My Spanish teacher had a way of dropping little relevant bits of knowledge into his lessons, like that most words beginning with al- are of Arabic origin: almuerzo for lunch, alhaja for jewel. We went on a field trip to a Mexican restaurant on the last day of class, and the week before, as he was giving us directions, he mentioned that Santa Monica has no 13th St. because it’s unlucky. Instead, it’s Euclid St.—how apropos to use an inventor of geometry and logic to ward off superstition. Just now, at 12:44, I’m thinking about how strange it is that our hour-hands never reach 13, and I’ve decided it must be for the same reason. If we had a 13th hour, we would certainly call it Euclid. #