# Recognize this short story? Perforations in paper lead to indestructable materil **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 12, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684 "2017-02-12T20:38:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/1 "2017-02-12T20:38:08Z")
A long time ago my brother told me about a short story where a scientist, investigating why perforated paper always seems to tear anywhere except at the perforations, discovers some property by which holes in things make the material stronger. He ends up inventing a material with so many holes in it it’s no longer there, and is now impenetrable. Probably not the most exact description, but does it ring any bells? It runs through my mind whenever something with perforations fails to tear properly, and I’d love to read it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/2 "2017-02-12T20:39:56Z")
Sounds like one of Tevis’s slightly absurd “scientific” stories like “The Big Bounce.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/3 "2017-02-12T21:16:59Z")
_“It Was Nothing – Really!”_ by Ted Sturgeon. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/4 "2017-02-12T21:27:44Z")
…or Sturgeon, when he was feeling playful. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/5 "2017-02-12T22:16:51Z")
What was the story about the human race’s discovery of interstellar travel? In a nutshell, a guy notices that a letter going across towm can take a couple of weeks to reach its destination, while one from across the country makes it in two days. On a hunch, he addresses a letter to a planet in the Proxima Centauri system, and drops it in the mailbox. Next morning, he gets a letter from the aliens, congratulating him, and welcoming Earth to the Galactic Confederation. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/6 "2017-02-12T22:48:25Z")
Thanks, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/7 "2017-02-12T22:58:24Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Thanks, everyone! It was nothing, really. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/8 "2017-02-12T23:35:24Z")
The story I remember is about aeroplane wing roots. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2017, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/9 "2017-02-12T23:54:46Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > What was the story about the human race’s discovery of interstellar travel? > > In a nutshell, a guy notices that a letter going across towm can take a couple of weeks to reach its destination, while one from across the country makes it in two days. On a hunch, he addresses a letter to a planet in the Proxima Centauri system, and drops it in the mailbox. Next morning, he gets a letter from the aliens, congratulating him, and welcoming Earth to the Galactic Confederation. _“Mail Supremacy”_, by Hayford Pierce. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/10 "2017-02-13T00:01:00Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > _“It Was Nothing – Really!”_ by Ted Sturgeon. > [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > _“Mail Supremacy”_, by Hayford Pierce. You beat me to both of those - I shouldn’t have stepped away from the computer this afternoon… ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/11 "2017-02-13T00:08:45Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The story I remember is about aeroplane wing roots. What about them? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/12 "2017-02-13T00:08:59Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The story I remember is about aeroplane wing roots. Is that the one about the Israeli Air Force perforating the wings of planes right where they tend to get stressed – because, hey, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from being Jewish, it’s that matzo never breaks that way, amirite? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/13 "2017-02-13T08:52:11Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Is that the one about the Israeli Air Force perforating the wings of planes right where they tend to get stressed – because, hey, if there’s one thing we’ve learned from being Jewish, it’s that matzo never breaks that way, amirite? It’s an unnamed aerospace company and the idea comes from a junior engineer who previously worked with toilet paper. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/14 "2017-02-13T11:27:06Z")
OK, as long as I’m here… I have a story I’d love to find again: scientist invents impenetrable force field. But the nature of the field is such that the longer it’s on, the more power it takes to sustain it. So more than a couple seconds is flatly impossible; it would take the output of a sun to keep it going. Inventor discards the idea as having very limited application. Then a new guy uses the invention successfully by triggering it on and off thousands of times per second, making what’s in effect a continuous field for practical purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/15 "2017-02-13T12:14:46Z")
“Not Final!” Asimov. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/16 "2017-02-13T12:24:10Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > “Not Final!” Asimov. That’s it! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/17 "2017-02-13T12:40:57Z")
> [@Baal\_Houtham](#): > > “Not Final!” Asimov. And this one has a sequel - Asimov’s “Victory Unintentional” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/18 "2017-02-13T14:55:41Z")
I know it’s been answered but I’m going to move this to where it belongs anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2017, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/19 "2017-02-13T15:41:38Z")
On “Not Final”, my favorite bit is how the original scientist (who declares that this is an absolute limit) is so proud of his theoretical work, because an experimentalist would probably have lost an arm before he realized it was impossible. And then at the end, the ship with the triumphant forcefield hull is piloted by the one-armed man who made it work. ---
**Author:** ![BobArrgh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobarrgh/32/2881_2.png) [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684/20 "2017-02-14T20:34:10Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > OK, as long as I’m here… > > I have a story I’d love to find again: scientist invents impenetrable force field. But the nature of the field is such that the longer it’s on, the more power it takes to sustain it. So more than a couple seconds is flatly impossible; it would take the output of a sun to keep it going. Inventor discards the idea as having very limited application. > > Then a new guy uses the invention successfully by triggering it on and off thousands of times per second, making what’s in effect a continuous field for practical purposes. Interesting, because that is exactly how LED bulbs work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recognize-this-short-story-perforations-in-paper-lead-to-indestructable-materil/779684.md?page=2)