place in the pantheon of gods is that, uniquely, he was born of a mortal mother.  The Romans adopted the name bacchanal (a woman given to such things was a bacchante) and named the behavior of those who had taken too much strong drink: bakkheia.  Bacchanal is a noun & adjective, Bacchanalia is a noun; the noun plural is bacchanals.

Bacchus and Ariadne

Bacchus and Ariadne (1717) by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1675-1741).

In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the clever, though perhaps naïve, daughter of King Minos of Crete and she aided the hero Theseus in his mission to slay the Minotaur.  To say naïve might be understating things: poor sweet Ariadne was an emo and a bit of a dill.  On the island of Crete, there was a great labyrinth that housed a fearsome beast, the Minotaur, half human, half bull.  King Minos, in retaliation for his son's death at the hands of an Athenian, required the people of Athens every nine years to send seven young men and seven young virgins to be sacrificed to the beast, the alternative the destruction of their city.  One year, Theseus volunteered to be sent to Crete as part of the awful pact, planning to kill the Minotaur and thereby release his people from their plight.  When he stepped ashore in Crete, Ariadne spotted him and at once fell in love, as emos often do; running to Theseus, she offered to help him defeat the monster if he would marry her.  Theseus naturally agreed so Ariadne gave him a sword and a ball of red thread with which to mark his path so he could find his way out of the labyrinth.  The plan worked to the extent that Theseus slayed the Minotaur but certainly had no intention of marrying Ariadne.  While the couple traveled to Athens, during a brief stop on the island of Naxos, he sailed away, abandoning her while she slumbered on the beach.  Ariadne may have been an emo but Theseus was a cad.  Distraught by being deserted by the one she loved, Ariadne was still sobbing on the shore Bacchus appeared with a procession of his followers.  They spoke a few words and within moments had fallen in love, soon to marry.  In some tellings of the myths, after their wedding, Bacchus placed Ariadne's sparkling diadem in the sky as the constellation Corona, thus making her immortal.

A bacchante illustrating the consequences of what the Ancient Romans called bakkheia: Lindsay Lohan in a Cadillac Escalade, resting after dinner, Los Angeles, May 2007.

Coronet

Coronet (pronounced kawr-uh-nit, kawr-uh-net, kor-uh-nit, or kor-un-net)

(1) A small crown.

(2) A crown worn by nobles or peers (as distinct from those worn by sovereigns).

(3) A crown-like ornament for the head, as of gold or jewels.

(4) An ornament, tending to the pedimental in form, situated over a door or window.

(5) The lowest part of the pastern of a horse or other hoofed animal, just above the hoof.

(6) In heraldry, a crown-like support for a crest, used in place of a torse; also called crest coronet.

(7) The margin between the skin of a horse's pastern and the horn of the hoof.

(8) The knob at the base of a deer's antler.

(9) The traditional lowest regular commissioned officer rank in the cavalry (the equivalent of an ensign in the infantry or navy).

(10) Any of several hummingbirds in the genus Boissonneaua.

(11) A species of moth, Craniophora ligustri.

1350–1400: From the Middle English crownet & corounet, from the Middle French couronnette, from the Old French coronete (little crown) a diminutive of corone (crown) from the Latin corona (third-person singular present active subjunctive of corōnō) (crown), from the Ancient Greek κορώνη (korṓnē) (garland, wreath; a type of crown; a type of sea-bird, perhaps shearwater; a crow; anything curved or hooked (like a door handle or the tip of a bow).  Related in form, if not always function are diadem, wreath, crown, chaplet, circle, tiara, headdress, headband & anadem (a headband, particularly a garland of flowers).  Coronet is a noun; the noun plural is coronets.

Lindsay Lohan in coronet: Mean Girls (2004).

Crowns and coronet are both types of headgear worn as symbols of authority but there are technical differences between the two.  The crown is the traditional symbolic headpiece worn by a monarch and (in some cases) certain other members of royal families.  Fabricated usually from precious metals and adorned with jewels, crowns are by convention taller and more ornate than coronets but this is not an absolute rule and the symbolism of a crown as something representing sovereign power and regal authority doesn’t rely on its size.  Despite that, coronets tend to be smaller, less elaborate versions of crowns and they’re worn by members of the nobility who do not hold the rank of monarch and the consort of a monarch.  According to authoritative English sources, the general specification for a coronet dictates a small crown of ornaments  fixed on a metal ring and, as a general principle, a coronet has no arches and unlike a tiara, it wholly encircles the head.  Helpful as that may be, coronets in the wild are obviously rare (although that depends on the circles in which one moves) but commonly see as rank symbols in heraldry, adorning a coat of arms.  More opportunistically, they’re a popular symbol used in commerce.

Coronets of the United Kingdom.

In the UK, a country where there are more coronets than most, those worn by members of the House of Lords are of a defined designed according to the notch on the peerage one inhabits but surprisingly, they’re worn only for royal coronations so the 2023 event will be their first appearance en masse since 1953.  Outside of royalty, they were once exclusive to dukes but the right was granted to marquesses in the fifteenth century, to earls in the fifteenth, to viscounts (of which there are surprisingly few) in the sixteenth and barons in the seventeenth.  Coronets may not bear any precious or semi-precious stones.

