Galaxy

Galaxy (pronounced gal-uhk-see)

(1) In astronomy, a large system of stars, galactic dust, black holes etc, held together by mutual gravitation and isolated from similar systems by vast regions of space.  They exist (in at least the billions) as independent and coherent systems although because not static, can collide and merge.  Planet Earth is in a galaxy called the Milky Way.

(2) Figuratively, an assemblage of things or persons seen as luminous or brilliant.

(3) To gather together into a luminous whole (archaic).

(4) In mathematics, a hyper-real number in non-standard analysis

(5) In fashion or graphic design, any print or pattern reminiscent of a galaxy, constructed usually by blending semi-opaque patches of vibrant color on a dark background.

(6) The Milky Way, the apparent band of concentrated stars which appears in the night sky over earth (now long obsolete and used only in historic reference).

1350–1400: From the Middle English galaxyë, galaxie & galaxias from the Old French galaxie and Medieval Latin galaxia & galaxias (the Milky Way; in the classical Latin via lactea or circulus lacteus), from the Ancient Greek γαλαξίας (galaxías kyklos) (milky circle) from γάλα (gala (genitive galaktos)) (milk) and related to the Latin lac (milk)), from the primitive Indo-European g(a)lag (milk).  Galaxy is a noun and verb, the adjective is galactic the noun plural galaxies; the present participle is galaxying and the past participle galaxied.)

The technical astronomical sense as it’s now understood as a discrete stellar aggregate including the sun and all visible stars emerged as a theory by 1848, the final scientific proof being delivered in the 1920s; the figurative sense of "brilliant assembly of persons or articles" dates from the 1580s.

It will all end badly

The Milky Way, planet Earth’s cosmic suburb was in the late fourteenth century defined as "the galaxy as seen in the night sky", and was a loan-translation of Latin via lacteal which had existed formerly in the Middle English as milky Wey, Milken-Way & Milky Cercle.  The philosophers (natural scientists) of antiquity had speculated on the nature of what they could see when gazing at night sky and some (Democrates, Pythagoras (and even the historian Ovid)) guessed they were looking at a vast array of stars, the matter when Galileo, using his telescope, reported that the whole vista was resolvable into stars and it attracted other names including Jacob's Ladder, the Way to St James's, and Watling Street.

Artist's impression of the Milky Way generated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2019.

The Milky Way was originally thought the entire universe but as telescopes improved astronomers by the mid nineteenth century speculated that some of the spiral nebulae they observed were actually vast and immensely distant structures perhaps similar in size and shape to the Milky Way but the proof of that wasn’t definitive until the 1920s.  Galaxies are held together by the gravitational attraction of the material within them, most coalescing around a nucleus into elliptical or spiral forms although a few are irregular in shape.  Galaxies range in diameter from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of light-years and contain between a few million and several trillion stars, many grouped into clusters, with these often parts of larger super-clusters.

German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) was among the first to theorize the Milky Way was not the only galaxy in the universe and coined the term “island universe to describe a galaxy”.  Kant was right and while estimates vary, over one hundred-billion galaxies exist in the observable universe, most of which are moving away from our Milky Way; those farther away receding faster than those nearby.  The Milky Way rotates at about 560,000 mph (900,000 km/h) and completes a full revolution about every two-hundred million years, thus one galactic revolution ago, dinosaurs roamed the Earth.  In about four billion years, the Milky Way will begin a slow-motion (in astronomical terms) collision with the Andromeda galaxy, a process which will take at least one hundred million years.  Optimistically, astronomers have suggested the ellipsoidal result be named Milkomeda.

Notable Ford Galaxies, 1959-1970

Initially to augment their range-topping Fairlane, Ford adopted the Galaxie name in 1959 as a marketing ploy to take advantage of public interest in the space race, using the French spelling to add a touch of the exotic.  On the full-sized platform, the name was used until 1974 but it was the brief era of the charismatic high-performance versions built in the early-mid 1960s which are most remembered;  already a force on US circuits, they became also in England, Australia, South Africa & New Zealand, one of the more improbably successful racing cars.  The Galaxie was notable also as the platform which Ford used to create the LTD, essentially a Galaxie bundled with a number of otherwise optional features and some additional appointments, sold at an attractive price.  It was an immediate success and had two side effects, (1) other manufacturers soon used the same tactic, creating most notably the Chevrolet Caprice and (2) the creation of "a luxury Ford" began the process of rendering the Mercury brand, introduced in 1938 as "the luxury Ford", eventually redundant.  In an evolution which would play-out over two decades, the interior fittings of the Ford LTD and its competitors would become increasingly ornate although critics were sometimes divided on the aesthetic success of the result.  A generation after the name was retired in the US, Ford in Europe used the anglicized spelling, in 1995 introducing the Galaxy, a dreary family van.

