Yes, I still have my old deci-trig-log-log slide rule.  It's funny you should
mention that, because just last week I was explaining how it worked to my wife
and one of my sons.  It wasn't for any high mathematical purpose, though.  I
just wanted them to understand this old joke:

After the  Great Flood, Noah released all the animals from the Ark and told them
to go forth and be fruitful.  Most of the animals happily obeyed, except for a
pair of puff adders (snakes) who seemed uninterested in mating.  Noah was
concerned that if they didn't reproduce the species would become extinct, so he
prayed to the Lord for guidance.  God sent him a message in a dream:  "Cut down
a tree, saw it into rough sections, and use it to build a table.  Place the
snakes on the table and leave them alone, and they will do what comes
naturally."  Noah did as he was told, and sure enough, soon there were little
puff adders slithering all over the place.

The moral of this story is:  Even adders can multiply on a log table.

Wayne




Olav Kappert <[log in to unmask]> on 10/12/2000 03:51:42 PM

Please respond to Olav Kappert <[log in to unmask]>

To:   [log in to unmask]
cc:    (bcc: Wayne Brown/Corporate/Altec)

Subject:  Re: [HP3000-L] OT: the first information appliance



Hi:

I'm not old enough to go back to the age of the abacus; how about the slide
ruler ?
Do anyone have one ?
Better yet, does anyone still remember how to use it and would you be willing to
teach your
children its functionality ?

Olav.