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Date:2009/12/21
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How can you tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth?
Answer:    
    One of the easiest ways to tell the difference between a butterfly and a moth is to look at the antennae. A butterfly’s antennae are club-shaped with a long shaft and a bulb at the end. A moth’s antennae are feathery or saw-edged.

Butterflies and moths have many things in common, mainly scales that cover their bodies and wings. These scales are actually modified hairs. Butterflies and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera (from the Greek lepis meaning scale and pteron meaning wing).

Here are some other ways that help to identify butterflies and moths:

Wings

    * Butterflies tend to fold their wings vertically up over their backs. Moths tend to hold their wings in a tent-like fashion that hides the abdomen.
    * Butterflies are typically larger and have more colorful patterns on their wings. Moths are typically smaller with drab-colored wings.

Anatomy

    Moths have a frenulum, which is a wing-coupling device. Butterflies do not have frenulums. Frenulums join the forewing to the hind wing, so the wings can work in unison during flight.

Behavior

    Butterflies are primariy diurnal, flying in the daytime. Moths are generally nocturnal, flying at night. However, there are moths that are diurnal, such as the buck moth and there are butterflies that are crepuscular, that is, flying at dawn and dusk.

Cocoon/Chrysalis

    Cocoons and chrysalides are protective coverings for the pupa. The pupa is the intermediate stage between the larva and adult. A moth makes a cocoon, which is wrapped in a silk covering. A butterfly makes a chrysalis, which is hard, smooth and has no silk covering.

As scientists discover and study new species of butterflies and moths, distinctions between the two is becoming blurred. Some moths may fool you into thinking that they are butterflies such as the Urania leilus, a colorful day flying moth from Peru. The Castnioidea moths, found in the neotropics, Indonesia, and Australia exhibit many of the characteristics of butterflies such as brightly colored wings, clubbed antenna and day flying.

More fascinating facts about butterflies and moths.

    * There are many more species of moths than butterflies. Butterflies and skippers (hooked-shaped antennae) make up 6 to 11 percent of Lepidoptera order, while moths make up 89-94 percent of the Lepidoptera order.
    * It is not true that if you touch a butterfly’s wing and the ‘powder’ rubs off that the butterfly will not be able to fly. The powder is actually tiny scales and a butterfly sheds these ‘scales’ throughout its lifetime.
    * Butterflies and moths are holometabolous meaning that they undergo a complete metamorphosis from egg to caterpillar and from chrysalis to adult.
    * The largest known butterflies in the world are the birdwings. The Queen Alexandra Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) from the rain forests of Papua New Guinea has a wingspan of 11 inches. It is the most rare of all butterflies. Click here for a picture of the Queen Alexandria Birdwing. The Goliath birdwing (Ornithoptera goliath), also from the rain forests of Papua New Guinea, is also one of the largest butterflies with an average wingspan of 11 inches.
    * The smallest known butterflies are the blues (Lycaenidae), which are found in North American and Africa. They have wingspans from 1/4 - 1/2 inches. Western Pygmy Blue is the smallest. Click here to compare photographs of the smallest and the two largest butterflies.
    * The most common butterfly is the Cabbage White found in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Bermuda, and Hawaii.
    * The largest known moths are the Atlas moths (Saturniidae) with wingspans as large as 12 inches. Click here to see a photograph of an atlas moth.
    * The smallest known moths are from the pygmy moth family (Nepticulidae) with wingspans as small as 3/32 of an inch. Click here to see a photograph of a pygmy moth.

Can zebras be domesticated?
Answer:    
    No, zebras cannot be domesticated.

They are unpredictable and are known to attack people. To be domesticated, animals must meet certain criteria. For example, they must have a good disposition and should not panic under pressure. Zebras' unpredictable nature and tendency to attack preclude them from being good candidates for domestication. 

While attempts at domestication have failed, some individuals have had success training and even hybridizing zebras! Common zebra hybrids: Zorse (horse + zebra) and Zonkey (donkey + zebra). Zebra hybridization has actually been in existence at least a century. One of the pioneers in the field was J.C. Ewart, author of The Penycuik Experiments in 1899.

Is a polar bear’s fur transparent?
Answer:    
    Yes! Most sources indicate that the long, coarse guard hairs, which protect the plush thick undercoat, are hollow and transparent. The thinner hairs of the undercoat are not hollow, but they, like the guard hairs, are colorless.

The hair of a polar bear looks white because the air spaces in each hair scatter light of all colors. The color white becomes visible to our eyes when an object reflects back all of the visible wavelengths of light, rather than absorbing some of the wavelengths.

At one time it was suggested that the polar bear hairs might have some of the properties of optical fibers. Apparently this is not the case.

Why do pigeons bob their heads when they walk?
Answer:    
    Most evidence suggests that the head bobbing serves a visual function.

Chickens bob their heads while walking. So do cranes, magpies and quails. In fact, head bobbing is a unique feature in birds and occurs in at least 8 of the 27 families of birds.

There are a few theories why some birds bob their heads when they walk:

    1. Assists with balance
    2. Provides depth perception
    3. Sharpens their vision

However, most studies suggest that birds in motion bob their heads to stabilize their visual surroundings. In comparison, we rely more on our eye movements, not our head movements, to catch and hold images while in motion.

Picture a pigeon on a moving treadmill. What do you think would happen as the pigeon walks with the speed of the treadmill and its environment remains relatively the same? Dr. Barrie J Frost (1978) did this experiment and the pigeon’s head did not bob.

Dr. Mark Friedman (1975) also conducted a series of experiments to test the head bobbing actions of birds, using doves. His research demonstrated that the head movement is controlled more by visual stimulation than movement of the body.

Scientists continue to research head bobbing in birds. For example, scientists are currently investigating question such as “Why do some birds exhibit head bobbing, while other do not?”

Why do mosquitoes bite me and not my friend?
Answer:    
     Recent evidence suggests that some people give off masking odors that prevent mosquitoes from finding them.

Recently, scientists at Rothamsted Research in the UK discovered that some people produce chemicals that smell bad to mosquitoes, masking the chemicals that usually attract the mosquitos.

