At a meeting of the Russian Chemical Society held October 20, 1881 (and reported in the Bulletin de la Société Chimique de Paris, for August, 1882), Mendelejeff [Dmitri Mendeleev], the distinguished author of the periodic law, remarked that only two of the recently announced elements—scandium and ytterbium—had been satisfactorily confirmed. These have been obtained in a pure state by [Lars Fredrik] Nilson, and neither of them has absorption spectra.

One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.

I have the dubious honor of being in charge of fundraising for roof repair on the town youth gymnasium. Meaning, it's an honor to be tasked yet something unwanted.

Subsequently turning the new insight into action—embodying the idea, producing the revolutionary behavior—requires tough-mindedness, the willingness to try out behavior and allow his or her ideas to die in his or her stead...