We timed our visit, earlier this month, to coincide with one of the annual rounds of meetings of scientists and officials - but we had no idea whether anyone would welcome the prospect of a television camera in their midst, let alone talk to us.

BBC: Inside the world��s most ��impossible�� science project

Fearing for their jobs, neither engineer would permit us to record them, let alone name them.

NPR: Challenger: Reporting a Disaster's Cold, Hard Facts

What it has to tell us of life, let alone suffering, beyond the savage enchantment of the movies could be written on the head of a bullet.

NEWYORKER: Sin City

Yet some of the book's pivotal figures, notably Klara Sax, an artist who turns disused bombers into a gigantic sculpture, do not excite enough interest to carry us through dozens of pages, let alone hundreds.

ECONOMIST: A less-than-great American novel

It's amazing how many artists come to us saying, 'We've never even seen a statement for that, let alone received a cheque.

BBC: Indie music label Cherry Red rocks on at 35

But one thing is certain, cucumbers, when they turn violent on mammalian consumers, remind us how fickle nature can be when it comes to issues of life and death, let alone global economic analysis, at least in human terms.

FORBES: The Best and Worst of Times: Killer Vegetables, Plunging Markets, Infinite Nature