“[C]ompetence porn,” has been thrown around by many critics in describing The Martian. John Rogers, creator of erstwhile TNT drama Leverage, coined the term in 2009, when he and his writers realized that viewers were addicted to the show’s pipe-laying, jargon-laden briefing scenes. “Competence porn” is a truly excellent phrase for an old phenomenon; the frisson of watching smart people tackle tasks with freaky aptitude dates as far back as Robinson Crusoe.

The slope [at Bank station, Waterloo & City] was always resented, especially on Monday morning, and it was supplemented by the installation of the Underground's first Trav-o-lator - or moving walkway - in 1960.

I could think of two separate occasions when she had deliberately lied to me.

Deerlicks, it is true, were known here long before the Revolution, and Captain Brady and other hunters from Fort Pitt frequently took advantage of them...