Acrolith: a stone head, a statue with a wooden body and head of stone.

The U.S. government isn’t the only nation to debase. The “brilliant” powers that be have replaced the silver in our coins with cheaper metals. This official trickery is nothing new. In ancient times, sculptors could save money by carving, from marble, the head, hands, and feet of a statue. Using wood, they would create the torso. They would then cover the torso using draper, or thin gilding.

Ta Da! An Acrolith!

I suppose the word acrolith could also be an insult. You could essentially call someone a “bonehead”, or “stonehead”, by calling them an acrolith. If you decide to do this, students, you did not get the idea from me. The idea came from your Aunt. Understood?

Acrolith comes from Greek ἄκρον (height, summit, peak), and and λίθος (stone).