1. The terms multiplicand and multiplier
   For those of you who don’t remember or were never taught these terms, multiplicand refers to the first number in a line of multiplication and the multiplier is the second. i.e. in 2×3=6, 2 is the multiplicand and 3 is the multiplier. These terms are useless since multiplication is commutative, and, therefore, it doesn’t matter which number is first. Also, once you are past the 3rd or 4th grade you will never hear these terms again anyway.
2. Plasma as a fourth state of matter
   I know plasma is a fourth state of matter (Bose-Einstein condensate and fermionic condensate are a fifth and sixth according to Wikipedia), but for some reason it was only mentioned in an elementary science class and never again, and I think it’s because no one really understands it. When I took chemistry and materials science in college we did phase change diagrams without even mentioning plasma as a fourth option, just solid, liquid, and gas. If I didn’t need to know it at that level then I definitely didn’t need to learn about it as a 5th grader.
3. I before E except after C
   This just simply gets you in a lot of trouble since there are so many exceptions.

As long as your tastes aren’t too picky, the local library should have a good selection of audio books that are “free” for you to use. I put “free” in quotation marks first, because it did cost $3.00 to get a new card, and second, we all know we pay for the library through our grand tax system whether we use it or not, but that’s another topic altogether.

In the last few months I have listened to:

• Treason by Ann Coulter
• Benjamin Frankin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson
• The Flyers: In Search of Wilbur and Orville Wright by Noah Adams
• An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942-1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson
• My Life by Bill Clinton
• On Whale Island: Notes from a Place I Never Meant to Leave by Daniel Hays

Accomplishing this list through traditional paper books would have taken me much much longer. If you have spare time in the car I would definitely recommend rediscovering your local library.

A few notes to keep in mind:

• My library’s books on tape collection is much larger but not as up to date as the books on cd.
• Many audio books are abridged, but it’s better than nothing.
• Many libary catalogs are available online, and with mine I can even reserve and renew books
• You can take more risks than with paper books since, if you don’t like it, you’ve only sacrificed a weeks worth of “WABC’s joke of the day is…”
• Your audio selection will be much larger if you have extreme disregard for George W. Bush and/or adopt more liberal ideas in general.