James Logan and John Pickett (Vince, 2006) devised some unique ways of testing body odor. First, they had two different people put one hand into each end of a chamber and the investigators watched which hand the mosquitoes preferred. Then they selected the person who was not preferred (who felt lucky up to this point) and sealed their body in foil to collect their sweat. Talk about an unpleasant experiment. The researchers set about analyzing the body chemicals and are now waiting to patent the results in hopes of producing a natural insect repellent.

The female mosquito is the one that bites (males feed on flower nectar). She requires blood to produce eggs. Her mouthparts are constructed so that they pierce the skin, literally sucking the blood out. Her saliva lubricates the opening. It’s the saliva plus the injury to the skin that creates the stinging and irritation we associate with mosquito bites.

Unfortunately, mosquitoes are carriers for a host of diseases, including malaria, yellow fever, West Nile virus, and Dengue fever. There are hundreds of species of mosquitoes belonging to the family Culicidae. Since they breed in standing water, a way to eliminate them around the home is to remove objects where water collects, such as cans, buckets, old tires, and refreshing the water in bird baths at least once a week. Turn water barrels upside down during the winter, as well.

Insect repellents often contain DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) although there are more natural ingredients available, such as eucalyptus oil extract. You can try to limit your exposure to mosquitoes when outdoors by using a fan or by covering exposed skin with light colored clothing and a hat. Mosquitoes tend to be more of a problem from dusk to dawn.

Why do geese fly in a V?
Answer:    
    Energy conservation and visual assurance.

Why do geese fly in a V? Because it would be too hard to fly in an S! Just kidding. Scientists have determined that the V-shaped formation that geese use when migrating serves two important purposes:

First, it conserves their energy. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of him, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. In this way, the geese can fly for a long time before they must stop for rest.

The second benefit to the V formation is that it is easy to keep track of every bird in the group. Fighter pilots often use this formation for the same reason.

How long is the life span of a flea?
Answer:    
    30-90 Days (Average).

A flea might live a year and a half under ideal conditions. These include the right temperature, food supply, and humidity. Generally speaking, though, an adult flea only lives for 2 or 3 months. Without a host for food, a flea's life might be as short as a few days. But with ample food supply, the adult flea will often live up to 100 days.

How do spiders avoid getting tangled in their own webs?
Answer:    
    Spiders are able to spin sticky and non-sticky silk. They avoid walking on the sticky silk. In addition, spiders have moveable claws on their feet that grip and release the web’s threads as they walk.

Spiders are invertebrate creatures in the araneae order of the class arachnida in the phylum arthropoda. A spider has up to eight eyes, eight legs and seven silk-producing glands in its abdomen. These glands secrete proteins that are extruded through spinnerets to produce different kinds of silk. Many spiders, particularly orb, funnel, sheet and cob-weaving spiders, use this silk to build webs with which to catch prey.

We’ll focus on orb-weavers because their webs are the most recognizable. Their webs are complex nets of strong dragline threads (frame, spokes) radiating out from the center; and elastic, sticky catching threads spiraling into the center. An orb-weaver begins its web with radial and framework threads using dragline silk, providing a foundation upon which to spiral the sticky catching threads. The spiders then create an auxiliary spiral to help the radial threads support the spider’s weight as it builds. Next, the spider uses, and subsequently destroys, the auxiliary spiral as a guide to create the catching spiral, which it dots with glue. What is perhaps the most amazing part of this hour-long process is that orb-weaving spiders often have poor eyesight and weave using only their sense of touch.

The sticky, complex nets of silk used for the catching spiral are effective hunting tools, but have often made people wonder how the spiders themselves avoid entangling themselves in their own webs. Many people believe that spiders have special oils that repel the stickiness of their threads. This, however, has never been proven. Scientists are still not entirely certain how most spiders manage to avoid ending up ensnared in their own trap, but there are a few accepted theories. Spiders can spin different kinds of silk, and not all of their silk is sticky. In fact, in a spider web only the silk used for the intricate catching spirals are dotted with glue, so spiders know which threads to avoid. In addition to producing different kinds of silk, web-spinning spiders also have an extra set of claws on their feet. All spiders have two claws on their feet; web-spinning ones have three. These claws are used to grasp threads and provide traction as the spider moves along.

Spider silk itself is interesting to scientists because of the irreversible transformation it makes from a water soluble liquid inside the spider, to a non-water soluble thread outside of the body. The reaction has nothing to do with the thread’s exposure to air once it exits the spider; rather scientists believe it has to do with the act of pulling on the thread that realigns the molecules into a solid form.

Scientists are interested in spider silk for manufacturing purposes, specifically the viscid (sticky for catching prey) and dragline (strong for stiff radials and framework) threads. The viscid thread is comparable to rubber in elasticity, but has more strength. The dragline thread is comparable to steel and Kevlar® (bulletproof material) in stiffness, but is more elastic and able to absorb higher impact.

What makes spiders truly unique in their silk-producing abilities is that they are the only animals that use this silk for multiple purposes. Their multiple silk glands each produce different kinds of silk to aid in mating rituals, create shields for protection from predators, encase their eggs and, of course, weave webs.

How much water does a camel's hump hold?
Answer:    
    None.

A camel's hump does not hold water at all - it actually stores fat. The camel uses it as nourishment when food is scarce. If a camel uses the fat inside the hump, the hump will become limp and droop down. With proper food and rest the hump will return to normal.

The hump is not used for water storage, but camels can go for long periods of time without water. They drink large amounts of water - up to 20 gallons at a time. This water is stored in the animal's bloodstream.

    Why and how do cats purr?
Answer:    
    No one knows for sure why a domestic cat purrs, but many people interpret the sound as one of contentment. Our understanding of how a domestic cat purrs is becoming more complete; most scientists agree that the larynx (voice box), laryngeal muscles, and a neural oscillator are involved.

Kittens learn how to purr when they are a couple of days old. Veterinarians suggest that this purring tells ‘Mom’ that “I am okay” and that “I am here.” It also indicates a bonding mechanism between kitten and mother.

