Dangerous Diva

Pliny the Elder disagreed with me about crinolines being worn by fashionable ladies in pre-revolutionary France.

I believe you are wrong, he said.

Oh? I said. Why is that?

Because, he replied, crinolines were not invented until the 1830s. The skirts worn by ladies in pre-revolutionary France were padded out on the sides with panniers. I'm surprised you did not know that.

I did know that, I just forgot, I said. I'm surprised that you knew it, though.

You forget, said Pliny, that I take an interest in everything.

I do forget that, sometimes, I agreed. But since you do take an interest in everything, what do you know of the ingredients used in ladies' lipsticks?

Do you have a particular reason for asking? asked Pliny.

I do, I said. I am wondering whether tin oxide is a proper ingredient in a lipstick.

Offhand, said Pliny, I do not know, but it sounds quite a dangerous substance to be painting on one's lips .

That's what I thought, I said, when I read the ingredients of my new lipstick this morning. The last ingredient was tin oxide.

Let us try and find out more, said Pliny, helpfully. Now, I believe ladies' lipsticks have names. What is the name of yours?

Dangerous Diva, I replied.

Pliny seemed about to say something, but, uncharacteristically, held it back.