We all know that appearances matter. When officials at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachussets, wanted to advertise their college to high school students a couple years back, they found that they had a problem. It had been a snowless winter in Williamstown. However, the officials felt that snow would make their college look more inviting to prospective students. Hence, they imported 60 tons of manufactured snow and posed student models beside the "snowdrifts."

A defensive director of admissions explained, "We're not faking anything. We are just hoping to get some good winter shots." It was, after all, real snow off real trucks. (1)

Playwright Gore Vidal says that when his play The Best Man was being cast back in 1959, Ronald Reagan was proposed for the lead role of the distinguis…