1959 Dodge Silver Challenger

Chrysler’s Dodge division used the Coronet nameplate in a way typical of Detroit’s mid-century practices.  Between 1949-1959 it was a full-sized Dodge, beginning as a top-of-the-range trim before in 1955 being shifted downwards, seeing out its first iteration as an entry-level model.  One mostly forgotten footnote of the first Coronets is the 1959 range saw the first use of the Challenger name.  In 1959 the Coronet-based Challenger was an early example of a model bundled with a number of usually optional accessories and sold at an attractive discount.  The concept would become popular and the Challenger name would later be twice revived for more illustrious careers as pony cars (although the first attempt (1969-1974) was a financial disaster, the cars now much sought-after which, in their most desired configurations trade in the collector community well into six figures with the odd sale above US$1 million).

1979 Dodge Challenger (a "badge-engineered" Mitsubishi).

Although the Mopar crew don't much dwell on the matter, between 1978-1983, Dodge applied the Challenger name to a "captive import" (the then current term describing an overseas-built vehicle sold under the name of domestic manufacturer through its dealer network), a Mitsubishi coupé sold in other markets variously as the Sapporo, Lambda and Scorpion.  Although somewhat porcine (until a mid-life facelift tightened things up), it was popular in many places but never achieved the same level of success in the US (where Plymouth also sold it as the Sapporo), even though that was where the "personal coupé" had become a very lucrative market segment.   

1969 Dodge Hemi Coronet.  By 1969 the writing was on the wall for engines like the Hemi and just 97 Coronet hardtops and 10 convertibles were built.  In 1970, when the last two-door Coronets were made, production had dropped to 13 hardtops and a solitary convertible.

The Coronet’s second run was as an intermediate between 1965–1976 and it’s the 1968-1970 models which are best remembered, based on the corporate B-body platform shared with the Plymouth Belvedere and Dodge Charger.  Plymouth gained great success with their take on the low-cost, high-performance intermediate when they released the Road Runner, a machine stripped of just about all but the most essential items except for its high performance engines, including the 426 cubic inch (7.0 litre) HEMI V8.  It was a big hit, the sales wildly exceeding projections and it encouraged Dodge to emulate the approach with the Coronet Super Bee although for whatever reason, it didn’t capture the imagination as had the Road Runner and in the three seasons both were available, sold less than a third of its corporate stablemate.

1967 Dodge “Road Runner” advertisement.

Curiously though, Dodge may have missed what proved to be the priceless benefit of using the Road Runner name, in 1967 running advertisements for the Coronet R/T (“Road & Track” although “street & strip” would have been closer to the truth), which used the words “Road” & “Runner” although spaced as far apart as perhaps the lawyers advised would be sufficiently distant to avoid threats of litigation.  Plymouth solved that problem by legitimization, paying Warner Brothers US$50,000 for the Road Runner name and the imagery of the Wile E Coyote and Road Runner cartoon depictions, spending a reputed (though unverified) additional US$10,000 for the distinctive "beep, beep" horn sound, the engineering apparently as simple as replacing the aluminium strands in the mechanism with copper windings.

Donald Trump admiring the coronet worn by Miss USA Kristen Dalton (b 1986), Miss USA 2009 Pageant, Las Vegas, Nevada.  Although the beauty contest business called them crowns or cornets, most, like that worn by Ms Dalton were technically tiaras.

Belvedere

Belvedere (pronounced bel-vi-deer or bel-ve-de-re (Italian))

(1) In architecture, a building, or an (often turret-like) feature of a building, designed and situated to look out upon a pleasing scene.

(2) A cigar, shorter and with thinner ends than a corona.

(3) A palace in Vatican City, Rome, now housing an art gallery.

(4) As Fort Belvedere (formerly Shrubs Hill Tower), a country house in Surrey, England, famously the site of the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936.

(5) A widely used name for localities and structures.

Adopted in English in the sense of a “raised turret or open story atop a house” from the Italian belvedere (literally “a fair (ie beautiful) sight”), the construct being bel(lo) (beautiful), from the Latin bellus (beautiful, fair) + vidēre (to see; a view, sight), from the primitive Indo-European root weid- (to see).  The pronunciation is thought to have been influenced by the French form of the word.  The perhaps opportunistic but enduring noun gazebo is said by some to be a facetious formation, the construct being gaz(e) (from the Middle English gasen; akin to the Swedish dialectal gasa and Gothic usgasjan (to terrify) which English gained in the sense of "to stare intently or earnestly") + -ebo (the Latin first person singular future tense suffix, on the model of belvedere.  That’s an attractive etymology but the Oxford English Dictionary dismisses the theory, saying it’s a corruption of a word from the orient, possibly the Arabic قَصَبَة‎ (qaṣaba) (source of the familiar casbah).  Belvedere is a noun; the noun plural is belvederes.

