Pond Life If water is the primal origin of all things (as the ancient Greek sage Thales of Miletus supposed), then considering how hard it is to wade through, it must also be oil and pitch, mercury and salt, sulphur too, with differing degrees of power and viscosity, all stirred up and blended into a huge pool of liquid substance, thick enough to get yourself stuck in. But don’t call on the old gods and nymphs of Thales’ day to be your life guards. They won’t jump in and save