No, that is not a typo. It’s a reference to a classic optical illusion. You probably have seen it—a triangle that contains three lines. The first line is “Paris.” The second line is “in the.” The last line is “the Spring.” People will often read it as “Paris in the Spring,” not the correct “Paris in the the Spring.”
I know, I know … This thought immediately pops into your head: “But it’s obvious that the word ‘the’ is repeated.”
And you wouldn’t be wrong.
Until you look at the picture of the triangle with the words in it.
Why is that?
Believe it or not, there’s a scientific explanation for this. It comes from vision science, and it’s called a “saccade.” This term refers to what happens when both eyes move simultaneously in Continue Reading “Lafayette In The The Spring”
‘Go Bills’—The Universal Language
I stopped dead in my tracks. The magnificent visage of the four heroes on Mount Rushmore rose ahead of me. But I looked back. So did the man who said those words. He puffed out his chest and pointed proudly with inverted thumbs to the logo on his tee. It was a Buffalo Bills shirt. I smiled and answered, “Go Bills!” in return.
Throughout my travels west, I wore my Buffalo Bills cap. Not so much to promote the team, but to keep the sun away from my hairless head.
Still, everywhere I went, there came this familiar refrain: “Go Bills!” On trails, in hotel lobbies, while pumping gas—it didn’t matter. The first few caught me off guard. After that, I began returning the favor. Far away from Buffalo, I had discovered a universal language. The phrase resonated with both Bills fans and even supporters of other teams. (Ironically, the favorite team of one was the Kansas City Chiefs!)
My immediate thought was, “Why does this happen?” But my broader reflection asked, “Why Continue Reading “‘Go Bills’—The Universal Language”