What is MENISCUS? The departure from a flat surface where a liquid meets a solid, due to surface tension. The effect can be seen clearly through the wall of a glass tube. The surface of water in air rises up the wall of the tube, while that of mercury is depressed, SIGHT-FEED LUBRICATOR.
An abandoned mud-covered scooter is found during the draining of the Canal Saint-Martin in Paris, France Charles Platiau/Reuters
The water that flooded St. Bernard was contaminated by a very large oil spill -- millions of gallons -- from a storage tank in the industrial portion of the parish. Also, after the water was pumped out, the parish had over a foot of oily mud remaining.