> It’s horrifying how cavalierly this problem was treated; there’s an old joke about how, at conventions for brakemen, everyone had to pair up to applaud. I'll

> It’s horrifying how cavalierly this problem was treated; there’s an old joke about how, at conventions for brakemen, everyone had to pair up to applaud. I'll admit it took a bit for me to realise the horror of that joke, but boy howdy. I'm rather glad we've moved beyond an era of business and government where traumatic amputations were considered an inevitable fact of life.