SOMETIMES A CIGAR IS JUST A CIGAR

... And sometimes it is "an accurate barometer of the national mood," according to The Economist. The paper has plotted out an intriguing history of America in cigar consumption ("Puffing on a stogie went into sharp decline after the Wall Street crash. President Kennedy signed the Cuban trade embargo in 1962 but not before sending a lackey to purchase 1,200 fine Cuban cigars on his behalf.") But what may be especially interesting are the comments, particularly the "most recommended" ones. The lion's share of recommendations went to two comments: One by reader Cýur de Lion, who quoted Rudyard Kipling:

"A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke."

(A pity Arturo Toscanini's far more charming quip doesn't seem to have been considered: "I kissed my first girl and smoked my first cigarette on the same day. I haven't had time for tobacco since.") The other by a reader named Ben Hollis, who writes:

"I think cigars are wonderful - they make wealthy people impotent."

It seems we can't help ourselves: cigars may be stretched as symbols of economic confidence, but they will always seem most comfortable nestled somewhere with Freud. cigars