RAY: A few weeks ago, my vacuum broke. This is a conventional vacuum cleaner -- the kind that's on wheels, with the hose that plugs in on one end. The vacuum looks like a torpedo.
Before I threw it out, however, I decided I'd take it apart to see if I could fix it. I surprised myself and found the problem. It was a broken wire.
While I'm fixing it, I notice a huge chunk of iron attached to the base of the vacuum. It looks like it weighs about two pounds.
I remembered two years ago when I took a stereo component apart. I noticed that it also had a huge chunk of iron in there -- so that you wouldn't think it was a big empty box with 65 cents' worth of components.
I thought, do I want my wife dragging around this vacuum cleaner that's two pounds heavier? Of course not. I'll just throw this thing out. So I pry off the piece of iron and I put the vacuum back together.
A while later, I'm sitting at the kitchen table, smugly chewing on an apple.
TOM: And it doesn't work?
RAY: Oh, it works all right. But something very funny happens. So the question is, what was that funny thing?
RAY: Everyone knows that New Year's Day follows Christmas Day by one week. For example, if Christmas is Monday, then New Year's Day will be on a Monday, too.
Here's the question. What is the most recent year in which Christmas and New Year's Day fell on different days of the week?
RAY: And the answer is...last year! And the year before. They are a week apart but they're in different years.
TOM: They're in different years. Every year they fall on a different day.
__________________
The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
It's a torpedo shaped canister. I think the weight is there to keep it from tipping and rolling over every time someone pulls the vacuum hose.
My parents had a desk phone with a weight inside the bottom, so it wouldn't be pulled off the desk / nightstand every time someone picked up the receiver.
(Like this but with a real dial, not push buttons.)
Without the weight it would have to be held down when dialing.
__________________
The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
RAY: Everyone knows that New Year's Day follows Christmas Day by one week. For example, if Christmas is Monday, then New Year's Day will be on a Monday, too.
Here's the question. What is the most recent year in which Christmas and New Year's Day fell on different days of the week?
RAY: And the answer is...last year! And the year before. They are a week apart but they're in different years.
TOM: They're in different years. Every year they fall on a different day.
In 2015, January 1 was on a Thursday, December 25 will be on a Friday.
Nice trick making us think they were still talking about them being a week apart.
__________________
The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
