I was sitting in a classroom reading something when one of the professors approached me with a smiling face. As he reached for my slide rule which lay on the table, I noticed that he carried a large scissors. He removed the slide rule from its cover and without trouble at all bisected it transversally before I could interfere. Cheerfully he handed me the one-half of the rule, and as I stared at him questioning his actions, he explained to me that half a slide rule was just as good and besides it occupied less space. The last thing I remember was that I was testing with considerable success his suggestion.