vacation at engineering university he used to work on repairing
construction equipment.
One afternoon he was taking apart a piling hammer that had some very
large bolts holding it together. On of the nuts had corroded on to the
bolt; to free it he started heating the nut with an oxyacetylene
torch.
As he was doing this, one of the dimmest apprentices he had ever known
came along. He asked him what he was doing.
The guy patiently explained that if he heated the nut it would grow
larger and release its grip on the bolt so I could then remove it.
"So things get larger when they get hot do they?" he asked.
Suddenly, an idea flashed into his mind. "Yes," he said, "that's why
days are longer in summer and shorter in winter."
There was a long pause, then his face cleared. "You know I always
wondered about that," he said.
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