Feynman’s Find

Jana J. Monji’s article on “QED,” the new play about the last days of the late, much-lamented Richard Feynman, contained a masterpiece of understatement: “Feynman later served on the Rogers Commission, investigating the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger” (“It’s a Complex Equation,” April 17). Served??!! He broke the case!

Who can forget the TV hearings, with Feynman sitting among the bunch of ignorants and stuffed shirts, some of whom were reportedly anxious to cover up the tragedy. He drops an O-ring into a glass of ice water, demonstrates its brittleness and quietly remarks: “This may have some relevance to your investigation.”

(In his book, “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman,” he details how he got up at dawn and scoured Washington for a hardware store that might stock the necessary.)

S. MERIC

Santa Monica