embonpoint

embonpoint - noun - (ahn-bohn-PWAN) plumpness of person; stoutness

I found this quote on wikipedia, "The Western ideal considers a slim and slender body mass as optimal while many historic cultures consider an embonpoint or plump body-mass as appealing". The article went on to talk about how US women failed to recognize what men find attractive, believing a slimmer than average appearance was more attractive. In reality, most men found women of average build to be more attractive.

isthmus

isthmus – n - A narrow strip of land, bordered on both sides by water, connecting two larger bodies of land.

I know most people consider the whole subject tiresome, just something to be gotten past in school, but my interest in history is life-long. I may have been the only five-year-old in the Western hemisphere who could have named all the US presidents and told you something about them (admittedly, nothing very penetrating - I was five!). Anyone interested in history is going to develop some knowledge of geography, and I thought I'd devote a few entries to the subject.

That's the isthmus of Corinth shown above, separating the Pelloponese (home of the Spartans) from what may still be called Attica (home of the Athenians).