Your article, referring to rare earth elements including europium, dysprosium, gadolinium, praseodymium, holmium and ytterbium, was very enlightening (What are Ukraine’s critical minerals – and why does Trump want them?, 17 February). However, it was difficult for me to read, owing to the persistent intrusion of the earworm of a certain song by Tom Lehrer.
John O’Dwyer
Steeple Claydon, Buckinghamshire
My favourite report (Letters, 18 February), from a history teacher, arrived before my interview at Cambridge: “His melancholy subversiveness will go down well with a certain type of don.” It didn’t. Or perhaps that particular don was elsewhere on the day. Happily, I ended up at Warwick, where EP Thompson bestrode the campus.
Nick Barton
Henstridge, Somerset
What’s the problem with the US renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America? France and Britain share an expanse of water. The Brits call it the English Channel; the French call it La Manche. Both sides are happy.
Michael Delahaye
Adelaide, Australia
Come election time, the owners of the cork-covered house (Report, 18 February) will have no trouble pinning up their party posters etc.
Jeremy Sleath
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire
In my house, Doge is pronounced “doggy” and Musk as “muck”, as in doggy muck (Letters, 18 February).
Jennifer Jenkins
London