As the kitten grows into adulthood, purring continues. Many suggest a cat purrs from contentment and pleasure. But a cat also purrs when it is injured and in pain. Dr. Elizabeth Von Muggenthaler has suggested that the purr, with its low frequency vibrations, is a “natural healing mechanism.” Purring may be linked to the strengthening and repairing of bones, relief of pain, and wound healing (See Web link to Felid purr: a healing mechanism).

Purring is a unique vocal feature in the domestic cat. However, other species in the Felidae family also purr: Bobcat, Cheetah, Eurasian Lynx, Puma, and Wild Cat (Complete list in Peters, 2002). Although some big cats like lions exhibit a purr-like sound, studies show that the Patherinae subfamily: Lion, Leopard, Jaguar, Tiger, Snow Leopard, and Clouded Leopard do not exhibit true purring (Peters, 2002).”

What makes the purr distinctive from other cat vocalizations is that it is produced during the entire respiratory cycle (inhaling and exhaling). Other vocalizations such as the “meow” are limited to the expiration of the breath.

It was once thought that the purr was produced from blood surging through the inferior vena cava, but as research continues it seems that the intrinsic (internal) laryngeal muscles are the likely source for the purr. Moreover, there is an absence of purring in a cat with laryngeal paralysis. The laryngeal muscles are responsible for the opening and closing of the glottis (space between the vocal chords), which results in a separation of the vocal chords, and thus the purr sound. Studies have shown, that the movement of the laryngeal muscles is signaled from a unique “neural oscillator” (Frazer-Sisson, Rice, and Peters, 1991 & Remmers and Gautier, 1972) in the cat’s brain.

Which is the largest bear on earth?
Answer:    
    The polar bear.

It is a close call, but the polar bear is generally considered the largest bear on Earth. A close second is the brown bear, specifically the Kodiak bear. The Kodiak is a subspecies of the brown bear native to Alaska.

The consensus among experts is that the polar bear is the largest, but some believe the Kodiak bear to be larger. Part of the dissension comes from the vagueness of the word "largest." The answer really depends on how "largest" is defined - Heaviest? Longest? Largest ever recorded?

Why do bats live in caves?
    Why don't they fly into objects at night?
Answer:    
    Most bats are nocturnal.

Most bats are nocturnal. They fly and forage for their food (bugs) at night. This means that they need safe places to sleep during the day. Caves provide the kind of protected shelter in which bats can thrive. Hanging from the ceiling of a cave, bats are out of reach of most of their enemies. Some of the most successful species of bats live in large cave colonies. Some of these colonies have millions of members, even up to 20 million! Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico once had 7-8 million, but now has about 1 million.

So, why don't bats fly into things at night? They use echolocation to locate food and avoid obstacles. They have the ability to create and hear noises that humans cannot hear. The sound waves bounce off of objects and back to the bat, which can then judge the size and distance of the object. These subsonic noises vary in length and pulse frequency, and are unique to the individual. Each bat recognizes its own pulse reflections, or "voice," and uses it to avoid objects and to identify food.

Most bat colonies leave their caves more or less together, in large groups after dark. Before leaving they fly around inside, preparing for departure. Flying around with thousands of other bats inside a cave creates a chaotic amount of noise! The bats simply ignore their personal navigation systems inside the caves. The echolocators are on, but the bats aren't listening.

If you suddenly appeared in their cave among the flying bats, they would crash into you. The famous bat expert, Dr. Donald. R. Griffin, called this phenomenon the "Andrea Doria effect." The Andrea Doria sank when it crashed into another ship out in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.

When bats are paying attention to their sonar signals, they can navigate without crashing into things. They can identify and capture food while it is moving. The echolocation system is designed to locate very small insects. Most of them are less than a centimeter in diameter. Compared to a bug, a human being is a very large, slow moving sound-reflecting surface. Outside of the cave, the chance of a bat hitting a person is very slim!

There are also bats that fly and hunt for food during the day. They sleep outdoors at night in trees, under bridges and other locations. Unlike nocturnal bats, they have well-developed eyes and poorly developed echolocation.

How high can a nine-banded armadillo jump?
Answer:    
    Three to four feet into the air.

Of the twenty species of armadillo that exist throughout the Americas, the nine-banded armadillo (dasypus novemcinctus) is the only one found in the United States. When startled, the nine-banded armadillo can jump straight upward about three to four feet into the air. This reflex may help scare off predators in the wild. Unfortunately, many armadillos are killed when they jump into the underside of moving vehicles.

Amazing Armadillo Facts...
Armadillos can cross bodies of water in two ways. They can:

   1. inflate their stomachs and intestines with air and float across the water, or,
   2. sink down and use their sharp claws to walk across the bottom.

They can hold their breath for six minutes or more!

The nine-banded armadillo always gives birth to same gender quadruplets from a single egg.

The Latin name for the nine-banded armadillo is Dasypus novemcinctus. The word Dasypus is derived from the Latin word for rabbit,. Novem means nine and cinctus means band. Literally, it translates to "nine-banded rabbit." It is said that armadillos without their shells resemble rabbits.

How does an hourglass measure time?
Answer:    
    By using carefully calculated amounts of sand.

The hourglass is sometimes referred to as a sand clock or a sandglass. Like other timepieces, it needs to be carefully calibrated. The hourglass maker must test the instrument and fine tune it to measure the correct length of time.

There are many factors that contribute to the ability of an hourglass to accurately measure time. The type and quality of sand is key. It must have a rate of flow that does not fluctuate. Sand that is too coarse will wear away the glass, eventually making the neck too large. Most important is the ratio of the neck (the hole, or tube) width to the diameter of the sand particles.

Here are the other factors that affect the accuracy of an hourglass:

    * The amount or volume of sand used
    * The size and angle of the glass bulbs
    * The quality of the sand or granular material. It must be fine, dry and consistently formed so it can flow smoothly. (Some substances used in the past were fine grain sand, powdered eggshells, and powdered marble.)
    * The width of the neck
    * A tight seal so no moisture can get into the chambers. Moisture can add weight to the sand or clog up the neck.
    * A flat and level surface on which to rest the hourglass

We still use the hourglass to keep track of time. Just think of its many uses for cooking and for playing games!

