Annals of cultural transmission

23 December 2009

Scene: The dinner table.

Father: What did you do in school today?

Five-year-old: It was too cold to go out for recess, so we saw a movie.

Father: What was it about?

Five-year-old: It was about a snowman who came to life.

Father: So you saw Frosty the Snowman?

Seven-year-old: How did it work? And how did he die?

• Later: Laws are like sausages; sometimes they contain traces of lead
• Earlier: Re-re-reconsidering nuclear power