
 |
|
February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Nov. 17, 2006
/ 26 Mar-Cheshvan, 5767
Hy-pathetical Questions: Visited by the muse of musing
By
Gene Weingarten
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
This week's "What If . . . ?" column renounces the cynicism I have shown in the past. Today we examine how the world would be different if familiar, comforting, homespun proverbs were literally true.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
IT WOULD BE THRILLING, wouldn't it, to look up one day and realize that the most hopeful of proverbs became literally true, with every cloud in the sky framed by a magnificent nimbus of pure silver. People all over the earth Aleutian fishermen, Bedouin tribeswomen, French harlots, Donald Trump would walk out of their homes to witness the miracle. Then, pretty soon, we'd all start dying. Badly.
Gaseous silver would liquefy and fall as rain, contaminating our water. Silver is a heavy metal, and, like all heavy metals, it is toxic to humans. In the case of silver, death would be preceded by a condition known as "argyria," in which the skin and eyeballs turn a bluish gray. Humans would begin to resemble the classic image of the Martian. Then would come heart, brain, kidney and bone disease, followed by confusion and dementia, which would be a blessing, really.
A watched pot never boils.
I HAD DARK SUSPICIONS about what this would mean but did not trust myself, so I consulted a physicist. It was not as bad as I feared. It was worse.
The power grid in most civilized nations depends upon the conversion of an available energy source coal, oil, natural gas, atomic fission into mechanical power capable of turning a turbine to create electrical energy. This is done, in almost all cases, by boiling water to create steam. The steam furnaces are nothing but "pots" that are watched by technicians. No boiling, no steam. No steam, no power. Global anarchy. Holland, with its windmills, becomes a superpower.
But maybe you will argue that a generating plant is not really a "pot." Fine. Doesn't really matter. The generic "watched pot" would become the most destructive force in the history of mankind. It is unlikely that civilization could withstand it.
If the act of watching a pot of water prevented it from actually boiling, here's the scenario: By continually watching a pot of water on the stove (or having teams of people all enemies of freedom taking turns watching it sequentially) the water would never evaporate. It would simply continue to store more and more energy.
This is not me speaking; it is Professor Richard Berg, of the University of Maryland physics department. That pot, he said, could become so filled with potential energy that it would far surpass any diabolical source of destructive power devised to date. That pot continuously watched could be loaded onto a plane and dropped into an ocean. Watched by the bombardier all the way down, the pot would keep its hellish payload until it disappeared beneath the waves. At that point, suddenly unwatched, it would release enough energy to create a tsunami of devastating strength. Imagine, if you dare, the effect of coordinated pot-bomb attacks on America's Eastern Seaboard. Me, I'd prefer to go on to the next question.
A cat has nine lives.
PARENTS, DO NOT let your children read this answer.
By "having nine lives," this proverb really means "surviving eight deaths." Ergo, bringing one's beloved family cat to the vet to be put down nine consecutive euthanasia procedures would become prohibitively expensive, except for the very wealthy. Most of the rest of us would have a dreadful choice to make: We could watch our pet suffer through not one slow, painful death, but nine. Or, more likely, our compassion would prevail, and we would take matters into our own hands.
We'd try to be humane, but the reality of the situation would create an unimaginable horror. Sickened by each murder, we would turn in desperation to another method in a confusing, heartbreaking frenzy of savagery fueled by love. Drowning! Clubbing! Drano! Our homes would become charnel houses as humanity's better nature warred with its worst, and we deadened our souls to deal with it.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
ARMS RACES BEING WHAT THEY ARE, the nations of the world would compete to attract and keep the most persuasive writers. National treasuries would be exhausted not for defense, but for maintaining Literary Superiority. Freedom of the press, as we know it, would cease to exist, because writers as instruments of national security would be in the employ of governments. So on one hand, totalitarianism and the resulting enslavement of the masses would take hold worldwide. On the other hand, guys like me would be fabulously wealthy babe magnets. So I'm okay with that.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Gene Weingarten writes the Below the Beltway humor column for The Washington Post. To comment, please click here.
Archives
© 2006 WPWG
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|