Who is credited as inventing the telephone?
    Was it Alexander Graham Bell, Elisha Gray, or     Antonio Meucci?
Answer:    
    Alexander Graham Bell was the first to patent the     telephone.

Attributing the true inventor or inventors to a specific invention can be tricky business. Often credit goes to the inventor of the most practical or best working invention rather than to the original inventor(s). This happens to be the case of the invention of the telephone!

There is a lot of controversy and intrigue surrounding the invention of the telephone. There have been court cases, books, and articles generated about the subject. Of course, Alexander Graham Bell is the father of the telephone. After all it was his design that was first patented, however, he was not the first inventor to come up with the idea of a telephone.

Antonio Meucci, an Italian immigrant, began developing the design of a talking telegraph or telephone in 1849. In 1871, he filed a caveat (an announcement of an invention) for his design of a talking telegraph. Due to hardships, Meucci could not renew his caveat. His role in the invention of the telephone was overlooked until the United States House of Representatives passed a Resolution on June 11, 2002, honoring Meucci's contributions and work (To read the report search Thomas Legislation, Bill summary and Status, 107th Congress, H Res 269 ).

To make matters even more interesting Elisha Gray, a professor at Oberlin College, applied for a caveat of the telephone on the same day Bell applied for his patent of the telephone. In Historical First Patents: The First United States Patent for Many Everyday Things (Scarecrow Press, 1994), Travis Brown, reports that Bell got to the patent office first. The date was February 14, 1876 . He was the fifth entry of that day, while Gray was 39th. Therefore, the U.S. Patent Office awarded Bell with the first patent for a telephone, US Patent Number 174,465 rather than honor Gray's caveat.

So, if someone asks who is credited with inventing the telephone, you can explain the controversy that still surrounds this question. The answer is Bell, but be sure to mention Meucci and Gray, because they played important roles in its development.

Who invented electric Christmas lights?
Answer:    
    Thomas Edison and Edward Johnson (1880 &1882) and Albert Sadacca (1917).

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the first successful practical light bulb, created the very first strand of electric lights. During the Christmas season of 1880, these strands were strung around the outside of his Menlo Park Laboratory. Railroad passengers traveling by the laboratory got their first look at an electrical light display. But it would take almost forty years for electric Christmas lights to become the tradition that we all know and love.

Before electric Christmas lights, families would use candles to light up their Christmas trees. This practice was often dangerous and led to many home fires. Edward H. Johnson put the very first string of electric Christmas tree lights together in 1882. Johnson, Edison’s friend and partner in the Edison’s Illumination Company, hand-wired 80 red, white and blue light bulbs and wound them around his Christmas tree. Not only was the tree illuminated with electricity, it also revolved.

However, the world was not quite ready for electrical illumination. There was a great mistrust of electricity and it would take many more years for society to decorate its Christmas trees and homes with electric lights. Some credit President Grover Cleveland with spurring the acceptance of indoor electric Christmas lights. In 1895, President Cleveland requested that the White House family Christmas tree be illuminated by hundreds of multi-colored electric light bulbs.

On Christmas Eve 1923, President Calvin Coolidge began the country’s celebration of Christmas by lighting the National Christmas Tree with 3,000 electric lights on the Ellipse located south of the While House.

Until 1903, when General Electric began to offer pre-assembled kits of Christmas lights, stringed lights were reserved for the wealthy and electrically savvy. The wiring of electric lights was very expensive and required the hiring of the services of a wireman, our modern-day electrician. According to some, to light an average Christmas tree with electric lights before 1903 would have cost $2000.00 in today’s dollars.

While Thomas Edison and Edward H. Johnson may have been the first to create electric strands of light in 1880/1882, it was Albert Sadacca who saw a future in selling electric Christmas lights. The Sadacca family owned a novelty lighting company and in 1917 Albert, a teenager at the time, suggested that its store offer brightly colored strands of Christmas lights to the public. By the 1920’s Albert and his brothers organized the National Outfit Manufacturers Association (NOMA), a trade association. NOMA soon became NOMA Electric Co., with its members cornering the Christmas light market until the 1960’s.

Today we expect to see the holiday season become aglow with electric strands of light. Think of the variety and range of Christmas lights available in today’s market. We can be grateful to Thomas Edison, Edward H. Johnson and Albert Sadacca for illuminating our holiday season.

Why is the ocean blue?
Answer:    
    There are several theories:

    * Blue wavelengths are absorbed the least by the deep ocean water and are scattered and reflected back to the observer’s eye
    * Particles in the water may help to reflect blue light
    * The ocean reflects the blue sky

Most of the time the ocean appears to be blue because this is the color our eyes see. But the ocean can be many other colors depending upon particles in the water, the depth of the water, and the amount of skylight.

The colors we see depend upon the reflection of the visible wavelengths of light to our eyes. The Franklin Institute provides a good explanation of how we see color at http://www.fi.edu/color/color.html.

Wavelengths of light pass through matter differently depending on the material’s composition. Blue wavelengths are transmitted to greater depths of the ocean, while red wavelengths are absorbed quickly. Water molecules scatter blue wavelengths by absorbing the light waves, and then rapidly reemitting the light waves in different directions. That is why there are mostly blue wavelengths that are reflected back to our eyes.

Sometimes oceans look green. This may be because there is an abundance of plant life or sediment from rivers that flow into the ocean. The blue light is absorbed more and the yellow pigments from plants mix with the blue light waves to produce the color green.

Sometimes parts of the oceans will look milky brown after a storm passes. This is because winds and currents associated with the storm churn up sand and sediment from the rivers that lead into the oceans.

The ocean may also reflect the blue sky. However this is prominent only at relatively low angles and when the water is smooth.

Why don’t I fall out when a roller coaster goes upside down?
Answer:    
    Gravity is counteracted by the force of acceleration, which is the force that pushes you forward.

Have you ever wondered how roller coasters stay on their tracks and why people can hang upside down in them? It’s all a matter of physics: energy, inertia, and gravity.

A roller coaster does not have an engine to generate energy. The climb up the first hill is accomplished by a lift or cable that pulls the train up. This builds up a supply of “potential energy” that will be used to go down the hill as the train is pulled by gravity. Then, all of that stored energy is released as “kinetic energy” which is what will get the train to go up the next hill. So, as the train travels up and down hills, its motion is constantly shifting between potential and kinetic energy.

