29 May 22

My ensemble today ties together two unrelated events, the annual celebration of Paper Clip Day and the 569th anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople. No one knows why 29 May was chosen to honor the lowly but ubiquitous twisted wire loop long known as the "Gem" paper clip, but we all know many uses beyond holding papers together. In 1453 on this date, Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire  conquered the city of Constantinople, ending the Byzantine Empire (the last remains of the Roman Empire), which ushered in the flowering of arts, literature and early science in Europe known as the Renaissance. So this date is often cited as "the end of the Middle Ages." Two masterful figures of the Renaissance were Leonardo da Vinci (born in April 1452) and Michelangelo (born in March 1475). I wore my Mona Lisa tie recently for da Vinci's birthday, and so here is Michelangelo's depiction of the "Creation of Adam" to honor the burst of creativity in that day.