In architecture, the word "tower" is used loosely but technically a tower should rise from ground-level to its conclusion whereas a turret begins part-way up a building, most commonly at a corner.  Historically a turret was something on a small scale (relative to the building on which it sat) and usually little more than ornamental (although for centuries many were part of the defensive system of a fort or castle, both as an observation and fire-point) while a belvedere's sole purpose should be to offer a commanding view of some pleasant vista.

Belvédère du Rayon Vert, Cerbère, France

Closed in 1983, the art deco Belvédère du Rayon Vert is a former hotel in Cerbère, France, built between 1928 and 1932.  What was known as “ocean liner” style was at the time popular in interior decorating but, taking advantage of the shape of the available land, the architect Léon Baille (1828-1932) extended the nautical idea to the whole building which follows the lines of a ship and borrowing further from the decks of ocean liners, a tennis court sat on the roof.  One of the nation’s protected historic monuments, some of the rooms have been restored as apartments and tours are conducted during the holiday season.

The Plymouth Belvedere

The use of the Belvedere name by the Chrysler’s corporation low-priced (and now defunct) Plymouth brand is illustrative of the practice of the US industry in the mid-late twentieth century to create a prestige model which gradually would be moved down the hierarchy as other names were introduced at the top of the range.  The Belvedere nameplate also shifted between market segments, moving from the full-sized to the intermediate platform as Detroit’s offerings began to proliferate as the public (sometimes by economic necessity) began to prefer smaller cars.

1951 Cranbrook (left), 1951 Cranbrook Belvedere (centre) and 1956 Belvedere (right).

Plymouth introduced the Belvedere name in 1951 for the new, two-door hardtop version of Cranbrook line, Plymouth’s first model with the style which would for a quarter-century be a signature of Detroit’s more expensive cars.  In 1954, the name ceased to be an option and the Belvedere supplanted the as Cranbrook as the top-of-the-range model, offered now in all available body-styles (sedans, hardtops, station wagons, and convertibles) in a mix of two and four-door configurations.  The 1951 line looks frumpy now and even then was considered bulbous compared with the more modernist lines coming from the Ford and General Motors (GM) design studios but Chrysler at the time was run by a chief executive who dictated their products had to be able to driven “by a man wearing his hat”.  That view was abandoned for the 1955 models and the refinements which followed the next year were emblematic of the longer-lower-wider dictum which would dominate the industry for a generation.

1957 (left), 1960 (centre) and 1961 (right) Belvederes.

The 1957-1960 Belvederes are among the best remembered from Detroit’s crazy macropterous years, and are related to the final iteration on the 1961 Imperial which featured the tallest fins of the era although it’s the extravagance of the 1959 Cadillac which is most famous.  The 1957 Plymouths, released with the advertising slogan “Suddenly it’s 1960” created a sensation but unfortunately, although immediately popular, the quality control was patchy (like some of the paintwork) and Chrysler's reputation would for years suffer.  The styling lasted until 1961 by which time the craze was over and the big fins looked dated but the replacement was truly bizarre.  Sales suffered but so low is the survival rate of the 1961 Belvederes their very scalloped weirdness has made them a collectable.

1962 (left), 1963 (centre) and 1964 (right) Plymouth Belvederes.

Acting on misunderstood rumors (which some insist was industrial espionage) about what the competition was doing with their full-sized lines, Plymouth "downsized" the Belvedere for 1962, something which in little more than a decade would make sense but it was out of tune with the early 1960s.  That was a shame because the engineering of the cars was solid and many of those who did buy the things expressed satisfaction with the reduced exterior dimensions, noting there was little loss in interior space and those who definitely found an advantage in the lower weight and more agile handling were drivers using Belvederes in competition, the cars successful on both circuits and drag strips.  The styling however was again unfortunate and was soon toned-down; it didn’t become quite as bland as the 1961 Chevrolet (a reaction to the excesses of their 1959-1960 “bat-wings”) which was described as “looking a little like every car ever built” but it was certainly inoffensive.

1966 Belvedere (left), 1969 Hemi Roadrunner (centre-left), 1970 Superbird (centre-right) and 1970 Superbird in NASCAR trim (right)

With the restoration of a full-sized model to the range in 1965, the Belvedere was maintained in the increasingly important intermediate sector (similar in to dimensions to what the full-size cars had been before they became bloated in the mid-late 1950s).  A new trim package called the Satellite was added (a la what the original Belvedere had in 1951 been to the Cranbrook) and, responding to the increased demand for muscle cars, the high-performance GTX was created.  The line was restyled in 1968 using an interpretation of the then popular “coke-bottle” look and it was on this platform that the Roadrunner was built.  The Roadrunner essentially combined a stripped-down, basic Belvedere with the high performance engines and, stripped of any luxury fittings, it was cheaper as well as lighter.  Able to be configured to outperform even the GTX and offered at a price which on any cost/performance analysis was a bargain, it was an immediate hit and the line soon proliferated, Roadrunner convertibles and additional engines soon offered.  The Belvedere's final fling was also its apotheosis, the be-winged Roadrunner Superbird, offered only in the 1970 model-year as a homologation exercise to qualify the aerodynamic improvements for use in competition.  That year however marked the swansong of the Belvedere name, Satellite preferred as it was more in accord with the space age.