1959 Ford Galaxie Skyliner.

The Galaxie was a mid-year addition to the line, assuming the role of the top-of-the-range model from the Fairlane 500, a position it would occupy until 1965 when it began to be usurped by the LTD, added that year as a Galaxie option although it would later become a separate model which would outlast the Galaxie by more than a decade.  Best remembered from the 1959 range was the Skyliner, a two-door convertible with the novelty of a retractable hard-top a marvel of analogue-era engineering, the operation of the all-steel apparatus a mesmerizing piece of mechanical choreography from the early space-age, controlled by three drive motors, ten solenoids, many relays & circuit breakers, all connected with a reputed 610 feet (186 m) of electrical cabling.  Despite the intricacy, it proved a reliable system.

1960 Ford Galaxie Starliner.

As the 1960s dawned, the muscle car thing was still years away, the intermediate and pony-cars on which they would be based not yet in production and by choice, Ford probably wouldn’t have produced any high performance versions of the Galaxie.  For some time, Detroit had been putting more powerful versions of their biggest engines into their top-line models but these tended to be early interpretations of what would later come to be known as the “personal car”, heavyweight coupés laden with power accessories, air conditioning and luxury fittings but those big engines were increasingly and extensively being modified by those seeking competitive advantage in what rapidly had become the wildly popular racing series run by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).  With some alarm, the sanctioning body, concerned both at the extent to which the cars being used differed from their “stock car” concept and the high speeds being attained, imposed rules designed to restrict the use of components used on the track to those genuinely available to customers.  Thus was born the 352 cubic inch (5.8 litre) (FE) “Special” V8, a US$204.70 option available on all 1960 Fords except the wagons although, reflecting the intended market, niceties like air conditioning, power steering and power brakes weren’t available.  Rated at 360 (268 kW) horsepower, the 352 Special actually out-powered the 430 cubic inch (7.0 litre) (MEL) V8, which, at 350 horsepower (261 kW), was available in the Thunderbird but was so bulky and heavy that its use on the track had been curtailed although it would enjoy some success in powerboat racing.  The 352 Special also provided quite a jump in performance from other 352s which offered a (standard) 235 horsepower (175 kW) or 300 (224 kW) in the 352 Super, neither exactly sparkling performers although typical for the era; a Special-equipped Galaxie managing a standing quarter-mile five seconds quicker than a Super, admittedly one hampered by one of Ford’s early, inefficient automatic transmissions.  The 352 Super wasn’t available for long but the streamlined Starliner body to which most of them were fitted proved to have aerodynamic properties close to idea for use on NASCAR’s ovals but public enthusiasm for the style soon waned and it was replaced by something thought more elegant but which proved less slippery, inducing Ford to try (unsuccessfully) one of the more blatant cheats of the era and one which would prove to be the first shot in what came to be called the “aero-wars”.

1961 Ford Galaxie.

The power-race had for a while been raging on the ovals but NASCAR’s rules dictating all the bits be available for public sale and produced in sufficient number to make purchase genuinely possible meant the race moved to the showroom and thus, public roads, something which produced a remarkable generation of cars but which would have implications for the public, the industry and, ominously, the laws which would follow.  Facing competition with more power and displacement, Ford in 1961 released a version of the new 390 cubic inch (FE) (6.5 litre) this time with an induction system which used three two-barrel carburetors rather than the single four barrel which had sat atop the 352 Special.  Strangely, most owners had to go a circuitous route to get their six-barrel 390, few assembled that way by the factory, the cars instead delivered equipped with a high-performance version of the 390 which included in the trunk (boot), a kit with the parts and accessories to upgrade from the supplied single four barrel carburetor to a triple, two barrel apparatus.  Intended for installation by the dealer, thus equipped, power jumped from 375 horsepower (280 kW) to 401 (299 kW).

1962 Ford Galaxie 406 (replica).

The power race however was accelerating faster than the vehicles it inspired and in 1962, the Galaxie’s new high-performance engine was a 406 cubic inch (FE) (6.6 litre) V8, offered either with a single four-barrel carburetor and rated at 385 horsepower (287 kW) or a 405 horsepower (302 kW) version with the triple two-barrel Holleys.  The 406 certainly delivered increased power but the internal stresses this imposed, coupled with effects of the higher speeds now possible exposed weaknesses in some aspects of underlying engineering, some components being subject to forces never envisaged in the late 1950s when the design was finalized.  The most obvious and frequent failure afflicted the main (bottom-end) bearings and, part-way during the production run, change was made to add a second set of bolts to secure the main-bearing caps, the novelty being that they were drilled sideways, entering through the skirt of the block, thus gaining the moniker “cross-bolted”.

Ford Galaxie 427s, Brands Hatch, 1963.

