The secret of Formula X

Dr. Gunderson was in a hurry.

His assistant, Lars, had failed to remind him of the afternoon presentation and now he was late and so he was running. He hated running. Although he loved playing athletic games as a boy, he was never very good at them and this was due in large part because he didn't run well. He ran like a duck. A moderately slow duck.

Gunderson's moderately slow, duck-like run featured a lot of side-to-side motion. Had he been on the school's track team, any runner in the lanes on either side of him would have been in danger of being struck by him as he wobbled down the track. That is, until they left him behind.

The presentation that Gunderson was oscillating toward concerned new developments in space flight and he was most anxious to hear from the featured speaker, one of the world's leading experts in the field, Dr. Stymie.

Gunderson arrived at the lecture hall, but seeing the crowd, he realized he'd never find a seat and would have to stand. "Well," he thought, "there's standing and then there's standing." He waddled back out and around to the rear of the building. "If I have to stand, I'm standing close!" he thought. He decided to go in the back and try to view the presentation from the side of the stage. 

Running as he reached the door he never saw it coming. Dr. Stymie, also late and running like a moderately slow duck, rounded the corner, reaching for the door as Gunderson was. They could not help but collide. And so they did. Dr. Stymie dropped a container that smashed on the sidewalk. The pungent smell of fuel was immediately obvious.

"Blast!" roared Dr. Stymie. "You imbecile! Now we'll never know the secret of Formula X!"

***

One final note: if you find that you do not run very well, you may have a future in science. However, you should always strive to be on time for the lectures.