20 DECEMBER 2008, Page 58

Who the f— are you?

Sir: Dot Wordsworth opines in her column (Mind your language, 6 December) that ‘no one has ever been called C*** or F***.’ However, she states that she would welcome evidence to the contrary. Whilst I am not in a position to advise on the former name, I would direct her to this website — http://www. unb.br/ig/prof/ReinhardtAdolfoFuck.htm — in relation to the latter. This is the page of a staff member at the University of Brazil; the member of staff in question, Professor Reinhardt Adolfo F**k, is apparently a very well-regarded lecturer in geology. Whilst a Google search of his name will produce many puerile (if entertaining) ‘most unfortunately named individual’ type sites, there are also, hidden amongst the results, a number of academic journals in which Professor F**k is cited or quoted.

Karen Ashe

Belfast