Wet Cement & Initials
Why do people feel compelled to write their initials in wet cement?
———- from Melba & Julie of San Luis Obispo, CA
First of all, a warning: this action is illegal everywhere but on Hollywood Boulevard in California, where the allowed privilege is only given to movie stars. I don’t know the source of this human compulsion, but it seems to be related to the urge to throw pennies into standing pools of water. Most parks provide ponds so that tourists can throw pennies into them; frankly, I don’t know why parks don’t provide banks of wet cement as well. Maybe it’s too expensive. Well, all I know is there are thousands of penny-filled pools in America, but most of the cement is amazingly dry. I’ve never felt either of these urges. I always throw a personal check into a pond myself and then fill in the pond with concrete. It’s a strange compulsion, I know, but then I’m not a movie star or a tourist with a lot of loose change. I’m a scientist. I’m not like other people.
First of all, a warning: this action is illegal everywhere but on Hollywood Boulevard in California, where the allowed privilege is only given to movie stars. I don’t know the source of this human compulsion, but it seems to be related to the urge to throw pennies into standing pools of water. Most parks provide ponds so that tourists can throw pennies into them; frankly, I don’t know why parks don’t provide banks of wet cement as well. Maybe it’s too expensive. Well, all I know is there are thousands of penny-filled pools in America, but most of the cement is amazingly dry. I’ve never felt either of these urges. I always throw a personal check into a pond myself and then fill in the pond with concrete. It’s a strange compulsion, I know, but then I’m not a movie star or a tourist with a lot of loose change. I’m a scientist. I’m not like other people. 