To receive these posts by email each Monday, sign up.
For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.
The magic trick of pulling a tablecloth out from under a place setting relies on three things: a straight down pull, an unhemmed cloth, and Newton’s first law of motion. Pulling down, not out, causes the unhemmed edge of the tablecloth to move speedily between the tabletop and the dishes. Inertia keeps the glasses, silverware, and plates sitting in their neat arrangement, even while the magician gathers up the cloth while taking a bow.
