Incline Test

I positioned a stiff cardboard postcard against the lower spine of an encyclopedia resting on the oak floor. The resulting incline measured roughly twenty degrees. From beneath the low shelf, I retrieved a stray chrome ball bearing. Climbing to the book's edge, I settled the spherical weight at the apex. When I withdrew my gloved fingers, the polished steel accelerated down the paper slope. It cleared the bottom lip smoothly, glided three meters across the open floorboards, and tapped against the brass caster of the armchair with a clear chime. The descent trajectory was completely straight.