The 406 however had a production life of less than two years, replaced in 1963 by a the 427 cubic inch (FE) V8, an engine which would be offered in so many configurations that the stated power ratings were more indicative than calculated but the versions available for the street versions of the Galaxie were rated at 410 horsepower (360 kW) if fitted with a single four barrel carburetor and 425 (317 kW) if running a pair.  The 427 would go on to a storied and decorated history on the street, strip and circuit including twice winning the 24 hour classic at Le Mans but unexpectedly, it had a successful career in saloon car racing in England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.  Predicted at the time to be briefly fast, loud and spectacular before its hunger for brake linings and tyres ended its outings, it instead proved competitive, stable and reliable, dominating the 1963 British Saloon Car Championship, ending the reign of the 3.8 litre Jaguars.  In the US however, although the 427 had powered the Galaxie to trophy winning successes in the 1964 NASCAR season, the larger displacement had further increased internal pressures and reliability issues with the bottom end had again been encountered.  The cross-bolting had solved the issues caused by vibration but now the lubrication was proving inadequate, the oiling system setup to first to lubricate the top end and then to the crankshaft.  The solution was another oil galley along the side of the block, delivering priority lubrication to the bottom end; introduced in 1965 as a running change, these engines came to be known as “side-oilers”, the earlier versions retrospectively known as “top oilers”.

1966 Galaxie 7 Litre.

By 1966, the era of the Galaxie as a race car was nearly over, Ford finding the Lotus Cortina and the Mustang quicker on tighter circuits while on the big NASCAR ovals, the race teams during the year switched from the full-sized cars to the intermediates, the Fairlane (the name re-applied to a smaller vehicle after 1962) now the platform of choice.  In 1966 & 1967, the 427 remained available but demand was muted, the two-door Galaxie gaining an option called "7 Litre" (they really did use the European spelling (presumably to avoid a linguistic clash with "Galaxie") and the choice was between the 427 (noisy, cantankerous, an oil burner, expensive and powerful) or the 428 (mild-mannered, smooth, quiet & cheap) and the market spoke, the sales breakdown between the 427/428 in 1966/1967 being 11035/38 and 1056/12.  The message was clear; there were many who wanted high-performance cars but fewer and fewer wanted the package in a big machine, the attention of the market now focused on the intermediates and pony cars.

1970 Ford XL.

By 1970, except for a run heavy-duty units for police fleets which used the old 428, for its top-line option, the full-sized range switched to the new 429 cubic inch (385) (7.0 litre) V8, designed with emission control systems in mind, which had for a couple of seasons been offered in the Thunderbird.  Although available in a version rated at 360 horsepower (265 kW) which was rather more convincing than the perhaps optimistic numbers granted to some of the 428s used in the earlier Galaxies, the emphasis was now on effortlessness rather than outright performance although, Ford was the last of the big three still to offer a four-speed manual gearbox in the big cars and the option lasted until 1970 although the deletion from the option list must have been a late change because while brochures printed for that year’s range included it, it seems none were built.  Actually, technically, by then such things were no longer Galaxies, the two-doors after 1967 called just the “Ford XL” although everyone seemed still to call them Galaxies and for those who still lusted for the ways things used to be done, Plymouth did offer their triple carburetor 440 cubic (7.2 litre) inch V8 but only with an automatic transmission.  It would last only until 1971.

Drake

Drake (pronounced dreyk)

(1) The male of any duck.

(2) As “Drake equation”, a formula proposed as a mechanism to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy.

(3) A small-bore cannon, used mostly in the seventeenth & especially in the 17th and 18th centuries.

(4) A dragon (archaic).

(5) In angling, an artificial fly resembling a mayfly.

(6) A fiery meteor, comet or shooting star (archaic).

(7) A beaked galley or Viking warship.

1250–1300: From the Middle English drake (male duck, drake), from the Old English draca, an abbreviated form of the Old English andraca (male duck, drake (literally “duck-king”), from the Proto-West Germanic anadrekō (duck leader) and cognate with the Middle Dutch andrake, the Low German drake, the Dutch draak (drake), the German Enterich (drake) and the dialectal German drache.  In the Old High German, the equivalent forms were antrahho & anutrehho (male duck).  The archaic meaning in Middle English (a dragon; Satan) dates from before 900 and was from the Old English draca (in the sense of “dragon, sea monster, huge serpent”), from the Proto-West Germanic drakō (dragon), from the Latin dracō (dragon), from the Ancient Greek δράκων (drákōn) (serpent, giant seafish), from δέρκομαι (dérkomai) (I see clearly), from the primitive Indo-European derḱ-.  The Proto-Germanic drako was productive, the source also of the Middle Dutch and Old Frisian drake, the Dutch draak, the Old High German trahho and the German drache.  In a footnote in the long history of the Royal Navy, HMS Marshal Ney, the ship once known as "the worst ship in the navy" was briefly (during her surprisingly long service) re-named HMS Drake.  Drake is a noun, the noun plural is drakes.

Guilty as sin.  Functional necrophilia by a drake: In November 2001, a researcher at Natuurmuseum (Museum of Natural History), Rotterdam, reported the first known case of homosexualnecrophilia in the mallard duck (mallard Anas platyrhynchos (Aves: Anatidae)).