Miss Belvedere as now displayed (left), being lowered into her capsule in 1957 (centre) and as exhumed in 2007 (right).

The 1957 Belvedere was used in one of the larger and more unusual time-capsules.  Named Miss Belvedere as part of the city of Tulsa's “Tulsarama” Golden Jubilee Week festivities celebrating Oklahoma's fiftieth year of statehood, the car was on 15 June 1957 sealed in an underground vault to be opened a half-century later.  Intended as a prize to whomever came closest to guessing Tulsa's population in 2007, cognizant of the fears of nuclear war prevalent at the time, the enclosure was built to withstand hydrogen bombs being detonated in the vicinity.  Unfortunately, less attention was given to making things watertight and, when opened in 2007, the Miss Belvedere was found to have spent much of her fifty years wholly or partially submerged, the result muddy and rusty mess.  Some attempts were made to clean the worst of the damage in the hope a restoration might be possible but ultimately it was determined it was beyond salvation and she's now displayed as a dilapidated relic of a troubled yet optimistic age.

McMansions in their natural habitat.

Rightly or wrongly, many object to McMansions (the large, over-styled, essentially mass-produced houses built for the upper middle-class anxious to flaunt their wealth).  This is often an objection to conspicuous consumption and an extravagant use of resources but students of architecture focus on the confused mix of motifs which so often litter the structures with as many architectural clichés from palaces or castles as can be crammed into the space with little regard for scale or any sense of integrity.  On McMansions, it’s not unusual to see a mix of Corinthian columns, towers, turrets, belvederes, French doors, Gothic arches, flag-poles, stained glass, transom windows, balconies and porticos.  Much of the criticism probably is an expression of resentment that people with poor taste are able to afford such things but as a general principle, in architecture an emphasis on proportion and restrained elegance will tend to be more admired.

Fort Belvedere (formerly Shrubs Hill Tower), a country house in Windsor, Surrey, famously the site of the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936 (left) and Belvedere Palace, Vienna (right).

Lindsay Lohan attending V Magazine, Marc Jacobs & Belvedere Vodka event, Hiro Ballroom, New York City, September 2009.

Cup

Cup (pronounced kuhp)

(1) A small, open container now manufactured usually using ceramics, plastic, glass or metal, typically with a single handle and used as a receptacle from which to drink fluids (tea, coffee, soup etc) and often categorized by design according to their nominal use (tea cup, coffee cup etc); many cups are supplied in sets with a saucer on which the cup sits protecting surfaces from spillage and offer a place on which a stirring spoon may sit.  A cup can be made from glass but may not be a “glass” while a glass made from glass may also have a handle while mugs are essentially cups but called something else.

(2) The bow-like part of a goblet or the like.

(3) A cup with its contents (“a cup of tea” et al).

(4) The quantity contained in a cup (which can be a general reference to any cup or a precisely defined measure).

(5) As a customary unit of measure, a defined unit of capacity frequently used in cooking, the quantum of which varies between (and sometimes within) markets but historically based on a half pint (now usually expressed as 220-250 ml or 14-20 tablespoons).  Measuring cups are available with graduations.

(6) An ornamental bowl, vase, etc especially of precious metal, offered as a prize for a contest (the use of “cup” often persisting even when trophies have been re-designed in a different form); a sporting contest in which a cup (or some other trophy) is awarded to the winner (collective known as the “cup competitions”).

(7) Any of various mixed beverages with one ingredient as a base and historically served from a bowl (claret cup burgundy cup, gin cup, cider cup etc).

(8) In Christianity, the chalice used in the Eucharist (used also of the consecrated wine of the Eucharist).

(9) Something to be partaken of or endured; one's portion, as of joy or suffering.

(10) In many fields, any cup-like utensil, organ, part, cavity etc; anything resembling a cup in shape or function.

(11) In botany, parts such as the flower base of some plants.

(12) In women’s underwear, the two forms containing the breasts in a bra or other garment in which an apparatus with a similar function is integrated (camisoles, bathing suits etc).

(13) In certain sports, a concave protective covering for the male genitalia, reinforced with usually with rigid plastic or metal (in some markets called a “box”, “cup” the common form in North America).

(14) In golf-course construction, the metal receptacle within the hole or the hole itself.

(15) In astronomy, a constellation or a crater.

(16) In pre-modern medicine, as “cupping glass”, a glass vessel from which air can be removed by suction or heat to create a partial vacuum, formerly used in drawing blood to the surface of the skin for slow blood-letting (also called the “artificial leech”).  The concept (cupping) remains in use (though without the blood-letting) in certain beauty treatments popular in East-Asia.

(17) In metalworking, a cylindrical shell closed at one end, especially one produced in the first stages of a deep-drawing operation; to form (tubing, containers etc) by punching hot strip or sheet metal and drawing it through a die.

(18) In mathematics, the cup-like symbol ∪, used to indicate the union of two sets.

