Read Do Elephants Jump? Online
Authors: David Feldman
Do Elephants Jump?
Elephants
Jump?
An Imponderables
®
Book
Illustrated by Kassie Schwan
For James Gleick
W
hy Was He Called the Lone Ranger When Tonto Was Always Hanging Around?
W
hen Does a Bill Become a Beak on a Bird?
W
hat Does “Legitimate” Theater Mean? Where Can You Find “Illegitimate” Theater?
W
hy Do Rice Cakes Hold Together?
W
hy Doesn’t the Water in Fire Hydrants Freeze During the Winter?
W
hy Do So Many Bars Feature Televisions with the Sound Turned off?
W
hy Do So Many Taverns Put Mirrors in Back of the Liquor Bottles Behind the Bar?
W
hy Does the Pope Change His Name upon Assuming His Office?
D
o Identical Twins Have Identical Fingerprints? Identical DNA?
W
hy Does Monopoly Have Such Unusual Playing Tokens?
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hy Do We Say “P.U.” When Something Smells Awful?
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hy Do Police Officers Hold Flashlights with an Overhand Grip?
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hy Are Newspapers So Effective in Cleaning Windows?
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hy Do We Fly Flags at Half-Mast to Honor the Dead?
W
here Is the Donkey in Donkey Kong?
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hy Don’t the Silver Fillings in Our Mouth Rust?
H
ow Do They Keep Staples in Their Packages Clumped Together?
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hy Did Pilgrims’ Hats Have Buckles?
W
ho Are All Those People on the Sidelines During American Football Games?
H
ow Do They Put the Hole in the Needle of a Syringe?
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hy Do FM Frequencies End in Odd Tenths?
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hy Do Streets and Sidewalks Sometimes Glitter?
H
ow Do Birds Know Where to Peck for Worms?
Since Priests Wear Black, Why Does the Pope Wear White?
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hy Is There No Light in the Freezer Compartment?
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hy Don’t Most Ovens and Refrigerators Have Thermometers?
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hy Do Ice Trays Function Better When Put in Their Designated Area in the Freezer? Or Do They?
W
hy Are Fraternities and Sororities and Most Secret Societies Named with Greek Letters?
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hy Are Charcoal Barbecues Usually Round and Gas Grills Usually Rectangular?
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hy Do We Rub Our Eyes When We’re Tired?
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hy Are New CDs Released on Tuesdays? Why Aren’t New Books Released on a Particular Day?
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hy Are Loons Singled Out as Lunatics?
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hy Did Bars Used to Put Sawdust on the Floor? Why Don’t They Anymore?
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hy Does Patting on the Back Induce
Burping in Babies?
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hy Are Thin-Cut Green Beans Called
“French Style”?
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hy Do Older People Tend to Snore
More Than Younger People?
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hy Do Many Whiplash Victims Feel OK the Day of the Accident and Much Worse Days Later?
W
hy Do White Styrofoam Picnic Coolers Have Blue Specks in Them?
D
o Fish Really Bite More When It Is Raining?
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hy Are Flour Tortillas Larger Than Corn Tortillas?
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hy Do Our Noses Run in Cold Weather?
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hy Do Bulls in Cartoons Have Nose Rings? And Why Don’t Cows Have Them?
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hy Is Salt Sold in Round Containers?
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hy Is There a Two-Minute Warning in American Football?
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hy Does the Japanese Flag Sometimes Have Red Beams Radiating from the Sun?
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hy Do We “See Stars” When We Bump Our Head?
H
ow Is the Maximum Occupancy for a Public Room Determined?
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hy Are the Sprinkles Put on Ice Cream and Doughnuts Also Called Jimmies?
W
hy Do We Draw a
Bead
on a Target?
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hy Do Many Dictionaries Say That the Days of the Week Are Pronounced “Fri-DEE,” “Sun-DEE,” etc.?
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hy Are Public Radio Stations Clustered on the Low End of the FM Dial in the United States?
W
hy Can’t We Buy Fresh Baby Corn in Markets?
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hy Do Most Staplers Have a Setting to Bend Staples Outward?
W
hy Was Charles Schulz’s Comic Strip Called
Peanuts
?
W
hat Happens to Sandbags After Flooding Is Over?
W
hy Do Rinks Use Hot Water to Resurface the Ice?
H
ow Did Fire Helmets Get Their Distinctive Shape?
W
hy Does Caucasian Babies’ and Children’s Hair Get Darker as They Age?
W
hy Can’t You See Stars in the Background in Photos or Live Shots of Astronauts in Space?
W
hat Are Those Wigwams Doing off to the Side of Interstate Highways?
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hy Don’t Women Faint as Much as They Used To?
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hy Don’t Tornadoes Ever Seem to Hit Big Buildings or Big Cities?
W
hy Do Only Kids Seem to Get Head Lice?
W
hy Are Some People Double-Jointed?
W
hy Do You Sometimes Find Ice in the Urinals in Men’s Bathrooms?
W
hy Do Auto Batteries Lose Their Charge When Left on a Concrete Floor?
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hy Does Gum Get Hard When You Drink Water While Chewing?
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hy Is There a Dot on Billiards and Pool Cue Balls?
W
hy Are Some Parts of Our Bodies More Ticklish Than Others?
If All Time Zones Converge at the North and South Poles, How Do They Tell Time There?
H
ow Do You Tell Directions at the North and South Poles?
W
hy Does Orange Juice Taste So Awful After You’ve Brushed Your Teeth?
W
ho Was Casper the Friendly Ghost Before He Died?
