The Marilyn Monroe Protractor





     Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 12, 2019
     Category: Beauty, Ugliness and Other Aesthetic Issues | Body | Technology | 1950s





Comments
I know my weapons of math instruction, and that's not a protractor.
Posted by ges on 12/12/19 at 07:45 PM
Which is the best paradigm of feminine beauty:
1) The great personal attractiveness of Queen Cleopatra VII of ancient Egypt?
2) The bright white teeth in Mona Lisa's smile? or
3) The way Marilyn Monroe's blond curls cascaded over her shoulders?
Posted by Joshua Zev Levin, Ph.D. on 12/12/19 at 08:21 PM
I'd go with Cleopatra. We don't see Mona Lisa's teeth in her smile and Marilyn's blond curls are really brown and barely brushed her shoulders most of her adult life. Mona Lisa's rotten teeth could have been the reason why she was so hard to make smile for (painted) pictures. However, Cleopatra managed to bag two Roman emperors before turning into the old hag with the fat nose that we see on old Egyptian coins so her beauty must have been real, as least to a degree.
Posted by Yudith on 12/13/19 at 11:52 AM
Yudith --

You are very observant and knowledgeable.

I had read that Cleo wasn't all that good looking even when young. I imagine that either she had a WONDERFUL personality, or a lot of political power.

Technically, her name (which means "the glory of the father") is supposed to be pronounced "klee-OH-pa-tra". In ancient Greek, proper nouns, including personal names, had the accent on the third-to-last syllable.

-- Josh
Posted by Joshua Zev Levin, Ph.D. on 12/13/19 at 01:44 PM
Wouldn't that be a French curve? Or in this case, a Marilyn curve.
Posted by Loyd Jenkins on 12/15/19 at 10:58 AM
Great — I have a hard enough time concentrating on math...
Posted by Brian on 12/15/19 at 11:25 PM
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