This simple example has had a profound influence on my life. First I learned that teacher's answer to a problem might be "correct", but it might not be the only answer. In engineering, I questioned if ''the'' answer was the "best" answer. Frequently, it was not. But, by looking for the "best" answer, I occasionally received a promotion. I later learned that my opinion might differ from my neighbor's, but in many ways, we were both right. I called this my "Elephant Test".

A few years ago, I applied my Elephant Test to used computers destined for the landfill. To companies and government agencies old computers appear as obsolete, almost useless objects that must be disposed of. To some individuals, they just clutter the garage or basement because they are no longer the latest, greatest, and fastest. To an organization, they are wanted and needed, but how does the organization find and repair them? And, most importantly, for a child without a computer in the home, this old, battered, used computer becomes a lifeline, an equalizer, an absolutely essential ingredient to close the "Digital Divide" and to ensure that truly, ''No Child is Left Behind"!

Since used computers passed my Elephant Test and they are needed by kids, the appropriate name MUST BE -- "Purple Elephant Computer Factory for KIDS!" (Gotta be a FACTORY 'cause there are lots of KIDS!)

But, why purple?

Everyone has seen gray elephants. A few of us claim to have seen PINK elephants, but, have you ever seen a PURPLE ELEPHANT?

Now you have, it's a "COMPUTER FACTORY FOR KIDS!"