"COME BACK TOMORROW NIGHT, WE'RE GONNA DO...FRACTIONS!"

Below are two recent letters to the Blade editorial department. The first was published Sunday. The second has not yet been published, as I just now fired it off.

***

Maybe it's correct in Land of Oz, but ...
We are the members of the pre-calculus class at Cory-Rawson High School. Sunday night WTBS will be airing The Wizard of Oz. In one of the final scenes of the movie, the scarecrow, upon receiving his diploma, states, "The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side!"

This is an inaccurate attempt to state the Pythagorean Theorem and, as mathematicians, we find this highly offensive. This movie is clearly intended for mathematically mature audiences.

We offer this suggestion for parents with young children: Please preview the movie so that you can mute the sound at the right moment. Then, following the movie, sit down with your children and have a frank discussion about the Pythagorean Theorem.

Cory-Rawson High School Pre-Calculus Class
Rawson, Ohio

Editor's note: Students who signed the letter are Crystal Turner, Ryan Morrison, Brian Ferris, Brittney Rapp, Andy Cox, Jimmy Klay, Allison Bormuth, Luke J. Erford, Jenna Wood, Jason Bormuth, Melanie Weihrauch, Casey Jensen, Lori Webb, Landon Hamilton, Craig Van Stein, Cody Conaway, Jesse Anderson, Daniel Dray, and Jameson Businger. Their teacher is Chris Leuthold.

***

Regarding the Scarecrow's incorrect stating of the Pythagorean Theorem in "The Wizard of Oz":

ALF correctly stated the Pythagorean Theorem on an episode of his show: "The square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides."

Obviously the inhabitants of the planet Melmac had a much better math education than the inhabitants of the Land of Oz.

DOUG PRIBE
South Avenue