Today, let's play with questions. The University of Houston's
College of Engineering presents this series about the machines
that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity
Why Do Clocks run Clockwise? asks the title of a book by David
Feldman. Why indeed! This odd book looks at 239 such questions.
First they look innocent -- even trivial. Then we start to see
how great is our willingness to accept things without raising
enough questions. For example: "What about those warning labels
on mattresses? What would happen if I cut one off?" I tried that
on one person who grinned and said, "I always figured I'd be
thrown in jail if I did." Actually, the label tells you who made
the mattress and what he filled it with. It also warns the
retailer that he's required to give you that The book goes on:
"What's the difference between flotsam and jetsam?" Flotsam
comes from the Latin word flottare -- to float. It's the stuff
that floats all the way up to the high-tide water line. Jetsam
is from jactare -- to