Pages 42-47

This page-by-page annotation is organized by sections, as delineated by the seven squares (sprockets) which separate each section. The page numbers for this page-by-page annotation are for the original Viking edition (760 pages). Editions by other publishers vary in pagination — the newer Penguin editions are 776 pages; the Bantam edition is 886 pages.

Contributors: Please use a 760-page edition (either the original Viking edition with the orange cover or the Penguin USA edition with the blue cover and rocket diagram — there are plenty on Ebay for around $10) or search the Google edition for the correct page number. Readers: To calculate the Bantam edition use this formula: Bantam page # x 1.165. Before p.50 it's about a page earlier; as you get later in the book, add a page.

Finally, profound thanks to Prof. Don Larsson for providing the foundation for this page-by-page annotation.

Page 42

F.R.C.S.
Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a surgeon in the UK. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FRCS Jpicco 09:53, 16 May 2009 (PDT)

Balaclava helmet
...a form of headgear covering the whole head, exposing only the face or upper part of it, and sometimes only the eyes. The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava, near Sevastopol in Crimea (now Ukraine).[1] During the Crimean War, knitted balaclavas were sent over to the British troops to help protect them from the bitter cold weather. They are traditionally knitted from wool, and can be rolled up into a hat to cover just the crown of the head. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaclava_(clothing) Jpicco 09:53, 16 May 2009 (PDT)

Page 44

"Why it's Mrs. Nussbaum!"...Fred Allen..."You vere ekshpecting maybe Lessie?"
Pansy Nussbaum was a Jewish housewife character on Fred Allen's BBC radio show. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Allen#Allen.27s_Alley

"Lessie" refers to Lassie, the famous fictional dog of American TV and movies. [1] --Jpicco 10:04, 16 May 2009 (PDT)

St. Veronica
Saint Veronica, according to the "Acta Sanctorum" published by the Bollandists (under February 4), was a pious woman of Jerusalem who, moved with pity as Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha, gave him her veil that he might wipe his forehead. Jesus accepted the offering and after using it handed it back to her, the image of his face miraculously impressed upon it... The closest reference in the canonical scriptures is the miracle of the woman who was healed by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment (Luke 8:43–48); her name is later identified as Veronica by the apocryphal "Acts of Pilate". The story was later elaborated in the 11th century by adding that Christ gave her a portrait of himself on a cloth, with which she later cured the Emperor Tiberius. [2]