In idiomatic use, the phrase “ducks and drakes” (usually in the form “playing ducks and drakes”) dates from 1585 and means “recklessly or irresponsibly to behave with something valuable or to waste something precious”.  The origin is believed to lie in the pastime of throwing flat stones across the surface of water (known also as “skipping stones”, “stone skiffing” or “skimming stones”, the allusion being to the behavior of the water as the stones bounce before eventually losing energy and sinking, the effect (the circular rings produced by the skipping stone) said to be something like that created by the splashing of ducks and drakes (and waterfowl in general).  It was thus a a reference to doing something in a haphazard and careless manner, without any particular aim or purpose and over time, came to be used generally to refer to any kind of wasteful or irresponsible behavior.  It accurately described the pointlessness of skimming stones but was something of a slight on the birds; their activities on water an indication of their industriousness.  The sense of “to squander, to throw away” emerged in 1614, the notion being “throwing money away, as if throwing away stones in this pastime”.  The perfectly-shapes stone for the purpose (flattish & disc-like) was called a drakestone and in parts of northern England the pastime was known as drakestoning.

The Drake equation

The Drake Equation is a mathematical formula developed in 1961 by US astrophysicist Dr Frank Drake (1930–2022) to estimate the number of intelligent civilizations that (1) might exist in our Milky Way galaxy and (2) be capable of communicating with us. The equation takes into account various factors, such as the number of habitable planets, the probability of life forming on those planets, and the likelihood of intelligent life evolving.  The equation takes the form:

N = R* × fp × ne × fl × fi × fc × L

where:

N = the number of civilizations in our galaxy that are within the parameters capable of communicating with us
R* = the rate of star formation in our galaxy
fp = the fraction of stars that have planets
ne = the average number of habitable planets per star with planets
fl = the fraction of habitable planets that develop life
fi = the fraction of planets with life that develop intelligent life
fc = the fraction of intelligent civilizations that develop technology to communicate with others
L = the length of time such civilizations release detectable signals into space

Sixty-odd years ago, Dr Drake was well aware his equation was not a tool of immediately practical application because there was no certainty about any of the values.  Additionally, the formula was designed not to estimate the actual volume of intelligent life in the galaxy but the number of instances where the conditions might exist which would allow an intelligent to broadcast radio transmissions into space.  Since then, we’ve actually been able to better quantify two of the variables but the equation remains an interesting, speculative device and it remains a widely used tool for discussion and debate.

Portrait of Sir Francis Drake (circa 1581), oil on panel by an unknown artist, National Portrait Gallery, London.  A navigator and buccaneer (a kind of pirate), Sir Francis Drake (1540–1596) was the first Englishman to sail around the world (1577–80) and is best remembered for his command of the fleet which faced the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Dwarf

Dwarf (pronounced dwawrf)

(1) A person of abnormally small stature owing to a pathological condition, especially one suffering from cretinism or some other disease that produces disproportion or deformation of features and limbs.  (In human pathology, dwarfism is usually defined, inter-alia, as an adult height less than 1.47 m (4 ft 10 in).

(2) In zoology & botany, an animal or plant much smaller than the average of its kind or species.

(3) In European folklore, a being in the form of a small, often misshapen and ugly, man, usually having magic powers.

(4) In Norse mythology, any member of a race of beings from (especially Scandinavian and other Germanic) folklore, usually depicted as having some sort of supernatural powers and being skilled in crafting and metalworking, often as short with long beards, and sometimes as clashing with elves.

(5) In astronomy, a small version of a celestial body (planet, moon, galaxy, star etc).

(6) Of unusually small stature or size; diminutive; to become stunted or smaller.

Pre 900: From the Middle English dwerf, dwergh, dwerw & dwerȝ, from the Old English dweorh & dweorg (dwarf), replacing the Middle English dwerg and ultimately from the Proto-Germanic dwergaz.  It was cognate with the Scots dwerch, the Old High German twerg & twerc (German Zwerg), the Old Norse dvergr (Swedish dvärg), the Old Frisian dwirg (West Frisian dwerch), the Middle Low German dwerch, dwarch & twerg (German & Low German Dwarg & Dwarch) and the Middle Dutch dwerch & dworch (Dutch dwerg).  The Modern English noun has undergone complex phonetic changes. The form dwarf is the regular continuation of Old English dweorg, but the plural dweorgas gave rise to dwarrows and the oblique stem dweorge which led to dwery, forms sometimes found as the nominative singular in Middle English texts and in English dialects.  Dwarf is a noun and verb, dwarfness & dwarfishness are nouns, dwarfish & dwarflike are adjectives and dwarfishly is an adverb.  The plural forms are dwarves and dwarfs.  Dwarfs was long the common plural in English but after JRR Tolkien (1892-1973) used dwarves, his influence was enough to become the standard plural form for mythological beings.  For purposes non-mythological, dwarfs remains the preferred form.

