MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
Now, some of your letters. The first comes from Kevin Monroe(ph) of Cincinnati, Ohio. He complains about what he calls the persistent use of a particular phrase in coverage of the attempted bombing of an airplane on Christmas. The phrase is failure to connect the dots, which President Obama has employed recently.
BLOCK: Connecting the dots is typically used when referring to solving a difficult problem or puzzle using cryptic clues. The current situation, in which a terrorist was virtually handed to authorities on a silver platter, hardly qualifies for connecting the dots. Mr. Monroe concludes: Perhaps you should begin using the phrase failure to connect to the behemoth, freaking obvious dots, to better characterize the situation.
: Sounds like Jonathan Knowles(ph) of Lake Worth, Florida, is on the math beat for us. He heard our conversation about the formerly tallest structure in the world; that's the TV tower for KBLY in North Dakota. It lost the title this week to a new skyscraper in Dubai.
BLOCK: Well, Mr. Knowles got wonky, as he put it. He says: The gentleman being interviewed stated that one could probably see for 20 miles from the top of the tower. In fact, as the tower is 2,063 feet high, the visible horizon would be about 55.6 miles away. The formula for distance to horizon, Mr. Knowles tells us, is D equals the square root of 1.5 times height.
: Got that?
BLOCK: You knew that, right, Michele?
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
: I don't know if I knew it. Maybe you did, Melissa.
BLOCK: Nuh-uh.
: Well, of course, you know, who knows how far you could see on a cloudy day?
BLOCK: That's true.
: Moving on, a music-minded listener caught something in our interview with a politician that didn't sound quite right. We spoke with Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan about his plans to retire. Christopher Sagan(ph) of Richland, Washington, sent us this.
BLOCK: Senator Dorgan referenced that the Senate - actually, he said Congress - was like the Hotel California. You can check in, but you can't check out. And Mr. Sagan says sorry, Senator, that is the Roach Motel.
(SOUNDBITE OF COMMERCIAL)
U: Black Flag Roach Motel. Roaches check in, but they don't check out.
: Yes, the Roach Motel is a product that captures creepy crawlies. Mr. Sagan then continues...
BLOCK: The irony of the comparison of the Senate and the Roach Motel was not lost on me, but at the Hotel California, it's: You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.
: Let us know if one of these nights, we've given you a peaceful, easy feeling - or if we failed to take it to the limit. Come to npr.org, and click on Contact Us.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT")
THE EAGLES: (Singing) Take it to the limit, take it to the limit, take it to the limit...