Word: offing
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Dates: during 1970-1970
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Sir: Your article about Stephen Potter reminds me of a lecture that he gave at the University of Illinois when I was a student there. As I recall, the head of the English Department introduced Mr. Potter with the remark that he had never understood English humor and sometimes doubted...
Mr. Potter took the podium and acknowledged the introduction with: "Thank you, Professor, but I'm terribly sorry that you didn't get the point of the sparrow joke." Of course.
Sir: Dr. Hoenikker invented an "unnatural" water called "Ice Nine" in the book Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. "Ice Nine" propagated itself by feeding on natural water and eventually ended up making the earth uninhabitable. The creation of "polywater" [Dec. 19] by the Russians and its subsequent...
Sir: You shouldn't have told us. If Nixon hears that it is possible that Red China could deploy an intercontinental subterranean earthquake [Dec. 19], he might feel an uncontrollable urge to deploy counter-platforms. That would mean years of costly research to find out the right height for...
Sir: Fifty million motorists simultaneously applying their brakes from a speed of 60 m.p.h. would impart 50 times as much energy to the earth's crust as David Stone's jumping Chinese. Careful coordination could focus the energy at any point on earth. Unfortunately, the first Chinese jump...