make managers bit
less uptight – something silly
but acceptable

“I never thought anyone would want to do a book about the madness of the 1970s and 1980s. I had no idea people even remembered our Newton’s cradle,” said Loncraine, 78. “It was something to make bank managers a bit less uptight – something silly but acceptable to have on your desk.”

From the article, “‘It was to make bank managers less uptight’: the toy that put Newton’s law on executive desks by Alice Fisher. Lifestyle editor, in the Guardian.

Growing up in the 70’s … the 1970’s, we had one of these at home.

Everyone did.

We knew it by another name though.

We called it ‘Newton’s Balls’ not Newton’s Cradle and it made a big difference.

Especially when you let the two hanging balls on the ends go at the same time and they slammed into the other three over an over again.

You felt it in … well …

One of my older brothers was studying to be a math teacher.

At one point in his life he had a pet cat named Newton.

He would explain how the action of the steel balls demonstrated conservation of momentum and conservation of energy in physics.

I had just read a book about Robert H Goddard and how he had studied Newton’s laws of physics.

As a kid (the book I had read was a young readers life of Robert H Goddard) the book said Goddard had sent away for multi volume sets of books that he read to learn all he could about Newton and this somehow led him to design rockets and rocket engines.

I thought about that.

I thought about what my brother told me.

And I watched Newton’s balls slowly slow down.

And I realized I was not destined for a career in mathematics.

Understand this was not in the family genes.

There were 11 of us and over time we all attended the same high school.

Every year, Grand Rapids Creston would recognize its top students and one of the awards was the math trophy.

My family brought that trophy home 4 times.

But not me.

Years later there was a family get together at my mom’s house.

I was running late and got there after dinner to find most of my brothers and sisters and a lot of my niece’s and nephews all sitting around the dining room table starring at pieces of paper with pencils in hand.

My brother the math teacher looked up and said, ‘Grab a pencil, we working on quadratic equations.”

I figured these were people who needed something silly but acceptable to have on their desk to help them seem bit less uptight.