"Yes, habits. For years I kept an accurate record of every slice of
bread-and-butter I saw fall to the ground. I had better explain myself.
Nearly all my life, you must understand, I have maintained the view that
the generally accepted theory of the 'cussedness of things' is all
wrong. You know that to most people 'cussedness' is the governing factor
of life."
"Rather!" I agreed.
"Well, I disbelieved it, and I set to work to collect materials for a
book which was to prove my case. For years I incessantly gathered
statistics on the subject. Do I bore you?"
"Not at all," I assured him.
"The results were extraordinary. Take, for example, catching trains. It
is highly important that you should catch a train at short notice. In
nine cases out of ten, you will say, your taxicab breaks down, or your
tram is held up by a block in the traffic, or the current fails on the
Underground."
"Certainly it does."
"On the contrary--I am speaking from memory, but I think my figures are
accurate--the taxicab only breaks down in 1.5 per cent. of cases; with
the tram the percentage rises to 1.8; with the Underground it falls to
.2."