ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions. ***************************************************************************** Okay so this is a late response but...I used to say the same thing.... Stand with your back touching the wall and the back of both heels touching the wall. Without bending your knees, bend forward at the waist and touch your toes without falling over. Can't be done. ...but it actually *can* be done. I've seen it done...there are two ways/reasons it can be done: #1: Some places have a base border - on rare occasion they are thick borders - effectively allowing people to push their butts to the wall! #2: Someone could fold over incredibly quickly and compress her/himself darn flat. I used to tell my class that anyone who could do it would get $5. *That* gave them plenty of impetus to try... and eventually two people succeeded. One was a gymnast-type who crawled down the side of her body then quickly compressed flat. The other one went flat quickly as ell but then, grabbed a little handhold on the base of the wall giving himself enough added force to counteract the little amount of weight that was over his toes. Students can keep you honest...but they still understood the idea...and over 99% of the time you'll be right about people not being able to do it. *********************************************************************** More information about the Informal Science Education Network and the Association of Science-Technology Centers may be found at http://www.astc.org. To remove your e-mail address from the ISEN-ASTC-L list, send the message SIGNOFF ISEN-ASTC-L in the BODY of a message to [log in to unmask]