Last summer, on the Atlantic coast of France, Charlemagne was introduced to a fine beach game: building big sand-walls near the shoreline in the face of a rising tide. It is a more thought-provoking activity than building sandcastles, with a nice melancholic tinge. The walls last a surprisingly long time, resisting the lapping tide with the help of energetic patching and fresh buckets of dry sand. But when they fail, they fail quickly. It takes just two or three big waves to signal doom: once water flows behind the defences, even the thickest ramparts are swift to collapse.
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