Nothing Better?

I want to welcome the handful of new readers who know me in real life and are now reading this blog. To the left you will notice I have diversified my links. Enjoy.

A few weeks ago I was reading this article and was caught off-guard by this line:

"And, just as JPL pitched in to help create Wall-E, now the movie's DVD release will help NASA name its newest robot: NASA announced a naming contest for its Mars Science Laboratory rover scheduled for launch in 2009. This will be JPL's biggest robot to date -- about the size of a compact car, compared to the kitchen table-size Phoenix."

"Kitchen table-size?" How big is that? What kind of measurement system is that? Does this table have leaves? How many? Is it a table in a formal dining room? Is it eat-in kitchen size or breakfast nook size? I am not satisfied with this description!

I thought this was a rather odd, yet hilarious way to describe an object's size.