At least it's boxlike

Hey, kids! Ever wonder why cautious copy editors never let writers refer to the voice and flight data recorders as "black boxes"? (Especially, you know, in blurbs right under pictures like this one?)

News in general would sound better if it steered away from bogus CSI-speak and toward language that actually makes sense to people. If I was in the mood to highlight a personal bias, it'd be six hours in the stocks for the next clown on the radio who says a freeway is closed because of a "hazmat situation," rather than a chemical leak or a gasoline spill. But the myth of the "black box" -- no, that's not what "everybody calls them" -- would be a good place to start as well.