Never before in the history of humankind has it been so easy to attach one thing to another. Big deal? Well, consider entropy. "That's the scientific name for the tendency of things-atoms, molecules, paperwork, dirty socks -to become less orderly if left alone. Judging by your average desktop, plenty of people see nothing wrong with entropy. The trouble comes when you learn that scientists believe that as the universe becomes increasingly disordered, it runs down like an old battery. Not good. Fortunately, over the past century, inventive minds have brought us a bounty of products designed to keep our daily lives-and, who knows, maybe even the universe-together. The paper clip, for instance, is not only an ingenious amalgam of form and function, it's a powerful force for order.
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