October 26, 2006
You Can Tickle Yourself
In Why Do Pirates Love Parrots?, there's an update on an Imponderable we first discussed in Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?: "Why Can't We Tickle Ourselves?" In Dogs, the best we could do was point out that Freud wrote...
October 11, 2006
The Origins of Applebee's
Reader Dawn Weese writes: Why is Applebee's callled Applebee's? The restaurant doesn't sell a lot of items with apples in them and doesn't have anything to do with bees. I assumed that the restaurant was named after its founder. Wrong!...
September 29, 2006
Macadamias Unshelled
In Do Penguins Have Knees?, we discussed why we can't buy macadamia nuts in their shells, and commented about why Mother Nature would surround nuts with shells that were impossible to open. In Why Do Pirates Love Parrots?, I include...
September 28, 2006
It's Always Something (This Time, It's the Football Field)
Just like with Do Elephants Jump?, Why Do Pirates Love Parrots? has been out for less than a week and a sharp-eyed reader found a mistake. A really dumb one. On page 83-84, we discuss why an American football field...
September 01, 2005
Quacking Up the Wrong Tree?
Reader Dan Crosgrey writes: I have heard and read that a duck's quack does not echo. How is this possible? Believe it or not, this is one of my most frequently asked questions. Here's a witty website with a wonderful,...
June 27, 2005
More on Macadamias
We heard from Suzanne Shriner, from the Big Island of Hawaii. Suzanne is the co-owner of Lions' Gate Farms. Suzanne read our follow-up discussion of why nature provided a shell for macadamia nuts that animals can't seem to crack Suzanne...
April 14, 2005
Macadamia Nuts
In Do Penguins Have Knees?, when discussing "Why Can't You Buy Macadamia Nuts in Their Shells?" I wrote: "Macadamia nuts do have shells. But selling them in their shells would present a serious marketing problem. Only Superman could eat them....
March 12, 2005
What Were the Odds?
Reader Hal Roberts, from Bellingham, Washington writes: Just finished Do Elephants Jump?. Another fun read. However.........I'm curious!!! How many responses have you received from Red Sox fans regarding your statement in the introduction to the letters section on page 251?...
January 09, 2005
Shakes and Nods
When the reporter from the Christian Science Monitor asked me for some Imponderables that were tough for me to answer, one of my replies was: Why does a nod of the head mean "yes" and a shake mean "no"? Christine...
January 07, 2005
Cops and Flashlights
In Do Elephants Jump?, I answer why police officers often hold flashlights in an overhand grip (like you might hold a knife to stab someone rather than an underhand grip like you would hold a fishing rod). I was asked...
September 17, 2004
Malarky Rules
I often get a query like this one, from Rebecca Price, that was in my inbox today: I purchased Malarky a few years ago, and really enjoyed playing it. I just pulled it out of my game closet after a...