Perhaps your eye has once or twice been drawn to the incredibly thin and beautifully elegant pointing on a handsome Georgian building in London?
The technique which yields this appearance — bearing the wonderful name of tuckpointing — is an illusion…
Tuckpointing is a way of using two contrasting colours of mortar in the mortar joints of brickwork, one colour matching the bricks themselves, to give an artificial impression that very fine joints have been made.
You can see the contrast between the more common weather struck pointing on the left, and tuckpointing on the right, here:
And here is an image which illustrates the care and skill involved in the deception…
Should you wish to add another brick to the foundations of your pub quiz knowledge, 10 Downing Street features tuckpointing…