Why do some people wait right up until tax day to file their taxes? I must confess that I’ve never been a hardcore procrastinator. By the same token, I’ve never been a goody-two-shoes either, the one who started doing her homework assignments the moment she got home from school. Generally, I tend to go the middle of the road: I don’t do things too soon or too late. And that goes for filing taxes as well. I’m not breaking down … Continue reading →
Why do we still use Roman numerals? I remember first being introduced to Roman numerals in third grade and hating the Ancient Romans for inventing a crazy number system I thought was intended to torture kids for two millennia. Sometimes I wondered whether that system hung around just as a tool for teachers to use to keep students in line. Thank goodness we got Arabic numerals several centuries after the Roman Empire collapsed, and by the 14th century they became … Continue reading →
Why can’t a small be a small and a large be a large? Once upon a time when you ordered a small drink you would get exactly that–a small-sized drink. Then somewhere along the line someone had a brainstorm and decided to do away with all the small-sized cups and make medium the new small. Order a small now and get a medium because that’s the smallest size; order a large and get an extra large. Are you following so … Continue reading →