> unaligned [...] rather than embedding them in the middle of the main flow of text I don't understand. The first and simplest use of CSS float that I learned

> unaligned [...] rather than embedding them in the middle of the main flow of text I don't understand. The first and simplest use of CSS float that I learned is to embed an image into the text flow, with the text wrapping around it, http://allwebco-templates.com/support/S_textwrap.htm http://allwebco-templates.com/support/S_textwrap.htm I always thought that was its original purpose. And it is its effect in its purest form --- when you set the float property and nothing else. (Using it to lay out a page in columns, as the article mentions, usually takes juggling other properties, like margin, width, etc.)