The higher the hill the coaster is coming down, the more kinetic energy is available to “push” the cars up the next hill, and the faster the train will go. Plus, according to Newton’s First Law of Motion, “an object in motion tends to stay in motion, unless another force acts against it.” Wind resistance or the wheels along the track are forces that work to slow down the train. So toward the end of the ride, the hills tend to be lower because the coaster has less energy to get up them.

The two major types of roller coasters are wooden and steel. Features in the wheel design prevent the cars from flipping off the track. Wooden tracks are more inflexible than steel, so usually don’t have such complex loops that might flip passengers upside down. In the 1950s tubular steel tracks were introduced. The train’s nylon or polyurethane wheels run along the top, bottom, and side of the tube, securing the train to the track while it travels through intricate loops and twists.

When you go around a turn, you feel pushed against the outside of the car. This force is “centripetal force” and helps keep you in your seat.

In the loop-the-loop upside down design, it’s inertia that keeps you in your seat. Inertia is the force that presses your body to the outside of the loop as the train spins around. Although gravity is pulling you toward the earth, at the very top the acceleration force is stronger than gravity and is pulling upwards, thus counteracting gravity. The loop however must be elliptical, rather than a perfect circle, otherwise the centripetal (g) force would be too strong for safety and comfort.

How do we know whether a roller coaster is safe? Engineers and designers follow industry standards and guidelines. The first “riders” are sandbags or dummies. Then engineers and park workers get to try it out. Would you want to be one of the first passengers on a new ride?

    * Fun facts:
      The “ancestor” of the roller coaster is traced to Russia in the 15th century, a gravity sled ride called Russian Mountains.
    * One of the first roller coasters was in France in 1817 - Les Montagnes Russes à Belleville (Russian Mountains of Belleville) - the train axle was attached to the track by way of a carved groove.
    * In 1827, the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railroad, (Summit Hill, PA) built a track 18 miles down a mountain to transport coal. In 1873, it became a scenic, albeit bumpy, pleasure ride. It remained in operation until 1938.
    * La Marcus Thompson built the Switchback Railway at Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, in 1884. He has been called the “father of gravity” and holds several patents including US Patent 310,966 (1885) for “Roller coaster structure,” and US Patent 1,102,821 (1914) for “Signaling device for racing coasters.”
    * One of the first “high-speed” coasters was Drop-The-Dip, at Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY (1907). At this time lap restraints started to be used.
    * The first tubular steel coaster was the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland, Anaheim, CA (1959).
    * Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA, introduced the Corkscrew (1975), the first coaster to completely invert passengers.
    * King Cobra, Kings Island, Cincinnati, OH (1984) was the first roller coaster that allowed people to stand up.
    * The longest roller coaster at this time is Steel Dragon 2000, Nagashima Spa Land, Japan, at 8,133 feet/2,479 m.
    * As of 2005, the tallest steel continuous circuit roller roaster is Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson Township, NJ, 139m/456 feet. It is also the fastest at 128 mph/206 km/h. A ride lasts 50.6 seconds.

Why does ultraviolet light cause color to fade?
Answer:    
    Because of photodegradation.

It is all about the chemical makeup of an object. The technical term for color fading is photodegradation. There are light absorbing color bodies called chromophores that are present in dyes. The color(s) we see are based upon these chemical bonds and the amount of light that is absorbed in a particular wavelength.

Ultraviolet rays can break down the chemical bonds and thus fade the color(s) in an object - it is a bleaching effect. Some objects may be more prone to fading, such as dyed textiles and watercolors. Other objects may reflect the light more, which makes them less prone to fade.

How does static electricity work?
Answer:    
    An imbalance between negative and positive
    charges in objects.

Have you ever walked across the room to pet your dog, but got a shock instead? Perhaps you took your hat off on a dry winter's day and had a "hair raising" experience! Or, maybe you have made a balloon stick on the wall after rubbing it against your clothes?

Why do these things happen? Is it magic? No, it's not magic; it's static electricity!

Before understanding static electricity, we first need to understand the basics of atoms and magnetism.

All physical objects are made up of atoms. Inside an atom are protons, electrons and neutrons. The protons are positively charged, the electrons are negatively charged, and the neutrons are neutral.

Therefore, all things are made up of charges. Opposite charges attract each other (negative to positive). Like charges repel each other (positive to positive or negative to negative). Most of the time positive and negative charges are balanced in an object, which makes that object neutral.

Static electricity is the result of an imbalance between negative and positive charges in an object. These charges can build up on the surface of an object until they find a way to be released or discharged. One way to discharge them is through a circuit.

The rubbing of certain materials against one another can transfer negative charges, or electrons. For example, if you rub your shoe on the carpet, your body collects extra electrons. The electrons cling to your body until they can be released. As you reach and touch your furry friend, you get a shock. Don't worry, it is only the surplus electrons being released from you to your unsuspecting pet.

And what about that "hair raising" experience? As you remove your hat, electrons are transferred from hat to hair, creating that interesting hairdo! Remember, objects with the same charge repel each other. Because they have the same charge, your hair will stand on end. Your hairs are simply trying to get as far away from each other as possible!

When you rub a balloon against your clothes and it sticks to the wall, you are adding a surplus of electrons (negative charges) to the surface of the balloon. The wall is now more positively charged than the balloon. As the two come in contact, the balloon will stick because of the rule that opposites attract (positive to negative).

How is the light of a lighthouse magnified so that it can be seen many miles out at sea?
Answer:    
    A lighthouse light is a concentrated beam, focused by special lenses. Because of its highly increased intensity, this beam of light can travel a very long distance.

The design of the lighthouse light as we know it today, originated at the beginning of the 18th Century. The French inventor Augustin Fresnel had correctly deduced that light was pure energy that traveled in waves, and he then spent his life developing lenses and reflectors that could capture and concentrate light. The first lighthouse optics that he designed combined highly polished prisms with an array of lenses that captured light and concentrated it back into a main beam. The design was concentric in arrangement, funneling the light into a beam that was many times brighter than its source. This light could be seen for more than 20 miles. Fresnel’s design of concentric glass rings to concentrate light is still used today in the production of automobile headlights, traffic signals and projectors. Many of today’s lighthouses have a system of rotating lenses, and the newer ones flash off and on as a way of conserving energy.