(19) As CUP, the international standard (ISO 4217) currency code for the Cuban peso.

(20) In tarot card reading, a suit of the minor arcana or one of the cards from the suit.

(21) In ultimate frisbee competition, a defensive style characterized by a three player near defense cupping the thrower (or those three players).

(22) A flexible concave membrane used temporarily to attach a handle or hook to a flat surface by means of suction (the “suction cup”, the origins of which were in biomimicry (octopodes et al)).

(23) To take or place in, or as in, a cup.

(24) To form into a cuplike shape.

Pre-1000: From the Middle English cuppe & coppe, created by a blending of the Old English cuppe (cup) and the & Old Northumbrian copp (cup, vessel), from the Late Latin cuppa which etymologists list as being of uncertain origin but thought probably a variant of the earlier cūpa (tub, cask, tun, barrel) which may have been cognate with the Sanskrit kupah (hollow, pit, cave), the Greek kype (gap, hole; a kind of ship), the Old Church Slavonic kupu, the Lithuanian kaupas, the Old Norse hufr (ship's hull) and the Old English hyf (beehive).  Etymologists are divided on whether the source of the original Latin was the primitive Indo-European kewp- (a hollow) or the non Indo-European loanword kup- which was borrowed by and from many languages.  The Old English copp was from the Proto-West Germanic kopp (round object, bowl, vessel, knoll, summit, crown of the head), from the Proto-Germanic kuppaz, from the primitive Indo-European gew- (to bend, curve, arch), the source also of the obsolete English cop (top, summit, crown of the head) and the German Kopf (top, head).  The Middle English word evolved also under the influence of the Anglo-Norman cupe & the Old French cope & coupe.  The Late Latin cuppa begat many words meaning “cup” including the Old French coupe, the Saterland Frisian & West Frisian kop, the Old Frisian kopp, the Italian coppa, the Middle Dutch coppe, the Dutch kop & kopje, the Middle Low German kopp, the German Low German Koppke & Köppke, the Danish kop, the Spanish copa and the Swedish kopp.  It was a doublet of coupe, hive and keeve.  The German cognate Kopf now means exclusively “head”.  The first cups doubtlessly were formed by a “cupping” of the hands in order to drink and that action would have been pre-human and an important evolutionary step in the development of the brain.  Later, whatever fell conveniently to hand (sea-shells, the shells of nuts etc) would have been used before drinking vessels came to be fashioned from clay, wood or other materials.  Cup is a noun & verb, cupped & cupping are verbs; the noun plural is cups.

Art Deco and the coffee cup.

By the late fourteenth century, “cup” had come to be used of just about in the shape of what is now understood as a cup, the sense of “quantity contained in a cup” emerging about the same time.  The sense of a “cup-shaped metal vessel offered as a prize in sport or games” dates from the 1640s, the origin thought to be the traditional ceremonial ritual of celebrating victory by drinking wine or some other alcoholic brew and while it’s speculative, anthropologists have suggested there may be some symbolic link with the idea of “drinking the blood of the vanquished”.  The idea obviously persists, and among the more disgusting versions is drinking from a shoe or boot worn by the victor during the event.  That particular form of podophilic mixology actually has a long history but of late it’s become something of a fetish on the podiums in motor-sport; the term “shoey” was coined in the barbarian nation of Australia.

The origin of the use of “one cup in life” is in the Biblical scripture: And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:39 (King James Version (KJV, 1611))).

The word cup appears in many scriptural verses which refer to God's judgment or a time of great suffering, Christ Himself asking James and John if they could "drink the cup" (Matthew 20:22) assigned to Him (by which he meant the suffering that He would soon endure on the cross, experiencing God's judgment for the sins of humanity.  It’s an important theological point, emphasized (Hebrews 4:15) by Jesus seeming to be overwhelmed and saddened by the prospect and awfulness of his crucifixion, praying to God he be spared this fate.  Jesus was, although the son of God, also fully human and few humans wish to suffer humiliation, torture, and death so his prayer was natural but critically, almost at once he submits and resolves to obey the will of the Father.  Whatever his human anguish at what is to come, his absolute commitment is to obeying God.  The idea then is that “suffering is to be endured” was by the fourteenth century expressed in phrases like “the cup of life” and whatever may be the cup, it is “something to be partaken of” because it is the will of God.  In figurative use thus, “one’s cup” is that which is one’s lot to be endured; that which is allotted to one for good and bad.

The daffodil (one of the common names of flowers of the genus Narcissus); as in many flowers, the alternative name for the corona is the cup.

To be in one's cups was to be “intoxicated”, a use dating from the 1610s which may have been a direct development from the mid-fourteenth century Middle English cup-shoten (drunk, drunken).  One’s “cup of tea” is what interests one and came into use in the 1930s of things or concepts although it’s documented from 1908 applying to persons; tellingly, the use of “not my cup of tea” is more common.  The “cup-bearer” was an early fifteenth century job description to describe the “attendant at a feast who conveys wine or other liquor to guests” but a more specialized use was of the court official who carried with him the cups, plates and other utensils to be used by those fearing poisoning (usually royalty or feudal barons).  The phrase “storm in a tea cup” refers to a fuss being made over a trivial matter and is in the same vein as “much ado about nothing”, “tempest in a teapot”, “storm in a teapot”, “lightning in a bottle” and “make a mountain out of a molehill”.

