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"Mathematicians describe tendril perversion," by M. N. Jensen. Science News, 28 February 1998, page 134.
Telephone cords usually lie in a single neat coil which like a spring twists only in one direction. But sometimes the coils develop kinks, suddenly reversing the direction of their twist. Such a change of twist direction, also found in the tendrils of climbing plants, is known as "tendril perversion." According to the article, mathematicians have discovered that these reversals of direction "result from the curviness inherent in tendrils and cords."
--- Allyn Jackson
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