Free Why do Clocks run clockwise? by David Feldman Page A

Institute, the Association of [ahem] Professional Dry Cleaners and Launderers, adds that the Federal Trade Commission stipulates that along with the “Professionally Dry-Clean Only” warning, garment manufacturers should inform the consumer of any necessary modification in the basic dry-cleaning process. “Even the most professional dry cleaner might not know without being told that something should be dried at a low temperature, for example, or should not be pressed with steam.” The clothing industry, unfortunately, often forgets to add these warnings.
    Overcome by the spirit of Imponderables, Karen Graber added one of her own. Another clothing label warning that is sprouting up is the incantation: “Dry-clean only. Do not use petroleum or synthetic solvent.” As there are only two kinds of solvent (you guessed it—petroleum and synthetic), her Imponderable is: what do you do with such a garment?
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    Graber’s answer: “Leave it in the store, along with anything else you know from the label is bound to cause you and your dry cleaner some sleepless nights.”
    What Is the Difference Between “Flotsam” and
    “Jetsam”?
    Although they sound suspiciously like two of Santa’s missing reindeer, flotsam and jetsam are actually two different types of debris associated with ships. We rarely hear either term mentioned without the other close behind (and saying “jetsam” before “flotsam” is like saying “Cher” before “Sonny”). When we talk about “flotsam and jetsam” today, we are usually referring metaphorically to the unfortunate (for example, “While visiting the homeless shelter, the governor glimpsed what it is like to be the flotsam and jetsam of our society”).
    At one time, however, “flotsam” and “jetsam” not only had different meanings, but carried important legal disinctions. In English common law, “flotsam” (derived from the Latin flottare , “to float”) referred specifically to the cargo or parts of a wrecked ship that float on the sea.
    “Jetsam” (also derived from Latin— jactare , “to throw”) referred to goods purposely thrown overboard in order either to 60 / DAVID FELDMAN

    lighten the ship or to keep the goods from perishing if the ship did go under.
    Although the main distinction between the two terms was the way the goods got into the water, technically, to become jetsam, the cargo had to be dragged ashore and above the high-water line. If not, the material was considered flotsam, which included all cargo found on the shore between the high-and low-water lines.
    Actually, two more terms, “lagan” and “derelict,” were also used to differentiate cargo. “Lagan” referred to any abandoned wreckage lying at the bottom of the sea; “derelict” was the abandoned ship itself.
    While insurance companies today have to pay out for flotsam, jetsam, lagan, and derelict, the old distinctions once dictated who got the remains. Jetsam went to the owner of the boat, but flotsam went to the Crown. The personal effects of nonsurviving crewmen could become flotsam or jetsam—depending on how far the debris traveled and whether it floated.
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    Why Do Doughnuts Have Holes?
    The exact origins of doughnuts and their holes are shrouded in mystery and are a topic of such controversy that we have twice been caught in the middle of heated arguments among professional bakers on radio talk shows. So let us make one thing perfectly clear: we offer no conclusive proofs here, only consensus opinion.
    Some form of fried cake has existed in almost every culture. “Pre-historic doughnuts”—petrified fried cakes with holes—have been found among the artifacts of a primitive Indian tribe. The Dutch settlers in America, though, are usually credited with popularizing fried cakes (without holes) in the United States, which they called
    “oily cakes” or olykoeks . Washington Irving, writing about colonial New York,