I quite often use a fast food analogy in teaching and explaining.

It's meant humourously - I hope they don't think I'm recommending a
perma-diet of high fat stuff.

But there are a lot of parallels.

Your local fast food joint makes the stuff they sell in direct
response to consumer demand. There is always a meal available at the
front of the serving area for the next customer, and as it is sold
another one is made to take its place.  The more customers, the
faster the meals are replaced.  You get a lot of customers in
suddenly? The burgers and fries are just made faster and in greater
quantities. If the kitchen makes too many, they bank up on the
serving area, and production slows down.

Sound familiar???

I also point out that if a new fast food joint opens and only a few
customers patronise it, so the burger and fries are only sold a few
times a day, the place goes out of business.  You could also say that
a fast food place that told its customers they were only going to
make food every three hours, and anyone coming in between those times
would just have to wait - well, they'd go out of business, too : )

Heather Welford Neil
NCT bfc Newcastle upon Tyne UK

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