Refrigerator
Refrigerator
[Open fridge with four conveyor belts, three in the main compartment and one on the door. There are two more containers on the door, and an ice-box underneath the second conveyor belt in the main compartment. There is a bin at the bottom of the fridge where the conveyor belts all lead to labelled "Bad."] Top conveyor belt : 3 days ^ 2 days ^ 24 hours ^ 12 hours ^ Middle conveyor belt : 1 W ^ 5 days ^ 3 days ^ 2 days ^ 1 day ^ Bottom conveyor belt : 3 M ^ 2 months ^ 1 month ^ 2 weeks ^ Door conveyor belt : 3 days ^ 1 week ^ 2 weeks ^

Randall proposes the idea of a refrigerator with conveyor belts tuned to different speeds such that food is moved along to the right (main compartment) or left (door) as time passes, with the time appropriate markings letting you know how much time is left until it spoils. When the expiry date is reached, the food will have reached the rightmost part of the refrigerator and conveniently fall into the "Bad" tray at the bottom right of the fridge.
The title text is a reference to Simon Stevin's proof of a problem of equilibrium consisting on balancing a weight on an inclined plane by another weight hanging off the top end of the inclined plane. Stevin, also known as Stevinus, had the proof inscribed on his tomb, and as such the proof is commonly known as the " Epitaph of Stevinus ". Randall expresses his interest in having his own ostensibly brilliant idea likewise engraved on his own tombstone.
[Open fridge with four conveyor belts, three in the main compartment and one on the door. There are two more containers on the door, and an ice-box underneath the second conveyor belt in the main compartment. There is a bin at the bottom of the fridge where the conveyor belts all lead to labelled "Bad."] Top conveyor belt : 3 days ^ 2 days ^ 24 hours ^ 12 hours ^ Middle conveyor belt : 1 W ^ 5 days ^ 3 days ^ 2 days ^ 1 day ^ Bottom conveyor belt : 3 M ^ 2 months ^ 1 month ^ 2 weeks ^ Door conveyor belt : 3 days ^ 1 week ^ 2 weeks ^
