Why can't you flip a video cassette and use the other side?

Dearest Matt:

Why can you flip over an audio cassette and use the other side, but you can't do that with a videotape?

-- Reese, San Diego

Reese, my friend, you can't flip over an audio tape and use the other side. See? The other side is shiny, just like a video. When you flip an audio cassette, you're actually just using the other half (bottom or top) of the same side of the audio tape. Videos chew up the top and the bottom of the tape in one pass -- half for the visual element, half for the bad acting.