How Hard Can It Be?

Dear Cory:

Someone used the word “tardis” in an e-mail to me. I’m embarrassed to show my ignorance by asking him, but since you don’t know me, maybe you could tell me what a tardis is. -- Vacant in Vancouver


Dear VIV:

You are quite right: this is the place to show your ignorance. In fact, Cory will join you. He had to consult one of the HHCIB Heartland Bureau Chiefs, the able Blaine E. Krosz, in pursuit of your question. Dr. Krosz is a media maven and answers as follows:

“The acronym TARDIS stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space. See http://www.tardis.ed.ac.uk/~abr/drwho/tardis/type40/node3.html

This is the device which Dr. Who travels about in. Who is Who? Why, a Time Lord from Gallifrey, who conquers the universe by passing out jelly-babies with a lovely woman on his arm. It’s an old British TV series. I used to watch it avidly in the late 1970s.

The thing of it is this: a tardis looks like a police call box, quite small. However, it is quite large—infinitely so—on the inside.”

Having visited the website noted above, VIV, Cory can assure you that your curiosity will be answered to the point of complete satiety...and possibly well beyond.