 How does a stone “skip” across water?
Answer:    
    Spin, speed, shape and angle are the crucial factors, with angle being the most important.

Spin stabilizes an object and keeps it from simply falling into the water. A minimum speed must be achieved or the stone will hit the water and sink immediately. Flat, round stones are best because the surface area creates a bounce on impact, but the “magic angle” between a spinning stone and the water should be about 20 degrees in order to achieve the maximum number of skips (Clanet).

According to Jerry McGhee, founder of the North American Stone Skipping Association (NASSA), both Shakespeare and Homer mentioned stone skipping.  Eskimos skip rocks on ice and Bedouins on smooth sand.  In England, stone skipping is known as "ducks and drakes," in France, as "ricochet," in Ireland, as "stone skiffing," in Denmark as "smutting," and every language, from Hindi to Russian to Chinese, has a unique word or term for skipping stones.
  A word used in American English is “to dap” defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “to rebound, bounce; to hop or skip (as a stone along the surface of water).”

We can learn more by applying concepts from physics, such as hydrodynamics, momentum, and gravity.  The basic physics of stone skipping has been understood through the use of laboratory equipment especially designed to skip stones. The equipment records the motion using video and digital photography.  Observations revealed that while it is possible for one skip to be longer than the previous one, possibly due to an uneven water surface, the distance between each skip is usually about 80 percent of the previous skip.  Another interesting observation shows that, for right-handed throws, the later skips veer to the right. 

A stone’s travel through the air is considered ballistic, defined as “relating to or characteristic of the motion of objects moving under their own momentum and the force of gravity” (http://wordnet.princeton.edu).  A stone’s interaction with the surface of water, however, is different. Each time the stone skips the surface of the water it is reflected upwards, its downward velocity is reversed, and its horizontal velocity is reduced. Since the trailing edge of the stone typically breaches the water first, it is also pitched down slightly.  This brief downward pitching affects the direction of the stone’s path.  Each subsequent bounce slows it down until it penetrates the water surface rather than skipping over it.  The height from which it is thrown, the angle, the impact attitude, and the condition of the water’s surface - all are additional factors that affect how many skips occur and how quickly the stone splashes down.

The principle of the conservation of momentum dictates that as the stone enters the water and pushes some of the water downwards, the stone is forced upwards.  This force is equal to the hydrodynamic pressure on the stone multiplied by its area.  Assuming that this force is balanced against the weight of the stone, then Mg, where M is its mass and g is the acceleration due to gravity, there is a minimum velocity - a few kilometers per hour - above which the stone will bounce.  In other words, a stone has to have a minimum velocity in order to bounce.  If its velocity is less than this value, the stone skims across the water for a short distance and then sinks. 

What is the Record for the Highest Number of Skips?

Previously, the record for the highest number of skip was 40, set by Kurt Steiner at the Pennsylvania Qualifying Stone Skipping Tournament on September 14, 2002 (Guinness Book of World Records).  In 2007, however, Guinness confirmed that Russell “Rock Bottom” Byars broke the record with 51 skips.

How does skywriting and skytyping work?
Answer:    
    Both are a type of advertising that use aircraft to spell words in the sky by mixing paraffin oil into smoky plane exhaust.

Ever sat at the beach or an outdoor event and watched a plane writing in the sky? It was captivating, wasn’t it? You try and guess what they are going to say, waiting for the plane to be finished. The advertiser has gotten your attention longer than if you whizzed past a billboard or glanced at a newspaper page. And it probably made a more lasting impression.

That was the thinking of the Pepsi-Cola Corporation, one of the first companies to use skywriting for an advertising campaign. One of the first skywriters, Andy Stinis, flew for Pepsi-Cola from 1931-1953.

Skywriting is done by one plane that can generally write up to six characters, with a skilled pilot at times maneuvering upside down as they decide when smoke is needed for the letters. Five to seven planes are needed for longer messages (up to thirty characters) so that the entire message is visible at once.

Skytyping is a technique whereby the smoke is emitted in a series of bursts, like dots. A computer generates the master plan and electronic signals control the smoke output. The blurring of the smoke makes the desired end effect.

Night skywriting is the use of searchlights or lasers on the ground to project an image on clouds (also called cloud writing).

Fun Facts:

    * Most sources attribute the development of skywriting (1922) to John C. Savage, an Englishman. In that year, Captain Cyril Turner wrote "Daily Mail" over England and "Hello USA" over New York. The American Tobacco Co. then picked up the technique for their Lucky Strike cigarettes.
    * The first skywriting for advertising was in 1922.
    * April 8, 1924, Savage received a patent for “Method of producing advertising signs of smoke in the air” (US Patent 1,489,717).
    * A letter can be as high as one mile and take 60-90 seconds to create.
    * A message can stretch up to fifteen miles.
    * The best conditions of course are few clouds, little or no wind, and cooler temperatures. Then the letters may be seen for 30 miles in any direction and can last 20 minutes.
    * Writing occurs usually at altitudes from 7,000-17,000 ft.
    * The paraffin oil vaporizes at 1500° in the heat of the plane’s exhaust and is environmentally safe.
    * The skywriting that appeared in the movie, “Wizard of Oz,” was done by special effects in a tank with an oil and water mixture.
    * One company in New York “writes” more than 50 marriage proposals a year in the sky.

Who invented the automobile?
Answer:    
    Karl (Carl) Benz.

This question does not have a straightforward answer. The history of the automobile is very rich and dates back to the 15th century when Leonardo da Vinci was creating designs and models for transport vehicles.

There are many different types of automobiles - steam, electric, and gasoline - as well as countless styles. Exactly who invented the automobile is a matter of opinion. If we had to give credit to one inventor, it would probably be Karl Benz from Germany. Many suggest that he created the first true automobile in 1885/1886.

What causes the sound of thunder?
Answer:    
    Thunder is caused by the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the path of a lightning bolt.

