From: Richard Carr <carr@math.columbia.edu>
Subject: Mathematical History (Of Manifolds)
Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 18:37:05 -0400
Newsgroups: sci.math

Long ago the long line used to be a manifold but, unfortunately for it, 
things changed. A group of topologists got together and decided to set
forth paracompactness as a condition for being a manifold. So they drew up
the papers and sent it out amongst all the topologists to get signed-
as a means to end the divisions amongst those like themselves who didn't
want the long line to be a manifold and those that did- and thus it
finally came to pass that this referendum sided with the topologists and
not the humble long line and the topologists' divisions were ironed out.
This document is now part of mathematical history: it is called the 
Petition of Unity.