perfectionism
People who did it again and again until it was exactly right, or they were dead.
The Man Who Painted the Dead
How do you paint a wild bird at exact life size without it moving?
Present But Not Voting
What kind of man spends sixty-three years perfecting the instructions for his own stuffed body?
The Composer Who Flooded His Neighbors
What was the greatest composer in Europe doing upstairs that kept soaking the ceiling below?
The Rational Heat Motor
Why would a millionaire inventor lay out his nightshirt, mark a small cross on his diary, and fold his overcoat beneath the railing?
The Tidy Man
Who lobbies the League of Nations, twice, to adopt a calendar he designed himself?
The Chair
What kind of performer turns down every replacement for a seat that no longer has a seat?
The Dog Got Clean Too
What happens when a woman who holds thirty-six patents and hates cleaning drags a garden hose into her kitchen?
The Man Who Only Seemed Dead
Every night for years, Hans Christian Andersen left a note on his bedside table that read: "I only appear to be dead."