"The higher, the fewer," is the answer to a classic riddle: "What is a mouse   
   when it spins?" "The higer the fewer."   
   Riverboat steam engines adjusted velocity using an eccelerometer (sp?) called   
   a "mouse," which, when adjusted upwards upon its shaft would lower the   
   revolutions of the engine. The higher the mouse was, the fewer the   
   revolutions. What is a mouse when it    
   spins? The higher the fewer.   
      
   This became a very exclusive nerd-knowledge question in an early 1970s episode   
   of Doctor Who, called "Robot." The third doctor has died, and is regenerated   
   into Tom Baker's classic fourth doctor. He is born babbling like an idiot, and   
   one of the things    
   he babbles is "What (or why) is a mouse when it spins."   
      
   Sadly, I didn't even have to look this up. Sigh... I knew it already...   
      
   Ask Siri, what is a mouse when it spins.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)