From the clouds to a nearby tree or roof, a lightning bolt takes only a few thousandths of a second to split through the air. The loud thunder that follows the lightning bolt is commonly said to come from the bolt itself. However, the grumbles and growls we hear in thunderstorms actually come from the rapid expansion of the air surrounding the lightning bolt.

As lightning connects to the ground from the clouds, a second stroke of lightning will return from the ground to the clouds, following the same channel as the first strike. The heat from the electricity of this return stroke raises the temperature of the surrounding air to around 27,000 C° (48,632 F°). Since the lightning takes so little time to go from point A to point B, the heated air has no time to expand. The heated air is compressed, raising the air from 10 to 100 times the normal atmospheric pressure. The compressed air explodes outward from the channel, forming a shock wave of compressed particles in every direction. Like an explosion, the rapidly expanding waves of compressed air create a loud, booming burst of noise.

Because electricity follows the shortest route, most lightning bolts are close to vertical. The shock waves nearer to the ground reach your ear first, followed by the crashing of the shock waves from higher up. Vertical lightning is often heard in one long rumble. However, if a lightning bolt is forked, the sounds change. The shock waves from the different forks of lightning bounce off each other, the low hanging clouds, and nearby hills to create a series of lower, continuous grumbles of thunder.

Thunder Fun Facts:

    * To judge how close lightning is, count the seconds between the flash and the thunderclap. Each second represents about 300m (984.25ft).
    * Thunder is not only heard during thunderstorms. It is uncommon, but not rare, to hear thunder when it is snowing.
    * Lightning does not always create thunder. In April 1885, five lightning bolts struck the Washington Monument during a thunderstorm, yet no thunder was heard.

Is the old adage “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning” true, or is it just an old wives’ tale?
Answer:    
    Within limits, there is truth in this saying.

Have you ever heard anyone use the proverb above?

Shakespeare did. He said something similar in his play, Venus and Adonis. “Like a red morn that ever yet betokened, Wreck to the seaman, tempest to the field, Sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds, Gusts and foul flaws to herdmen and to herds.”

In the Bible, (Matthew XVI: 2-3,) Jesus said, “When in evening, ye say, it will be fair weather: For the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering.”

Weather lore has been around since people needed to predict the weather and plan their activities. Sailors and farmers relied on it to navigate ships and plant crops.

But can weather lore truly predict the weather or seasons?

Weather lore concerning the appearance of the sky, the conditions of the atmosphere, the type or movement of the clouds, and the direction of the winds may have a scientific basis and likely can predict the weather.

In order to understand why “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight. Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning” can predict the weather, we must understand more about weather and the colors in the sky.

Usually, weather moves from west to east, blown by the westerly trade winds. This means storm systems generally move in from the West.

The colors we see in the sky are due to the rays of sunlight being split into colors of the spectrum as they pass through the atmosphere and ricochet off the water vapor and particles in the atmosphere. The amounts of water vapor and dust particles in the atmosphere are good indicators of weather conditions. They also determine which colors we will see in the sky.

During sunrise and sunset the sun is low in the sky, and it transmits light through the thickest part of the atmosphere. A red sky suggests an atmosphere loaded with dust and moisture particles. We see the red, because red wavelengths (the longest in the color spectrum) are breaking through the atmosphere. The shorter wavelengths, such as blue, are scattered and broken up.

Red sky at night, sailors delight.
When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically good weather will follow.

Red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.
A red sunrise reflects the dust particles of a system that has just passed from the west. This indicates that a storm system may be moving to the east. If the morning sky is a deep fiery red, it means a high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain is on its way.

Is it true that no two snow crystals are alike?
Answer:    
     Yes!

The probability that two snow crystals will be exactly alike, in molecular structure and in appearance, is very minute. And to prove otherwise would not be easy. Each winter there are about 1 septillion (1, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 or a trillion trillion) snow crystals that drop from the sky!

To go through all of the snow crystals produced every winter would be a daunting task. So, we rely on cloud physicists, crystallographers, and meteorologists to study snow crystals and explain to us why there are no two snow crystals alike.

First, we need to understand that not all water molecules are exactly alike. Generally speaking, water molecules have two hydrogen molecules with one 16O atom. However, not all water molecules will have this arrangement. Some water molecules will have an atom of deuterium in place of one of the hydrogen atoms and some water molecules will have an atom of 18O. Since the molecular makeup of snow crystals varies greatly from one to another, it follows that each snow crystal will be slightly different.

Furthermore, the unique and complex features of snow crystals are very much affected by unstable atmospheric conditions. Snow crystals are sensitive to temperature and will change in shape and design as they fall from the cloud and are exposed to fluctuating temperatures. To have two snow crystals with the same history of development is virtually impossible.

For a more detailed explanation as to why no two snow crystals are alike click on the Snow Crystals Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of Kenneth Libbrecht’s Web site http://www.snowcrystals.com

Does water go down the drain counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere?
Answer:    
    It all depends upon how the water was introduced and the geometric structure of the drain.

One can find both counterclockwise and clockwise flowing drains in both hemispheres. Some people would like you to believe that the Coriolis force affects the flow of water down the drain in sinks, bathtubs, or toilet bowls. Don’t believe them! The Coriolis force is simply too weak to affect such small bodies of water.

In his work “Sur les equations du movements relative des systems des corps” (1835) the French engineer Gaspard Gustav de Coriolis (1792-1843) first described this force. The Coriolis force is caused by the earth’s rotation. It responsible for air being pulled to the right (counterclockwise) in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left (clockwise) in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Coriolis Effect is the observed curved path of moving objects relative to the surface of the Earth. Hurricanes are good examples. They curve to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere. What makes the hurricanes move in this way is the Coriolis force.

What happens at the equator? The Coriolis force is too weak to operate on the moving air at the equator. This means that weather phenomena such as hurricanes are not observed at the equator, although they have been observed at 5 degrees above the equator. In fact, the Coriolis force pulls hurricanes away from the equator.

For a more detailed explanation of the Coriolis Force see Science World, http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/physics/CoriolisForce.html

Can you tell the temperature by listening to the chirping of a cricket?
Answer:    
    Yes!

