the weight of a cloud and the weight of an accusation

[dchenes]

Earlier this week I got to wondering how much a cubic foot of cumulus cloud weighs. I was walking home and noticed the clouds ripping along through the air, and wondered how much wind it takes to move a cloud, and decided that depends on how much the cloud weighs. (I found the answer for a cubic kilometer of cumulus cloud, but I haven't bothered converting cubic kilometers to cubic feet.)

Anyway, my second thought was that the high school English teacher who accused me of plagiarism for making a general statement about Victorian England in a paper without citing a source (and didn't believe me when I said we talked about that sort of stuff at dinner, and probably didn't believe my father when he told her so) would never have believed I could come up with a question like that.

I had that English teacher almost 15 years ago, and I still wonder, every time I come up with an off-the-wall idea, what she would have done if I could have proved that I really do wonder about things and then go look them up and find the answers. (Which is how I knew about Victorian society's view of women, thank you very much, even though I did cite an encyclopedia in the end just to make Mrs. Frink happy.)

I like to think I don't hold grudges, but for some reason I just can't let that one go.

Comments

[halleyscomet.livejournal.com]

You were falsely accused of plagiarism, something that I would suspect ranks high on your list of "Things I detest" scale. That sort of thing can stick with you. Of all the trouble I got in as a kid, the times I was punished form something I didn't do are the ones that still piss me off.

[silverbackbutch.livejournal.com]

And to top it off, she insulted your intellectual ability!! Some of us actually *do* talk about strange and esoteric things (especially at the dinner table) and it's insulting to not be believed.