Monday, March 27, 2006

Rambling: Have You Ever Noticed?

Once in a while, I like to stop to notice the little things about this world and wonder why they are the way they are. Have you ever noticed...

-- That M and N look a lot alike even though they are different sounds? M and B are very similar in terms of how they are produced, yet they look very different. Why do M and N look so similar?
-- That stop signs all have white borders? Why a white border? Why not yellow or green or orange?
-- That in most languages, people write from the left towards the right? Why that direction? In Middle Eastern languages, like Arabic and Hebrew, they write from right to left. Again, why that way? Which way did the first writer write?
-- That stop lights always have a yellow body? The box that holds the signal is inevitably painted yellow. Why? Have you ever seen a stop light painted another color?
-- That we tell time in 12-hour increments? Why 12-hours? Why not 24? Why not 4 or 6? All of those go into 360 evenly. Who decided that we should always measure time as ante meridim (AM) or post meridim (PM)?
-- That the sky during the day is blue? I'm being serious. Why should it be blue? Why didn't God design the sky so that it looked red or orange or yellow or pink or black?

Hmmm...interesting thoughts. I'll stop there and let you ponder that. Any thoughts are welcome.

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