Example of the idiomatic use of cup in the phrase “one’s cups runneth over”: Model Adriana Fenice (b 1994) in 32G (10G or anything between 70-82G in some markets) bra.

The verb use “to cup” was a part of pre-modern medicine by the fourteenth century, describing the use of something cup-like to press against the skin to draw blood closer to the surface prior to “slow blood-letting”.  Medical dictionaries note there were two modes of cupping: one in which the part is scarified and some blood taken away to relieve congestion or inflammation of internal parts (“wet cupping”, or simply “cupping”), the other in which there was no scarification no blood was abstracted (“dry cupping”).  The concept (as “cupping” and without the bleeding) is still used in certain beauty treatments popular in East-Asia.  The cupful (quantity; that a cup holds, contents of a cup) was known in late Old English and persists to this day, the phrase “cup runneth over” is used to refer an over-supply of anything and was from the Hebrew Bible (Psalms:23:5) where the message was “I have more than enough for my needs” and thus a caution against greed, or in the words of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Ich habe genug (I have enough) an unfashionable view in a materialist age although one with which Ms Fenice might concur.  Modifiers are appended as required, hyphenated and not including the teacup (circa 1700), the egg-cup (used for making the eating of boiled eggs easier (1773)) and the cupcake (1828).  Cupcakes were “small cakes intended for one” and were an invention of US English, the name derived either from cup-shaped containers in which they were baked or from the small measures of ingredients used.  The slang use to describe an “attractive young woman” was another American innovation from the 1930s.

Art Deco and the tea cup: 1934 "Tango" trio by Royal Doulton in bone china, the cup with the classic pointed handle.

The use of “cup” in recipes is probably one of the less helpful uses of the word and for those not familiar with the conventions, they were probably baffled and wondering which of the various sized cups they had should be used.  The origin of “cup” as a measure lies in the old English unit which was ½ an imperial pint and thus (10 imperial ounces (284 ml), often later rounded to 300 ml.  Elsewhere, countries did their own thing: In Australia & New Zealand it was set at 250 ml after the conversion to metric measurements in 1973; In the US it was a liquid measure equal to 8 fluid ounces (237 ml which was usually rounded to 240); In Canada it was set at 8 imperial ounces (227 ml and rounded to 250).  The “metric cup” is now a universal 250 ml and for recipes this appears to be the preferred use even in North America.

Bra cups

Example of the idiomatic use of cup in the phrase "storm in a D Cup": Lindsay Lohan in demi-cup bra, from a photoshoot by Terry Richardson (b 1965) for Love magazine, 2012.

If in cooking "cup" has been (just about) standardized around the world, the bra cup, that other use of cup as an expression of volume is bafflingly diverse, anomalies appearing even within a manufacturer's catalogue.  The use of cup in the bra business seems to have begun in the 1930s although among historians of the bra (a surprisingly well populated niche in the discipline of the history of fashion) many differ in detail; the vague consensus seems to be the term was first used in this context in the early 1930s, was wide-spread by 1940 and almost universal by the early 1950s.  The principle of the cup size was compelling simple in that there were two variables (1) the torso and (2) the breasts.  The measurement of the torso was expressed by the bra band size (measured under the bust) in inches (or its metric equivalent) such as 30”, 32”, 34” etc, the graduations between the numbers handled by the fastening mechanism (usually a hook & eye arrangement) allowing a “tight” or “loose” fit so a 32” band could be worn by someone with a torso measurement in a 31-33 inch range.  The cup size range corresponded with the volume of the breast and (in ascending order) these were expressed in letters: A, B, C, D etc so when combined, the products were called 32B, 34C etc.  In theory, the two values worked progressively (up & down: alphabetically & numerically) so the cup size of a 32C was the same as a 30D and a 34B; in the industry, the concept is called "sister sizes", each cup the same dimensions but mounted on a different sized structure (defined by the back-band) and labelled accordingly.  That's the theory and within a manufacturer's single range it may often be true but there is no recognized definition for cup sizes so not only are any two 32Cs from different manufacturers likely to be a slightly different size, nor can it be expected the dimensions of the cup of any 30D will align exactly with that of any other 34B.  It may but it can't be predicted and the expectation should be it will likely "tend towards".

English borrowed the word brassiere from the French brassière, from the Old French braciere (which was originally a lining fitted inside armor which protected the arm, only later becoming a garment), from the Old French brace (arm) although by then it described a chemise (a kind of undershirt) but in the US, brassiere was used from 1893 when the first bras were advertised and from there, use spread.  The three syllables were just too much to survive the onslaught of modernity and the truncated “bra” soon prevailed, being the standard form throughout the English-speaking world by the early 1930s.  Curiously, in French, a bra is a soutien-gorge which translates literally and rather un-romantically as "throat-supporter" although "chest uplifter" is a better translation.  The etymological origin of the modern "bra" lying in a single garment is the reason one buys "a bra" in the same department store from which one might purchase "a pair" of sunglasses or shoes.     

