Over on the Book of Face, I posted this cartoon with some commentary:
To my amusement, various folk replied. One wrote: “Yeah, I believe in Intelligent Falling. No other way cats’ feet and the buttered side of toast would always hit the ground first”, which reminded me of this:
Then, my friend Jerry Cangelosi, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington got into this exchange with me, which cracked me up:
I read on line that a lot of people get injured while using parachutes. So I’m playing it safe and not using one.
You can’t be too careful!
It’s a personal choice. I prefer natural descents.
I hear you. And others are free to get out of the way or not as they choose. It’s their responsibility to look up, not yours to make sure they do. If they are crushed or splashed on, they should have taken better care of themselves. What is this, Stalin’s Russia that you have to babysit freeloaders?
I’ve gone 5,000 feet without a parachute and haven’t hit anything yet. I think I’m immune. I’m taking hydroxychloroquine.
Take enough and you are dead before impact. Once again the College Boys are shown up by the Wisdom of Ordinary MAGA Common Sense.
We have fun.
***
Speaking of Pandemic gallows humor, file this latest shibboleth from the MAGA Cult under “Weird hill to die on, but at least you’re dead”
Simcha’s dry wit kills me.
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6 Responses
The anti-vax, anti-mask crowd is also similar to the anti-seat belt crowd from 40+ years ago. Except it was not a parody, this was real – there were people that refused to wear a seat belt.
My dad used to be one of those. I believe he gave up on it eventually.
At least if you don’t wear a seat built (at least in the front) you don’t harm anyone else, and in fact if you are in a crash with no seatbelt and are carrying an organ donor card you can actually do some good.
An actual unexpected downside when motorcycle helmets became compulsory was a great reduction in available donated organs – lots of young, fit people dying with all their largely organs intact – except for the head and brain, obviously – was quite useful in this regard. I understand some medical professionals actually referred to helmetless motorcyclists as “organ donors”.
Thesis:
It is a product of the fundamental physics of the universe that toast falls buttered side down as:
(a) the height from your hand to the floor is broadly similar for everyone;
(b) toast is always held buttered side up;
(c) the rotational speed of falling toast is broadly similar since most pieces of toast are of a similar size; and
(d) toast therefore only has time while falling to go through a single half turn before hitting the ground; so
(e) it will inevitably by buttered side down when it does so.
Conclusions:
(1) If you don’t want toast to land buttered side down when you drop it, carry it upside down and it will always land buttered side up; and
(2) God set reality up this way just to annoy us.
@iain
But what happens if you’re in Australia? I bet you didn’t think of that!
In New Zealand, our toast hits the ceiling.
I wonder if putting jam on the toast will affect its physics.