AS ANY RESTAURANT or café owner knows, four-legged tables have a tendency to wobble. That’s why you’ll see so many folded menus and beer mats propping them up.
Four legs are inherently unstable, as even the slightest unevenness in the floor will prevent all four from touching the ground at the same time.
Three legs can never wobble. That’s why camera tripods have three legs. Hence Tintin’s rocket, H G Wells’ space invaders, and the Alessi lemon squeezer.
