Kids these days are smart. Or at least they have more familiarity with electronics. Yesterday a boy and girl from the 2nd grade approached me after a science class. They looked very pleased with themselves. The girl said, “We know what makes these electronic things run…” She paused.

Then the boy said, “Smoke!” They looked at each other and smiled.

“Smoke?” I said.

“Yes,” said the girl. “We’ve noticed that EVERY time smoke comes out of an electronic thing, it quits working. Obviously, they must use just the right amount of smoke inside to make it run, but sometimes it leaks out.”

I nodded approvingly, and resisted the temptation to add that sometimes mirrors are also used.