WIDOWED JAPANESE MEN learning to perform basic household tasks. “Those who lose a spouse often find themselves unable to do the most rudimentary chores. An old Japanese saying — ‘Danshi-chubo-ni-hairazu,’ or ‘men should be ashamed to be found in the kitchen’ — has spooked husbands from most any housework. Even those who wanted to help typically lacked the know-how.”

In the words of Robert Heinlein: “A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”