Do Penguins Have Knees? (2 page)

What
exactly are the liberal arts, and who designated them so?

Why
do birds tend to stand on one foot while sleeping? Why do birds tend to bury their heads under their wings while sleeping?

Why
is a marshal or sheriff’s badge traditionally a five-pointed star but a deputy’s six-pointed?

When
you wear a girdle, where does the fat go?

What
do mosquitoes do during the day? And where do they go?

What
does the “CAR-RT SORT” printed next to the address on envelopes mean?

Why
was “pi” chosen as the Greek letter to signify the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter?

Why
can’t you buy macadamia nuts in their shells?

If
heat rises, why does ice form on the top of water in lakes and ponds?

What
happens to the 1,000 or more prints after films have finished their theatrical runs?

Why
is balsa wood classified as a hardwood when it is soft? What is the difference between a softwood and a hardwood?

Do
earlobes serve any particular or discernible function?

Why
does butter get darker and harder in the refrigerator after it is opened?

Why
are dance studios usually located on the second floor of buildings?

Why
are 25-watt light bulbs more expensive than 40-, 60-, 75-, and 100-watt bulbs?

Why
are water towers built so high?

Why
are some watermelon seeds white and some black?

What
is the purpose of the holes near the end of electric plug prongs?

Why
do paper mills smell so bad?

How
are lane reflectors fastened onto the road so that they aren’t moved or crushed?

Why
does Nabisco put the tiny picture of Niagara Falls on its Shredded Wheat box?

Why
do automobile batteries have to be so heavy? Why can’t they be miniaturized?

Why
do automatic icemakers in home freezers make crescent-shaped pieces rather than cubes?

What
are those computer scrawls (similar to Universal Product Codes) found on the bottom right of envelopes? How do they work?

If
water is composed of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, both common elements, why can’t droughts be eliminated by combining the two to produce water?

Why
does your voice sound higher and funny when you ingest helium?

Why
is the French horn designed for left-handers?

Why
do milk cartons indicate “open other end” on one side of the spout and “to open” on the other when both sides look identical?

Why
do we feel warm or hot when we blush?

During
a hernia exam, why does the physician say, “Turn your head and cough”? Why is the cough necessary? Is the head turn necessary?

Why
is the “R” trademark symbol on Pepsi labels placed after the second “p” in “Pepsi” rather than after the words “Pepsi” or “Cola”?

Why
do magazine and newspaper editors force you to skip pages to continue an article at the back of the magazine/newspaper?

What
does the
EXEMPT
sign next to some railroad crossing signs mean?

What
flavor is bubble gum supposed to be?

What
makes bubble gum blow better bubbles than regular chewing gum?

Why
does Bazooka Joe wear an eye patch?

What
is the white stuff on baseball card bubble gum and why is it there?

Why
are baseball card wrappers covered with wax?

Why
do some binoculars have an adjustment only for the right eyepiece?

Why
do scabs always itch so much?

What
is the purpose of the holes on the sides of men’s hats? Decoration? Ventilation? A receptacle for feathers? Or?

How
do they peel and clean baby shrimp?

How
do football officials measure first down yardage with chains, especially when they go on field to confirm first downs?

How
did Dr Pepper get its name? Was there ever a real Dr. Pepper?

Why
is the home plate in baseball such a weird shape?

Why
do hospital gowns tie at the back?

What’s
the difference between white chocolate and brown chocolate?

Why
aren’t large-type books as big as they used to be?

What
causes the green-tinged potato chips we sometimes find? Are they safe to eat?

Why
are tortilla chips so much more expensive than potato chips?

Does
the moon have any effect on lakes or ponds? If not, why does it only seem to affect oceans’ tides? Why don’t lakes have tides?

Why
do the backs of social security cards say “Do not laminate” when we are expected to keep the cards for our entire lives?

Why
are nonsweet wines called “dry”?

Why
do the rear windows of taxicabs (and some other cars) not go down all the way?

What
is the two-tone signal at the start of many rented videotapes?

How
was 911 chosen as the uniform emergency telephone number?

Why
do birds bother flying back north after migrating to the south?

Why
are the oceans salty? What keeps the oceans at the same level of saltiness?

How
do 3-D movies and 3-D glasses work?

What
use is the appendix to us? What use are our tonsils to us?

Where
does the moisture go when wisps of clouds disappear in front of your eyes?

Why
is frozen orange juice just about the only frozen product that is cheaper than its fresh counterpart?

How
are the subscription insert cards placed in magazines? What keeps them from falling out as the magazine is sent through the postal system?

Why
do we put thermometers under our tongues? Would it make any difference if we put them above our tongues if our mouths were closed?

Do
penguins have knees?

How
do they make hot dog buns that are partially sliced?

How
do they fork split English muffins? What causes the ridges in English muffins?

Why
do cat hairs tend to stick to our clothes more than those of dogs or other pets?

Why
are you never supposed to touch a halogen light bulb with your fingers?

Why
is there an “H” inside of the “C” in the hockey uniform of the Montreal Canadiens?

Why
don’t Radio Shack stores use cash registers?

How
do they decide where to put thumbnotches in dictionaries?