This paper clipping was a “message in a bottle” found or washed ashore, if you will, between the pages of a book gift on Jersey folk lore (thank you, Gareth!). According to the article quick-silver placed in chimneys has been a means to protect a house from evil spirits in Jersey. When I think of quick-silver, the first thing that comes to mind is a medical thermometer most households in Russia still own and use. It’s an analogue model (here) with a small lump of shiny gray matter (quick-silver) enveloped in a glass casing which remains the most popular (and affordable) model despite the now widely known toxity of quick-silver. Is it a case of “Old habits die hard”? Or rather “Old one but a good one”?