Frontispiece from the first edition of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' 1876 ... He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit.

Y’all have likely all heard the story of how Tom Sawyer tricked a bunch of boys into whitewashin’ his Aunt Polly’s fence. But do you know what whitewash is made of? Most of us think it is some sort of ...