I hadn't seen this one in a while, and there have been a couple of additions since it last graced my inbox, so I thought it was worth sharing with the world again:

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter girl
took my $2 and I was digging for my changed when I pulled 8 cents from my
pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel and 3
pennies, while looking at the screen on her register.
I sensed her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters,
but she hailed the manager for help.

While he tried to explain the transaction to her, she stood there and cried.

Why do I tell you this? Please read more about the "history of teaching
math":

Teaching Math In 1950
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5
of the price. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1960
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100.. His cost of production is
4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

Teaching Math In 1970
A logger exchanges a set "L" of lumber for a set of "M" of money. The
cardinality of set "M" is 100. Each element is worth one dollar. Make 100
dots representing the elements of the set "M." The set "C," the cost of
production, contains 20 fewer points than set "M." Represent the set "C" as
a subset of set "M." Answer this question: What is the cardinality of the
set "P" of profits?

Teaching Math In 1980
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is $80
and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

Teaching Math In 1990
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, the logger makes $20. What do you
think of this way of making a living? Topic for class participation after
answering the question: How did the forest birds and squirrels feel as the
logger cut down the trees. (There are no wrong answers)

Teaching Math In 2000
A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is
$120. How does Arthur Anderson determine that his profit margin is $60?

Teaching Math In 2005
El hachero vende un camion carga por $100. La cuesta de production...

Jay Solo has an interesting--and wickedly funny--post up today about the problem of finding WMD in a country the size of California. Point being that when Rummy and company keep pointing out that Iraq is the size of California, what they're trying to say is that it's really damned big.

Go check out the post. And welcome Han Duo's Silence to the blogroll.

You may not be aware that MIAs from former wars are still being located and reclassified as Killed in Action. This morning, the Department of Defense announced identification of two more servicemen missing from Vietnam.

You may also not be aware that there are approximately 88,000 servicemembers missing in action from prior conflicts, and that 1,871 of them are from the Vietnam War.

Food for thought.

Read the story.

Greyhawk recently posted a list of ten "forgotten" military posts he'd made. Needless to say, it's all good stuff and worth your time, but this post in particular caught my eye. I was unaware that Burkett had received this award, and I am very, very glad to hear it. The man deserves that and more for the work he's done over the last 18 years.

This is a topic I am passionate about. You see, several years ago my father (a Vietnam-era draftee) told me about a book called Stolen Valor, and I promptly bought it for him for his birthday, not realizing that it was going to be a revolutionary read for me in many ways.

My father's a lot like me--or, perhaps, I am like my father--in that when he discovers something fascinating, he feels compelled to share it. That's why, after several phone calls where he told me at length about Burkett's research, I was hopelessly intrigued enough to read the book, and it forever changed my image of not just the Vietnam era, but of the military itself.

Vietnam--and Vietnam era--veterans have had the honor due them stripped away in much of the public mind by the mechanisms Burkett exposes. This is a travesty that continues to be perpetrated even today by media outlets and politicians who object to America's use of force under most circumstances. It is of perhaps greater importance than ever that we view the era through a lens free of distortion, since it is being used by those who oppose the war we are now invoved in as a justification for inaction.

I'll happily argue with you until we are both blue in the face over whether Vietnam accomplished anything (I happen to believe that it did, but that is a post for another evening). Allowing the image of the Vietnam veteran as a drug-using baby-killing homeless mentally ill waste product of an unjust war to continue, however, is a terrible injustice, and an insult to all of those who served honorably.

We owe it to ourselves and to the nation to arm ourselves with facts, and facts are what Burkett brings to the table. So go read Greyhawk's post, then go read Stolen Valor. Both will fascinate and surprise you and are well worth the time you'll spend pondering them.