The M Word

1970 MG Midget.

Dwarf seems still to be an acceptable term to describe those with dwarfism and Little People of America (LPA), the world’s oldest and largest dwarfism support organization (which maintains an international, membership-based organization for people with dwarfism and their families) has long campaigned to abolish the use of the word “midget” in the context of short humans.  The objection to midget is associative.  It was never part of the language of medicine and it was never adopted as official term to identify people with dwarfism, but was used to label used those of short stature who were on public display for curiosity and sport, most notoriously in the so-called “freak shows”.  Calling people “midgets” is thus regarded as derogatory.  Midget remains an apparently acceptable word to use in a historic context (midget submarine, MG Midget et al) or to describe machinery (midget car racing; the Midget Mustang aerobatic sports airplane) but no new adoptions have been registered in recent years.  The LPA is also reporting some supportive gestures, noting with approval the decision of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) to revise the nomenclature used in the US standards for grades of processed raisins by removing five references to the term “midget”.  Although obviously a historically benign use of the word, its removal was a welcome display of cultural sensitivity.

An interesting outlier however is midget wrestling, a field in which the participants are said enthusiastically to support the label, citing its long traditions and the marketing value of the brand.  Although in the late twentieth century, midget wrestling’s popularity diminished in the last decade there’s be a resurgence of interest and the sport is now a noted content provider for the streaming platforms which run live and recorded footage.  Since the 1970s, midget wrestling has included styles other than the purely technical form with routines extending from choreographed parody and slapstick performances to simulated sexual assault.  These innovations have attracted criticism and the suggesting it’s a return to the freak shows of earlier centuries but audiences in the target demographic seem appreciative and, noting the success of a number of tours and operators, Major League Wrestling in 2022 announced the creation of a midget division.

The short stature of Victor Emmanuel III (1869–1947; King of Italy 1900-1946) with (left to right), with Aimone of Savoy, King of Croatia (Rome, 1943), with Albert I, King of the Belgians (Frence, 1915), with his wife, Princess Elena of Montenegro (Rome 1937) & with Adolf Hitler, observing navy maneuvers (Gulf of Naples, 1938).  Note his DPRKesque hats.

Technically, Victor Emmanuel didn’t fit the definition of dwarfism which sets a threshold of adult height at 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 m), the king about 2 inches (50 mm) taller (or less short) and it’s thought the inbreeding not uncommon among European royalty might have been a factor, both his parents and grandparents being first cousins.  However, although not technically a dwarf, that didn’t stop his detractors in Italy’s fascist government calling him (behind his back) il nano (the dwarf), a habit soon picked up the Nazis as der Zwerg (the dwarf) (although Hermann Göring was said to have preferred der Pygmäe (the pygmy)).  In court circles he was know also, apparently affectionately as la piccola sciabola (the little sabre) a nickname actually literal in origin because the royal swordsmith had to forge a ceremonial sabre with an unusually short blade for the diminutive sovereign to wear with his many military uniforms.  His French-speaking Montenegrin wife stood a statuesque six feet (1.8 m) tall and always called him mon petit roi (my little king).  It was a long and happy marriage and genetically helpful too, his son and successor very much taller although his was to be a tortured existence.  Still, in his unhappiness he stood tall and that would have been appreciated by the late Duke of Edinburgh who initially approved of the marriage of Lady Diana Spencer to the Prince of Wales on the basis that she “would breed some height into the line”.

In cosmology, the word dwarf is applied to especially small versions of celestial bodies.  A dwarf galaxy is a small galaxy of between several hundred and several billion stars, (the Milky Way may have as many as billion) and astronomers have identified many sub-types of dwarf galaxies, based on shape and composition.  A dwarf planet is a small, planetary-mass object is in direct orbit of a star, smaller than any of the eight classical planets but still a world in its own right.  Best-known dwarf planet is now Pluto which used to be a planet proper but was in 2006 unfortunately down-graded by the humorless types at the International Astronomical Union (IAU) who are in charge of such things.  It’s hoped one day this decision will be reversed so Pluto will again be classified a planet.  Dwarf planets are of interest to planetary geologists because despite their size, they may be geologically active bodies.  The term dwarf star was coined when it was realized the reddest stars could be classified as brighter or dimmer than our sun and they were created the categories “giant star” (brighter) and dwarf star (dimmer).  As observational astronomy improved, the

With the development of infrared astronomy there were refinements to the model to include (1) the dwarf star (the “generic” main-sequence star), (2) the red dwarf (low-mass main-sequence star), (3) the yellow dwarfs are (main-sequence stars with masses comparable to that of the Sun, (4) the orange dwarf (between a red dwarf and yellow/white stars), (5) the controversial blue dwarf which is a hypothesized class of very-low-mass stars that increase in temperature as they near the end of their main-sequence lifetime, (6) the white dwarf which is the remains of a dead star, composed of electron-degenerate matter and thought to be the final stage in the evolution of stars not massive enough to collapse into a neutron star or black hole, (7) the black dwarf which is theorized as a white dwarf that has cooled to the point it no longer emits visible light (it’s thought the universe is not old enough for any white dwarf to have yet cooled to black & (8) the brown dwarf, a sub-stellar object not massive enough to ever fuse hydrogen into helium, but still massive enough to fuse deuterium.

