* The popular version of the legend of King Canute is apocrypha piled on apocrypha: Canute, the King of the North Sea Empire, England, Norway and Denmark, is usually an embodiment of hubris and futility for commanding the waves to stop. In fact, the authentic version of the story has him issuing the command to demonstrate that some things are beyond even a king’s control. And even that version is apocryphal—but in the present era ought to be recalled.