I know it was either a typo or misheard by a steno, but taking the name of one of the world’s great mechanical geniuses in vain (BCMJ 2007;49[4]:170 [10]) just has to irk an old coot who has spent much of his life punching holes in paper and (occasionally) medals for fun!

And if I had tried to register my Model 1935 Hi-Power as a “Brownian,” knowing our brilliant bureaucrats as I do, I’d have risked 5 years in the pokey—honest citizens aren’t allowed to make typos in such vital matters as our culture of safety.

In a more serious vein (not that 5 years up the lazy river isn’t serious), I enjoyed your article very much. It was not only a revelation—especially the atomic stuff—but also a reminder to me of the NRC in Ottawa, where my father did original research from 1930 until the 1970s. 

I often went to his lab, where he showed me how to use Bunsens, pipettes, etc., and how to do a lot of “fun stuff.” I vaguely recall him showing me a huge apparatus in a new room, and I think he told me that it was the first electron microscope in Canada. No idea what year that was, but I do remember not understanding a word of the physicist’s explanations. 

—M.S. (Bud) Wolochow, MD
Richmond

Indeed “Browning” in my original should have been “Brownian.” Thanks for pointing out the error; it’s nice to see that people read these things critically.—ED