Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Accute (for Acute)

An acute angle is one measuring less than ninety degrees. A famous architectural example can be found in I. M. Pei’s design for the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The nineteen-degree angle on the southwest side is said to be the sharpest corner on any building, and the stone is stained at ground level by the countless visitors who feel compelled to touch it. On May 8, 2009, the Washington Post reported that the lavender-pink marble facade would require a $40 million facelift. Lest you blame the tourists, it’s actually because many of the 16,200 exterior panels are tilting outward, and new supports are needed.

Accute is a typo of low probability on the Ballard list and is found 7 times in OhioLINK.

(Detail of the East Building, National Gallery of Art, from Wikimedia Commons)

Deb Kulczak

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