<html> <head> <style> .colset { -moz-column-count: 2; -moz-column-width: 50px; float: left; border: 2px solid black; height: 10em; font: 12px monospace; } #t { display: inline-block; background: lightgreen; height: 7em; width: 29px; } </style> </head> <body onload="document.getElementById('t').style.width = '30px';"> <div class="colset">The quick <span><div id="t"></div>brown</span></div> </body></html>