49 wide MDF Who knew

I didnt have a lot of time out in the shop today, but I did get started on the rear support for the TV stand. I didnt get very detailed on my SketchUp plans on exactly how to put this together, so I just started making it up as I went along.
I decided that I should probably use plywood for the core of this piece. Something tells me it will be sturdier than MDF for supporting the TV. So essentially all I got done today was making an open box, or really something more like a trough.

Cant say its the most exciting looking thing right now, nor did I use any sort of jointery techniques to assemble it. Butt joints glued together and tacked down with brads. But it seems really sturdy. Next, I will wrap it in layers of MDF, which will provide the stair-stepped, Empire State Building effect as well as act as rear shelf supports.

Im really not sure if this is all the brightest way to have approached the construction. Its very time consuming and repetitive, and I have a feeling the entire unit is going to end up being very heavy. But when it is standing upright, it strangely reminds me of the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Now, getting to the title of this post, since the rear support is 48" long, I figured it would make for short work cutting all the MDF slabs down to size along the short edge of the boards. This goes into the category of "things I cant believe I didnt know until now". MDF is sold in sheets that are a little over 49" wide. Huh. Did you know this? Probably. So, I guess the question I have is this: why? I mean it seems as though all sheet goods are sold in 4 by 8 sizes.

Lastly, on a personal note I just wanted to commend my son Wyatt who is performing all this weekend in A Midsummer Nights Dream. This is simply the best take on the Bards play I have ever seen. This version takes place in a post-apocalyptic world trying to rebuild society, not unlike ancient Athens that was originally building a society.

Last nights show sold out. I have never seen a play in which the audience roared as hard as in this show. It was killer funny. For those unfamiliar with Midsummer, Wyatt plays Flute, a bellows-mender who is part of a traveling group of (really bad) actors who are staging a performance of Pyramus and Thisbe for the Duke of Athens. Well, Flute is reluctantly forced to take on the role of Thisbe, Pyramuss lady love. Wyatt, as Flute, as Thisbe, ends up performing in a gaudy red dress and has lipstick applied by a blind man. Of course there are the other storylines concerning a love quadrangle (played by 4 girls, I might add), a band of forest fairies and a guy who gets turned into an ass.

Yep. Thats why I love Shakespeare.