Bra size multi-national conversion chart by Fredericks of Hollywood.  It seems an industry crying out for an ISO.

Unfortunately the manufacturers complicated things in a number of ways.  Given the A,B,C,D ascending sequence, it would have been reasonable to assume E,F,G & H would follow and in some cases they did but not all, some adopting a double letter convention yielding DD, EE etc but these did not represent fractional sizing-steps between single letters; what was to some manufacturers a DD was an E to others and some were so taken with the idea they added triple lettered sizes so a 32DDD was nominally the equivalent of a 32F from another house.  Some quirks were understandable such as the one which explains the rarity of the I cup, the explanation being the character might be confused with a numeric "1" which, given the syntax of the system, seems improbable but one can see their point.

1962 Chrysler 300H (left) and 1963 Chrysler 300J (right).

Chrysler in the US was in 1963 guided by the same rationale when for the first time since 1956 a letter was skipped in the designation of the 300 “letter series” cars; there’s nothing to suggest the corporation ever pondered a “300HH”.

The BUFF: The new version of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (replacing the B-52-H) will be the B-52J, not B-52I or B-52HH.   

The US Air Force also opted to skip “I” when allocating a designation for the updated version of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress (1952-1962 and still in service).  Between the first test flight of the B-52A in 1954 and the B-52H entering service in 1962, the designations B-52B, B-52C, B-52D, B-52E, B-52F & B-52G sequentially had been used but after flirting with whether to use B52J as an interim designation (reflecting the installation of enhanced electronic warfare systems) before finalizing the series as the B-52K after new engines were fitted, in 2024 the USAF announced the new line would be the B-52J and only a temporary internal code would distinguish those not yet re-powered.  Again, the “I” was not used so nobody would think there was a B-521.  Although the avionics, digital displays and ability to carry Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM, a scramjet-powered weapon capable exceeding Mach 5) are the most significant changes for the B-52J, visually, it will be the replacement of the old Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines with new Rolls-Royce F130 units which will be most obvious, the F130 promising improvements in fuel efficiency of some 30% as well as reduction in noise and exhaust emissions.  Already in service for 70 years, apparently no retirement date for the B-52 has yet been pencilled-in.  In USAF (US Air Force) slang, the B-52 is the BUFF (the acronym for big ugly fat fellow or big ugly fat fucker depending on who is asking).  From BUFF was derived the companion acronym for the LTV A-7 Corsair II (1965-1984, the last in active service retired in 2014) which was SLUFF (Short Little Ugly Fat Fellow or Short Little Ugly Fat Fucker).

Under the A-B-C-D etc cup-sizing system, a given designation varies in dimensions (and thus volumetric capacity) according to the band size, the cup of a 28A smaller than that of a 32A (which should share size and shape with that used on a 30B).   

The theory: Individual results may vary.

Then there was the band size.  Most countries of course use the metric system so dimensions had to be converted but the convention for those advertised in inches was to use increments of 2 (28, 30, 32 etc) while for metric users it was in jumps of 5 cm (70, 75, 80 etc) which is close but not quite the same (28” = 71.12 cm; 30” = 76.2 cm; 32 = 82.28 cm).  More of a problem was that for the system to work, some math was required because the number from the under-bust measurement didn’t directly translate to the advertised bra size: What the buyer had to do was take the number and add 5 inches (12.7 cm) so if one’s under-bust measurement was 29” (73.7 cm), one (at least in theory) needed something with a 34” band (86.4 cm, the closest in the metric countries being the 85 cm range).  However, if the number was over 33” (83.8 cm), then one added only 3” (7.6 cm).  At that point, one needed to determine the appropriate cup.  This required a further measurement, one taken which represented the bust at its fullest projection, the somewhat misleadingly named “over-bust” number which was actually taken following the nipple line.  Many recommended taking it while wearing a bra but if that was a poor fit, that would hardly be helpful and the ideal method turned out to be (and usually this was necessary only if the volume was above a certain point) holding the breasts in place at the desired location while another did the measuring.  An ideal project then in which to involve one’s boyfriend or girlfriend, the only instructions needed being (1) the tape should rest lightly on the skin and (2) it should straight across the back, parallel to the floor.  The relationship between the over-bust measurement and the band size indicated the needed cup size: if the difference is 1” (2.54 cm) then it dictates an A cup; 2” (5.08 cm) and it’s a B cup and so on.  In many cases the simple under/over equation will work but not in all and some authorities have added additional measurements to be taken while in different positions, the 6 listed including lying flat on one's back and leaning forward so the breasts are perpendicular to the ground.  Definitely, the more dimensions which are taken, the more this seems a job for two.  

The math of cup sizes.

