I’ve come across two abiding literary “mysteries” during my reading here: the circumstances surrounding the four mentions of the tamarisk plant in The Iliad (supplemental) and a similar looking overhead light that occurs in both (Chandler’s) The Big Sleep and (Hammet’s) The Maltese Falcon. (Actually two similar looking sentences, you might say). Haven’t yet persuaded myself that coincidence explains either case.
Ngrams
I never hear google ngrams talked about anymore, but it’s a lot of fun. Here were some of my explorations:
The Meteoric Rise of ‘Robust’, Joseph Conrad, Henry James, Pale Blue Eyes, Candy Says, creepy, scary, weird, etc., nuclear/solar power/energy, garbage can recycling bin, Napoleon and associated literary figures, assorted, Dinosaurs, Biblical, Ice-age mammals, “robust” et al., plural of cannon, variety Grant, Lincoln, Lee, Hitler, etc. Early 20th century authors, 19th century authors, “data is, data shows“, Shakespeare v William Shakespeare, Einstein v etc., 9/11
.i`` * ^ / . . . . . ` `~ 