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So there I was on a sunny Sunday morning, driving alongside the Atlantic Ocean. And a thought occurred to me. “Wow,” I thought, “people really wear flip-flops a lot in South Florida.” Ok, this was not among my more original thoughts. I grant you that. But being devoted as I am to truth and science and empirical evidence, I decided to test my idea. Perhaps I was wrong about the flip-floppiness of our locals and visitors. Perhaps this was more perception than reality. And so I started to count the pairs of flip-flops I saw on those walking along A1A. And, for statistical comparison, I counted the non-flip-flop wearers too. While driving.
Ok, ok, you’re right. Another idea that maybe wasn’t among my very best. But I did learn something from this exercise. First, I learned that it is not a good idea to count feet while driving. Because counting feet takes a surprising amount of concentration, as it turns out. Concentration that might better be applied to something else when driving, such as not hitting folks carrying beach chairs across the street. Second, I learned that, yes, people really wear flip-flops a lot in South Florida. Wow.
By actual count, I managed to observe and mentally log 17 separate pairs of feet while motoring along at something like 30 mph on a busy weekend. And out of those 17 pairs of feet, you say, how many actually wore flip-flops? Exactly 13 out of 17. I was loathe to suspend my tabulations at a paltry 17 pairs of feet but just as I was about to count the 18th pair, another thought occurred to me: “This is nuts!” Thus, I deprived science of further data on this issue of public interest. But I think I may have saved a couple of beach chair carriers. I’m not sure. Anyway, now that I’ve proven my point about the high percentage of flip-flop wearers, you may very legitimately ask yourself a question about all this. You may ask, “So?” To which I would answer this: Any place where 13 out of every 17 people wear flip-flops has got to be a pretty fun place. Well, that’s what I think anyway. As I already have admitted, this was not my most profoundly insightful morning. But I thought it was interesting and I thought you might think so too. Oh, and what was I wearing on my own feet while probing this statistical mystery? Boots, of course. Heavy, pointy-toed brown leather boots under my jeans. I may be devoted to truth and science and empirical evidence, but I’m a nonconformist at heart.
Ok, ok, you’re right. Another idea that maybe wasn’t among my very best. But I did learn something from this exercise. First, I learned that it is not a good idea to count feet while driving. Because counting feet takes a surprising amount of concentration, as it turns out. Concentration that might better be applied to something else when driving, such as not hitting folks carrying beach chairs across the street. Second, I learned that, yes, people really wear flip-flops a lot in South Florida. Wow.
By actual count, I managed to observe and mentally log 17 separate pairs of feet while motoring along at something like 30 mph on a busy weekend. And out of those 17 pairs of feet, you say, how many actually wore flip-flops? Exactly 13 out of 17. I was loathe to suspend my tabulations at a paltry 17 pairs of feet but just as I was about to count the 18th pair, another thought occurred to me: “This is nuts!” Thus, I deprived science of further data on this issue of public interest. But I think I may have saved a couple of beach chair carriers. I’m not sure. Anyway, now that I’ve proven my point about the high percentage of flip-flop wearers, you may very legitimately ask yourself a question about all this. You may ask, “So?” To which I would answer this: Any place where 13 out of every 17 people wear flip-flops has got to be a pretty fun place. Well, that’s what I think anyway. As I already have admitted, this was not my most profoundly insightful morning. But I thought it was interesting and I thought you might think so too. Oh, and what was I wearing on my own feet while probing this statistical mystery? Boots, of course. Heavy, pointy-toed brown leather boots under my jeans. I may be devoted to truth and science and empirical evidence, but I’m a nonconformist at heart.
posted by LauderBLOGGER at 2:23 PM
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