The discovery of the cholesteric ushered in the study of liquid crystalline phases and phenomena. As a structure periodic on the micron length scale, the cholesteric acts as a diffraction grating, affording a labradorescent splendor to the casual observer. While these discoveries were being made, Maxwell developed the theory of canal surfaces; surfaces swept out by a sphere of varying radius moving along an arbitrary path. I will use a new observation of cholesteric droplets to explain the connection between canal surfaces, focal conic domains, and Apollonian packing. The power of geometric thinking will be highlighted.
