1.   But the lasting sensation is simple gratitude at being invited to join a conversation that spanned centuries, continents, languages and subjects.

2.   Housed in two separate buildings on the National Mall, it includes other van Gogh paintings among thousands of works that span the centuries.

3.   There will be no more ballyards that span a century, like Tiger Stadium and Wrigley Field.

4.   Perhaps no one is in a better position to comment on golf than Sarazen, a man whose life in the game virtually spans the century.

5.   All consuming self-absorption spans the centuries.

6.   These two men nearly span the century, linking two different generations who had very distinct ideas about what to do with their wealth.