I especially want to thank two anonymous reviewers of the submitted manuscript for their comments, some of which prevented me from making some simple and embarrassing errors. R. Kaesler, M. Foote, W. B. Saunders and Ø. Hammer provided information and feedback that helped develop the concept. E. G. Allen generously shared her knowledge and insight, above and beyond the pale. S. C. Ackerly originally directed my attention to the problem of quantifying suture patterns. Finally, R. Linsley's simple question ("But what is it good for?") greatly changed the direction of this research.