The Law of Vee

The Law of Vee (not "V", lest this law be confused by Romans with the unrelated law of 5, as expounded by the Discordians) states: that whose name begins with the twenty-second letter of the Latin alphabet is more often than can otherwise be explained in the shape of that letter. That is, words that begin with vee refer to vee-shaped things with notable frequency. Obviously, cases are excluded where the vee-shapedness of the thing has influenced its name.

Instances of this law can be divided into strong and weak types. Weak instances simply meet the law: a "vee" thing is also a vee-shaped thing. Strong instances have the vee-shaped "vee" thing constrasted with a non-vee-shaped non-"vee" thing. Thus, in a strong instance, the vee-shapedness of the former furnishes a mnemonic for distinguishing it from the latter. The first three examples below are strong instances.

The list

1. Venezuela vs. Colombia. Venezuela is vee-shaped.
2. Vermont vs. New Hampshire. Vermont is vee-shaped.
3. Ventricles vs. atria (of the heart). The ventricles are vee-shaped.
4. Vanuatu. The largest constituent island of this Oceanic state is vee-shaped.
5. Valine. This amino acid has as an isopropyl group as its functional group: a carbon atom bonded to one hydrogen atom and to two carbon atoms, each of which is bonded to three additional hydrogen atoms. Following the usual graphical convention where carbon atoms are unmarked and hydrogen atoms with bonds to a carbon atom not shown, this is the amino acid with the simplest vee-shaped functional group.
6. Vikings. In popular culture, vikings are represented with horned helmets. These helmets are loosely vee-shaped due to the two upturned horns, one on each side.