A new wreath, made out of solid Gold, had been fashioned for King Hiero II, and a physicist by the name of Archimedes was asked to determine if it was pure gold.

How to do this without damaging the wreath? Archimedes pondered and wondered. It was a tricky problem. Then, as he got into his bath one day, he jumped up and shouted "EUREKA!" (I've found it!).

What Archimedes had realised that solid object displace water. When you get into the bath, the water level will rise, when you get out it will fall. All he had to do was measure how much water was displaced by an ounce of pure gold, and then he'd know how much water would be displaced by the wreath - if it was pur gold - since he knew its weight.

So the birthing hour arrived. It was a boy, and I named it "Mr Happy". He opted to leave home at an early stage, and go seek his fortune in the sewers and water treatment plants.

Even though I felt like jumping up and shouting Eureka!, I resisted the temptation. But what a relief. That will allow the rest of the jam to clear - I am expecting twins or possibly even more.

I can tell you what though. Even though "Mr Happy" displaced a lot of water, he wasn't gold. If only ...

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