The use of the word “swell” as a replacement to “great” or “fantastic” went out some time in the last century together with lava lamps, rotary telephones and polyester pants. Today nobody would even admit to remembering the saying “that’s swell!”, so prominently featured in “Leave It to Beaver” and “The Shining”. Although the word is obsolete, but not the phenomenon. Swelling is an enlargement of a body part, caused by the accumulation of fluid in the tissues. It can be as si

Hercules Farnese is one of the most recognized statues in history. The Greek original from the 4th century BC has long been lost, but multiple copies exist around the world. There is one at the Louvre Museum in Paris, another at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, several copies in Greek museums, and the open-air one at the Admiralty Park in St. Petersburg, where I used to play as a child. The statue depicts a muscular but tired Hercules leaning on his club, a weapon he used to a