is the claim that it takes only six steps to genetically link any two people on earth. A character in the play of the same name by John Guare says: "I read somewhere that everybody on this planet is separated by only six other people. Six degrees of separation. Between us and everybody else on this planet. The president of the United States. A gondolier in Venice. Fill in the names. I find that tremendously comforting that we're so close but also like Chinese water torture that we're so close. Because you have to find the right six people to make the connection."
Svengali:
Central character in George du Maurier's novel "Trilby" (1894). Svengali is a dedicated to Austrian musician, physically unattractive and with a malicious personality to match. When Trilby O' Ferrall, the heroine of the novel , meets Svengali, she is an artist's model and an indifferent singer. At first repelled by Svengali, whom she regards as a "spidery demon", she soon succumbs to his hypnotic spell. Under his tutelage she becomes a famous singer; but when not under Svengali's influence, she sings wretchedly. When Svengali dies of heart failure, Trilby loses her voice, sickens and dies too.
A person who through sheer force of personality exercises control or influence over others is called "a Svengali".
Siamese Twins:
Born in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1811, Chang and Eng Bunker were physically joined together at the chest by a "short,tubular cartilaginous band." When they grew up, they were taken on a worldwide tour by an enterprising Englishman. They amassed a fortune and settled in North Carolina. The twins died almost simultaneously on January 16,1874--Chang first, Eng three hours later.
Although, medically, Siamese twins are physically conjoined , the term has colloquially come to refer to any two people who think, speak, behave alike.