Coolest dwarf of all is (9) the ultra-cool dwarf (first defined in 1997), somewhat deceptively named for non cosmologists given the effective temperature can be as high as 2,700 K (2,430°C; 4,400°F); in space, everything is relative.  Because of their slow hydrogen fusion compared to other types of low-mass stars, their life spans are estimated at several hundred billion years, with the smallest lasting for about 12 trillion years.  As the age of the universe is thought to be only 13.8 billion years, all ultra-cool dwarf stars are relatively young and models predict that at the ends of their lives the smallest of these stars will become blue dwarfs instead of expanding into red giants.

The events towards the conclusion of the nineteenth century German fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs make ideal reading for young children.  Her evil step-mother has apparently killed poor Snow White so the seven disappointed dwarfs lay her body in a glass coffin.  The very next, a handsome prince happens upon the dwarfs’ house in the forest and is so captivated by her beauty he asks to take her body back to his castle.  To this the dwarfs agree but while on the journey, a slight jolt makes Snow White come to life and the prince, hopelessly in love, proposes and Snow White accepts.  Back at the palace, the prince invites to the wedding all in the land except Snow White's evil stepmother.

One of the seven dwarfs looking at Snow White.

The step-mother however crashes the wedding and discovers the beautiful Snow White is the bride.  Enraged, she attempts again to kill her, but the prince protects her and, learning the truth from his bride, forces step-mother to wear a pair of red-hot iron slippers and to dance in them until she drops dead.  That takes not long and once she drops dead, the wedding ceremony resumes.  The prince and Snow White live happily ever after.

The condition achondroplasiaphobia describes those with a “fear of little people".  The construct is achondroplasia (the Latin a- (not) +‎ the Ancient Greek chondro- (cartilage) + the New Latin‎ -plasia (growth); the genetic disorder that causes dwarfism) + phobia (from the New Latin, from the Classical Latin, from the Ancient Greek -φοβία (-phobía) from φόβος (phóbos) (fear).  The condition, at least to the extent of being clinically significant, is thought rare and like many of the especially irrational phobias is induced either by (1) a traumatic experience, (2) depictions in popular culture or (3) reasons unknown.  Achondroplasiaphobia has never appeared in the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).  In 2006, it was reported that while dining at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Los Angeles, after noticing two people of short stature had entered the restaurant, Lindsay Lohan suffered an "anxiety attack" and hyperventilated to the extent she had to take "an anti-anxiety pill" to calm down.  To her companions she repeatedly said "I’m so scared of them!"  A spokesperson for the LPA responded by suggesting Ms Lohan should "...treat her fear the same as she would a fear of any other protected minority population.  If that fails, she might find diversity training to be useful."

Peculiar

Peculiar (pronounced pi-kyool-yer)

(1) Something thought strange, queer, odd, eccentric, bizarre.

(2) Something uncommon or unusual.

(3) Distinctive in nature or character from others.

(4) Belonging characteristically to something.

(5) Belonging exclusively to some person, group, or thing.

(6) In astronomy, designating a star or galaxy with special properties that deviates from others of its spectral type or galaxy class.

(7) A property or privilege belonging exclusively or characteristically to a person.

(8) In the Church of England, a particular parish or church that is exempted from the jurisdiction of the ordinary or bishop in whose diocese it lies and is governed by another.

(9) In printing and typesetting, special characters not generally included in standard type fonts, as phonetic symbols, mathematical symbols, etc.  Also called arbitraries.

1400-1450: From the late Middle English, from the Old French peculiaire and directly from the Latin pecūliāris (as one's own property), from pecūlium (private property (literally "property in cattle") a derivative of pecū (flock, farm animals) from pecus (cattle) (in Antiquity, the ownership of cattle was an important form of wealth).  The meaning “unusual” dates from circa 1600, a development of the earlier idiom “distinguished or special”.  The meaning "unusual, uncommon; odd" emerged by circa 1600, an evolution from the earlier "distinguished, special, particular, select" which was in use by at least the 1580s.  The euphemistic phrase "peculiar institution" (slavery; "peculiar" used here in the sense of "exclusive to the "slave states") dates from the 1830s when it was used in speeches by Southern politician John C Calhoun (1782-1850) and it was a standard part of the US political lexicon until abolition.  In ecclesiastical administration, peculiar was used in the sense of "distinct from the auspices of the diocese in which it's located".  Peculiar is a noun & adjective, peculiarize is a verb, peculiarity is a noun and peculiarly is an adverb; the noun plural is peculiars.

