A Matter of Incline

I braced my feet against the grain of the oak shelf and laid my staff across two leaning paperback books. The resulting slope measured approximately thirty-five degrees. To test friction, I retrieved a metal paperclip from a nearby ceramic tray and positioned it at the apex. Upon release, the clip descended along the white rod, decelerating slightly before halting two centimeters above the floorboards due to surface resistance. I adjusted the base book by three millimeters to steepen the decline. On the second trial, the clip cleared the descent smoothly, striking the wood with a crisp, satisfactory ping.