An assertion about tetrahedrally-bonded carbon, made by two well known actresses in the 1949 Broadway musical and 1953 film of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, was eagerly picked up by those who sell small chunks of this product of the Earth’s mantle. Scientists have been more matter-of-fact about the stuff.
Carol Channing’s declaration
And Miss Monroe’s affirmation
That diamonds really are “a girl’s best friend”,
Is a claim without reliance
On the disciplines of science,
But one which high-street jewellers still defend.
In fact, a diamond’s assets
Are its highly polished facets,
Its hardness, and its toughness and its hue,
Such features corresponding
To its tetrahedral bonding.
Poor Marilyn. I wonder if she knew?