9780679725763. New condition. Trade paperback. Language: English. Pages: 144. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 144 p. Vintage Contemporaries (Paperback). Readers follow the journey of our hero up the escalator and learn why straws don t sink in milk cartons; whether the hot air blowers in bathrooms are really more sanitary than towels; the physics of shoelaces; and how the most trivial of objects can lead to the deepest revelations of the human heart.