Sapphires they are not

The thing about being online is you learn something new everyday. The blue crystals you see here are beautiful, aren't they? They could easily be mistaken for sapphires even. But they are not precious gems. They are crystallized copper sulfate. Yeah, the dangerous sulphuric acid that when comes in contact with water produces heat, hot enough to burn.

I was on Dictionary.com when this interesting image of blue crystals caught my eye on the day's Hotword, vitriol. The entry talks about vitriol as in 'harsh speech'.

I'm not trying to be political here but if you've been reading the news and emails that have been circulating, harsh speeches are a commonplace in this country of late. They are not only about laws and procedures, some of them are downright destructive to racial harmony. In this plural society, such harsh speeches by public figures could only spell disaster and probably the need to start making funeral plans for organizations these people are affiliated with. What I mean is that these organizations could become unpopular.