And on another subject entirely...

[gvdub]

As I'm sitting here watching the end of "Return of the King", I started to wonder why it is that creatures of faerie (elves, fairies, etc) are always portrayed with pointy ears. WTF is up with that? Where did that trope originate and when did it start propagating? Where are the earliest illustrations of Spock-eared fantasy creatures? Which culture did they come from? Do elves trying to "pass" get 'em bobbed, or what? Is it in the points that their magical powers exist? Enquiring minds want to know (or at least mine does). Sounds like time for trip to the library.