Stranger than fiction

Philobiblion has a picture of an old Indian postcard, in which two people are using an odd-shaped saw to cut a log. She says she can't understand why the saw is that shape.

I added a comment about Japanese saws, which are designed differently from western saws: you cut on the pull rather than the push. I also mentioned this to The Man. I said that perhaps I should get a Japanese saw for my younger brother, who is a carpenter and interested in carpentry tools from other countries. The Man stared at me and laughed.

"You're making it up!" he said.

"Making what up?" I asked.

"Nobody could be that stupid!" he said. "Why would you want it to cut when you push? You can't use the whole length or strength of the blade properly!"

I assured him that I was not making it up, and that it's Japanese blades that are odd. I don't think he believes me, though. He says it's too strange, and not logical.

Funny, I seem to remember having a similar reaction when I first heard about Japanese saws. The way you're used to always seems the logical, 'right' way.

Funny also that when I tell The Man the truth about stuff in NZ he doesn't believe me, but when I tell him an outright lie ("Watch out for those sheep! They bite!") he does.