In the Church of England, a peculiar is an ecclesiastical district, parish, chapel or church which operates outside the jurisdiction of the bishop and archdeacon of the diocese in which they are situated. Most are Royal Peculiars subject to the direct jurisdiction of the monarch but some are those under another archbishop, bishop or dean.  The arrangement originated in Anglo-Saxon times and developed as a result of the relationship between the Norman and Plantagenet Kings and the English Church. King Henry VIII (1491–1547; King of England (and Ireland after 1541) 1509-1547) retained Royal Peculiars following the Reformation and the Ecclesiastical Licences Act (1533), as confirmed by the Act of Supremacy (1559), transferred to the sovereign the jurisdiction which previously been exercised by the pope.  Surprisingly, most peculiars survived the Reformation but, with the exception of Royal Peculiars, almost all were abolished during the nineteenth century by various acts of parliament.  Mostly harmless among Anglicans, the concept existed also in the Roman-Catholic Church where it caused a few difficulties, usually because of bolshie nuns in convents answerable to Rome and not the local bishop.  The bishops, used to obedience, even if grudging, enjoyed this not at all.

Peculiar has a range of meanings.  One is the sense of something “uniquely peculiar to” meaning an attribute or something else shared with no other and sometimes things one thought peculiar to one thing or another are proved not so unique.  Saturn’s lovely rings were once thought peculiar to that planet but exploration and advances in observational technology meant that by the late twentieth century, it could be revealed Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune all had ring systems, all more modest than those of Saturn but they were there.  Non-realistic art has often for its impact depended on a depiction of the peculiar: blue trees, flying dogs and green people once all enough to shock.  This too can change.  Once, a painting of a black swan would have seemed peculiar because, as the Roman saying went rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno (a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan).  The accepted fact was that all swans were white.  However, late in the seventeenth century, Dutch explorers visiting what is now the coast of Western Australia became the first Europeans to see black swans and event subsequently picked up in philosophy as the “black swan moment”, referencing the implications of an accepted orthodoxy of impossibility being disproven, later developed into the “black swan logical fallacy” which became a term used when identifying falsification.

Peculiar in the sense of something bizarre: 1961 Plymouth Fury Convertible.  It must have seemed a good idea at the time and never has there been anything to suggest the designers were under the influence of stimulants stronger than caffeine or nicotine.

Sometimes something thought peculiar can be described as “funny-peculiar” to distinguish it from something disturbing: peculiarities can be thought of as perversions.  In 1906, an embittered and vengeful Friedrich von Holstein (1837–1909; between 1876-1906, an éminence grise in the foreign office of the German Empire) sent a letter to the diplomat Prince Phillip of Eulenburg (1847–1921), the man he blamed for the ending of his long and influential career:

“My dear Phili – you needn’t take this beginning as a compliment since nowadays to call a man ‘Phili” means – well, nothing very flattering… I am now free to handle you as one handles such a contemptible person with your peculiarities.”

From this incendiary note ensued a series of legal proceedings exploring the allegations of “unnatural conduct” (homosexual activity) levelled against Prince Phillip, proceedings which involved a roll-call of characters, many with motives which went beyond their strict legal duty and a few with their own agendas.  The matter of Phili’s peculiarities was of great significance, not merely because homosexuality was punishable under the criminal code (although the statute was rarely enforced) but because the prince had for decades been the closest friend of the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859–1941; German Emperor & King of Prussia 1888-1918).

Deadline

Deadline (pronounced ded-lahyn)

(1) The time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something.

(2) A line or limit that must not be passed; a time limit for any activity.

(3) Historically, a boundary around a military prison beyond which a prisoner could not venture without the risk of being shot by the guards.

(4) A guideline marked on a plate for a printing press, indicating the point beyond which text would not be printed (archaic).

(5) Historically, a fishing line that has not for some time moved (indicating it might not be a productive place to go fishing).

(6) In military use, to render an item non-mission-capable; to remove materiel from the active list (available to be tasked); to ground an aircraft etc.

1864: The construct was dead + line.  Dead was from the Middle English ded, from the Old English dead (having ceased to live (also “torpid, dull” and of water “still, standing, not flowing”), from the Proto-Germanic daudaz (source also of the Old Saxon dod, the Danish død, the Swedish död, the Old Frisian dad, the Middle Dutch doot, the Dutch dood, the Old High German & German tot, the Old Norse dauðr and the Gothic dauþs), a past-participle adjective based on dau-, which (though this is contested by etymologists) may be from the primitive Indo-European dheu- (to die).  Line (in this context) was from the Middle English line & lyne, from the Old English līne (line, cable, rope, hawser, series, row, rule, direction), from the Proto-West Germanic līnā, from the Proto-Germanic līnǭ (line, rope, flaxen cord, thread), from the Proto-Germanic līną (flax, linen), from the primitive Indo-European līno- (flax).  The development in Middle English was influenced by the Middle French ligne (line), from the Latin linea (linen thread, string, plumb-line (also “a mark, bound, limit, goal; line of descent”)).  The earliest sense in Middle English was “a cord used by builders for taking measurements” which by the late fourteenth century extended to “a thread-like mark” which led to the notion of “a track, course, direction; a straight line.  The sense of a “limit, boundary” dates from the 1590s add was applied to the geographical lines drawn to divide counties.  The mathematical sense of “length without breadth” (ie describing the line drawn between points (dimensionless places in space)) was formalized in the 1550s and in the 1580s the “equatorial line was used to describe the Earth’s equator."  Other languages including Dutch, Finnish, Italian & Polish picked up deadline from English in unaltered form while the word also entered use in many countries for use in specific industries (journalism, publishing, television, printing etc).  Deadline & deadliner are nouns; deadlining & deadlined are verbs and postdeadline is an adjective; the noun plural is deadlines.