In practice it transpired the human body wasn’t so accommodating of production line rationalization but the system worked well enough for it to have endured for decades although only a percentage of women find an ideal fit without the help of an in-store fitter.  Quite what that number is depends on who is asked but it’s clear it’s a long way short of 100%.  The outcome for bra wearers wasn’t helped by the lack of standardization in either the labeling or the technical specification of the cup size.  The inches vs centimetres thing was manageable but even in some countries which had long switched to the metric system, bras sizes were often expressed in inches (a similar aberration to the (almost) universal use of inches for certain products including the wheels used on cars and computer monitors) and because of the internationalized nature of the market with so much imported product, in many countries, both sizing regimes simultaneously were on sale, often in the same shop.  Helpfully, many displayed wall charts with conversion tables.  For some reason, in Australia and New Zealand, the decision was taken to use the dress sizing standard used in the antipodes (8 = 30”, 10 = 32” etc), thus bra sizes like 8C, 10D etc which local users presumably adapted to but it seems a needless complication.  Additionally, regardless of what country one was in, there was no guarantee a given size from one manufacturer would exactly align with that from another and in England, a comparison by a consumer organization revealed band and cup size differences existed in stated sizes even between various styles produced by the same manufacturer; not all 32Ds were created equal.  Given that, it seems obvious it’s best to seek the assistance of a fitter but in the internet age, customers found capitalism offered a handy on-line, home delivered alternative, the trick being to order half a dozen bras of slightly different declared sizes (eg 32C, 30D, 32E etc), the ones not quite right being able to returned for credit at no cost, the site paying all the P&H (postage & handling).  That approach has attracted much criticism because of the environmental impact and it’s a significant cost to the distributor and some have now moved to restrict the practice.

Nursing bras use specialized cups: Lindsay Lohan inspects the apparatus in Labor Pains (2009).

The most obvious specialized cup is that used with nursing bras which feature an arrangement whereby most of the cup’s fabric can be semi-separated from the superstructure, enabling breast-feeding without the need to remove the whole garment.  Among bra manufacturers, there are different implementations by which the functionality of a nursing bra's apparatus is achieved and presumably chest-feeders (the preferred term among the woke to describe those who used to be called “breast-feeding women”) choose whichever best suits them; it may simply be that for manufacturers the production-line rationalization achieved by being able to adapt the specialized cups to the structures used for conventional bras is compelling, dictating the designs.  Which chest-feeders choose is of some significance given how often heard is the complaint the process is “tiring”.  To those who will never be chest-feeders it sounds more a pleasant and diverting relaxation rather than anything tiring but they all say it so it must be true.

The "push-up" bra lives up to its name by using strategically placed padding which has the effect of "pushing up" the breast tissue (it has nowhere else to go), creating the visual effect of something bigger and higher.  Most padding is purely functional but there are also novelty items such as the one above which is variant of the "hand bra", also a thing.  

The cupless: A "special purpose bra available in S, M, L & XL.

Other variations include the demi-cup (also called the half-cup ("semi-cup" not a recognized term)), the bullet cup, the adhesive cup (an enlarged & shaped adaptation of the so-called "tit-tape" technology), the padded cup and the seemingly paradoxical cupless (or open-cup), the last a niche market.  Those wanting to have "their cake and eat it too" who like to go braless while enjoying the benefit of some support can buy clothes with a "built-in bra" or a "shelf-bra" although the law of physics continue to operate and beyond a certain size (and more to the point: weight), these things simply: "don't work".  The cups of a "push-up bra" (the Wonderbra the best known of the breed) include thick padding towards the bottom of the structure, this having the effect of "pushing up" the breast tissue, lending things a higher, fuller look.  There are degrees to which this can be implemented: the more the padding, the greater the effect.

A mastectomy bra with prostheses (left) and with the prostheses inserted in the cups' pockets (centre & right).

There are also bras for those who have lost a breast, the cups of which are “double-skinned” in that they feature internal “pockets” into which a prosthetic breast form (a prosthesis) can be inserted.  Those who have had a unilateral (or single) mastectomy (the surgical amputation of one breast) can choose a cup size to match the remaining while those who have lost both (a bilateral or double mastectomy) can adopt whatever size they prefer.  There are now even single cup bras for those who have lost one breast but opt not to use a prosthetic, an approach which reflects both an aesthetic choice and a reaction against what is described in the US as the “medical-industrial complex”, the point being that women who have undergone a mastectomy should not be subject to pressure either to use a prosthetic or agree to surgical reconstruction (a lucrative procedure for the industry).  This has now emerged as a form of advocacy called the “going flat” movement which has a focus not only on available fashions but also the need for a protocol under which, if women request an AFC (aesthetic flat closure, a surgical closure (sewing up) in which the “surplus”  skin often preserved to accommodate a future reconstructive procedure is removed and the chest rendered essentially “flat” ), that is what must be provided.  The medical industry has argued the AFC can preclude a satisfactory cosmetic outcome in reconstruction if a woman “changes her mind”  but the movement insists it's an example of how the “informed consent” of women is not being respected.  Essentially, what the movement seems to be arguing is the request for an AFC should be understood as an example of the legal principle of VAR (voluntary assumption of risk).  The attitude of surgeons who decline to perform an AFC is described by the movement as the “flat refusal”.