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requirement for the classification. Geographical and geological authorities can’t even agree on whether a sea must always be saline: the United States Geological Survey’s Topographical Instructions say yes; but in their book Water and Water Use Terminology , Professors J. O. Veatch and C. R. Humphrys indicate that “sea” is sometimes used interchangeably with “ocean”:
     
         In one place a large body of salt water may be called lake , in another a sea . The Great Lakes, Lake Superior and others, are fresh water but by legal definition are seas .
     
    The nasty truth is that you can get away with calling most places whatever names you want. We often get asked what the difference is between a “street” and an “avenue” or a “boulevard.” At one time, there were distinctions among these classifications: A street was a paved path. “Street” was a useful term because it distinguished a street from a road, which was often unpaved. An avenue was, in England, originally a roadway leading from the main road to an estate, and the avenue was always lined with trees. Boulevards were also tree-lined but were much wider thoroughfares than avenues.
    Most of these distinctions have been lost in practice over the years. Developers of housing projects have found that using “street” to describe the roadways in their communities makes them sound drab and plebeian. By using “lane,” which originally referred to a narrow, usually rural road, they can conjure up Mayberry rather than urban sprawl. By using “boulevard,” a potential buyer visualizes Paris rather than Peoria.
    For whatever reason, North Americans seem to like lakes more than seas. We are surrounded by oceans to the west and east. By standard definitions, we could certainly refer to Lake Ontario, which is connected, via the St. Lawrence, to the Atlantic, as the Ontario Sea. But we don’t. And no one, other than Imponderables readers, evidently, is losing any sleep over it.
     
    Submitted by Don and Marian Boxer of Toronto, Ontario. Thanks also to June Puchy of Lyndhurst, Ohio .
     
     
    Why Does the United States Mint Use a Private Firm—UPS—to Ship Its Coin Sets?
     
    Why would anyone, even a governmental agency, want to use the boringly reliable United Parcel Service when it could experience the excitement and sense of danger in using the United States Postal Service to ship its coin sets? By using the USPS, every order’s fate could be a potentially unsolved mystery.
    Of course, every governmental agency has its own budget to worry about. If a government office feels it can save money or save time by using private industry, it is under no obligation to throw its business to a government agency.
    The U.S. Mint actually does use the USPS to ship some coin orders. Francis B. Frere, assistant director of the Mint for sales operations, explained the Department of the Treasury’s policy:
     
         In making the determination as to which service to use, we look at the product we are shipping and the cost involved, taking into consideration value, weight, and distance.
     Cost is a concern to us. There are substantial savings to be realized in shipping coins by UPS. On an annual basis, we achieve savings in excess of $1 million by selectively shipping our products by UPS rather than first class mail through the U.S. Postal Service. UPS insures all packages against loss or damage.
     The Mint’s coin programs are self-supporting. It is our responsibility to manage the coin programs in the most effective and economical manner possible…

Submitted by Ray W. Cummings of St. Louis, Missouri .
     
     

     
     
    How Do Figure Skaters Keep from Getting Dizzy While Spinning? Is It Possible to Eye a Fixed Point While Spinning So Fast?
     
    Imponderables readers aren’t the only ones interested in this question. So are astronauts, who suffer from motion sickness in space. We consulted Carole Shulman, executive director of the