In the oral tradition, a deadline (which probably should be recorded as “dead line”) was a fishing line which for some time after being cast, hadn’t moved, indicating it might not be a productive place to go fishing.  The source of the first formalised meaning (a line which must not be crossed) was a physical line, the defined perimeter boundary line of prisoner of war (PoW) caps during the US Civil War (1861-1865): Any prisoner going beyond the “deadline” was liable to being shot (and thus perhaps recorded as “SWATE” (shot while attempting to escape).  Despite the name, the Civil War records indicate the deadline was rarely marked-out as a physical, continuous line but was instead defined by markers such as trees, signposts or features of the physical environment.  However, the word appears not to have caught on in any sense until 1917 when it was used to describe the guideline on the bed of printing presses which delineated the point past which text would not print.  It seems that the word migrated from the print room to the news room because by 1920 it was used in journalism in the familiar modern sense of a time limit: Copy provided after a specified time would not appear in the printed edition because it has “missed the deadline”.  From this use emerged “postdeadline” (after the deadline has passed) which sometimes existed on a red stamp an editor would use when returning copy to a tardy journalist, “deadliner” (a journalist notorious for submitting copy only seconds before a deadline) and the “deadline fighter” (a journalist who habitually offered reasons why their postdeadline copy should be accepted for publication).  Writers often dread deadlines but there are those who become sufficiently successful to not be intimidated.  The English author Douglas Adams (1952–2001), famous for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) wrote in the posthumously published collection The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time (2002): “I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by”.  Few working journalists enjoy that luxury.  Other similar expressions include “zero hour”, “cutoff date” and the unimaginative “time limit”.  Deadline was unusual in that it was one of the few examples of the word “dead” being used as a word-forming element in its literal sense, another being “deadman”, a device used mostly in railways to ensure a train is graceful brought to a controlled stop in the event of the driver’s death on incapacitation.

The meaning shift in deadline was an example of an element of a word used originally in its literal sense (dead men SWATE) changing into something figurative.  Other examples of the figurative use of the element include “dead leg”, deadlock, dead loss, dead load, dead lift, dead ringer, dead heat and dead light.  The interesting term “dead letter” has several meanings.  In the New Testament it was used by the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 3:6) to contrast written, secular law with the new covenant of the spirit.  Paul’s argument was that legal statutes, without the Spirit, were powerless to bring about salvation and were therefore “dead letter” whereas the new covenant, based on the Spirit, brings life:  “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6).  So, law devoid of the power of the Holy Spirit to interpret and apply it is a “dead letter” that can never be transformative, unlike the new covenant which is based on a living relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.

In a post office, a “dead letter” (which can be a “dead parcel”) is an item of mail which can neither be delivered to its intended recipient nor returned to the sender, usually because the addresses are incorrect or the recipient has moved without leaving a forwarding address.  Within postal systems, there is usually a “dead letter office” a special department dedicated to identifying and locating the sender or recipient.  If neither can be found and the item is unclaimed after a certain time (and in many systems there are deadlines), it may be opened and examined for any identifying information that could be used to identify either and if this proves unsuccessful, depending on its nature, the item may be destroyed or sent to public auction.  Beyond the Pauline and the postman, “dead letter” is a phrase which refers to (1) a law or regulation which nominally still exists but is no longer observed or enforced and (2) anything obsolescent or actually obsolete (floppy diskettes, fax machines et al).  In law, some examples are quite famous such as jurisdictions which retain the death penalty but never perform executions.  There have also been cases of attempting to use the “dead letter” law as an expression of public policy: In Australia, as late as 1997, the preferred position of the Tasmanian state government was that acts of homosexuality committed by men should remain unlawful and in the Criminal Code but that none would be prosecuted, the argument being it was important to maintain the expression of public disapproval of such things even if it was acknowledged criminal sanction was no longer appropriate.  There may have been a time when such an approach made political sense but even before 1997, that time had passed.  As is often the case, law reform was induced by generational change.

Founded in 2009 (an earlier incarnation Deadline Hollywood Daily had operated as a blog since 2006), deadline.com is a US film and entertainment news & gossip site now owned by Penske Media Corporation.