The frequency of chirping varies according to temperature. To get a rough estimate of the temperature in degrees fahrenheit, count the number of chirps in 15 seconds and then add 37. The number you get will be an approximation of the outside temperature.

So, how do crickets make that chirping sound?

Usually, the males are the "singers." The male cricket rubs a scraper (a sharp ridge on his wing) against a series of wrinkles, or "files", on the other wing. The tone of the chirping depends upon the distance between the wrinkles.
There are several reasons why crickets chirp. They may be:

    *
      Calling to attract a female with a a loud and monotonous sound
    *
      Courting a nearby female with a quick, softer chirp
    *
      Behaving aggressively during the encounter of two males
    *
      Sounding a danger alert when sensing trouble

Crickets are part of the family Orthoptera (grasshoppers and katydids).

Want to learn more about Insects? The Iowa State Entomology Index of Internet Resources is a directory and search engine of insect related resources on the Internet.

How do fortunes get inside of fortune cookies?
Answer:    
    The cookies are baked as flat circles. After they are removed from the oven, slips of paper are folded inside while the cookies are still warm and flexible. As the fortune cookies cool, they harden into shape.

If you’ve ever been to a Chinese restaurant, you’ve most likely received a fortune cookie at the end of your meal. You’ve also probably wondered how they managed to get that tiny slip of paper into a hard, closed cookie.

Should you not have seen a fortune cookie, let me describe one for you. They are small, hard golden cookies that can fit into the palm of your hand. But there’s one thing that makes them unique: they’re folded into a butterfly shape to create a pocket holding a ½” x 2” paper “fortune.”

Fortune cookies often come at the end of a meal in a Chinese, and sometimes Japanese, restaurant. Traditionally, the fortunes were Confucian phrases about life (Confucius was a famous Chinese philosopher from the 6th century BC—over 2500 years ago!). Nowadays, the fortunes inside the cookies contain just about everything from quotes to advice. Some companies even let you write your own fortunes! Often, they are written in both English and Chinese, and may have lottery numbers and smiley faces on them.

Before we get to how fortune cookies are made, let’s try to find out where they originated. The history of fortune cookies is a little murky. Some think that modern-day fortune cookies were inspired by 14th century Chinese rebels against Mongol invaders. Legend says that a Taoist priest and his followers sent messages hidden inside of traditional Chinese moon cakes (Chinese pastries stuffed with lotus seed paste) to inform rebels about potential uprisings against the invaders. Others believe that the fortune cookies have Japanese roots in traditional tsujiura senbei (rice cakes with paper fortunes stuffed inside), made at the Hyotanyama Inari shrine in the 19th century. Another group of fortune cookie enthusiasts thinks that the idea started around the same time, but in this instance by Chinese railroad workers in America who would hand out cakes stuffed with holiday wishes.

The invention of fortune cookies as we know them today is just as difficult to pin down. Most people nowadays believe that fortune cookies were created by a Japanese man named Makoto Hagiwara in 1914 in San Francisco. Hagiwara owned what is now called the Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden, where he served tea and fortune cookies. However, many still hold to the popular belief that fortune cookies were invented by a Chinese-American named David (Tsung) Jung, who owned the Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles. He claimed to have stuffed the cookies with passages from the Bible and handed them out to unemployed men near his bakery in 1918. In 1983, the debate between the two confectioners came to a head in the Court of Historical Review  in  San Francisco  when their dispute was decided by Judge Daniel M. Hanlon, in favor of Hagiwara.

So, just how did these two gentlemen manage to get fortunes inside their cookies? Well, the process is actually very simple, and relies on the basic chemistry of a common ingredient—sugar. The batter for fortune cookies is usually composed of sugar, flour, water and eggs. When warm, the dough is flexible and can be molded into many shapes. When the baked dough cools though, the sugar hardens into a crispy, shiny cookie. Originally, bakers would mix the dough, pour it out into 3” circles, bake them, quickly place a fortune in the middle and use chopsticks to fold them into the familiar shape before they cooled.

In 1974 fortune cookie manufacturing changed forever. Edward Louie, the owner of the Lotus Fortune Cookie Company in San Francisco, invented a machine that could insert the fortune and fold the cookie. In 1980 Yong Lee created the first fully automated fortune cookie machine, called the Fortune III. Modern machines follow the same steps of handmade fortune cookies: they mix ingredients, pour batter into 3” cups which are then covered with metal plates to keep the batter flat and bake for about 3 ½ minutes. Vacuums then suck fortunes into place, use metal fingers to fold the fortune in half to trap the fortune inside, bend the cookie into shape, and cool and package the final cookie. Now fortune cookie machines like the Kitamura FCM-8006W can make up to 8,000 cookies in an hour!

Fortune cookies are a prominent part of Asian-American cuisine and have filtered into popular culture as well. People create customized fortune cookies to send funny messages to friends and family—and sometimes to even propose marriage to a loved one! They are even used in advertising campaigns for corporations. Even though popular belief says otherwise, modern fortune cookies are as American as baseball and apple pie.

Who “invented” the TV dinner?
Answer:    
    Several individuals developed the TV dinner.

Like many creations, the story of the development of the TV dinner is not straightforward. Many people and companies played a role in the development of the concept of a complete meal that needed only to be reheated before eating. The invention of the TV dinner has been attributed to at least three different sources, primarily Gerry Thomas, the Swanson Brothers, and Maxson Food Systems, Inc.

Maxson Food Systems, Inc. manufactured the earliest complete frozen meal in 1945. Maxson manufactured “Strato-Plates” – complete meals that were reheated on the plane for military and civilian airplane passengers. The meals consisted of a basic three-part equation of meat, vegetable and potato, each housed in its own separate compartment on a plastic plate. However, due to financial reasons and the death of their founder, Maxson frozen meals never went to the retail market. Some feel that Maxson’s product does not qualify as a true TV dinner, since it was consumed on an airplane rather than in the consumer’s home.

Following in the footsteps of Maxson Foods Systems was Jack Fisher's FridgiDinners. In the late 1940's FridgiDinners sold frozen dinners to bars and taverns. Frozen dinners did not take off, however, until the Bernstein brothers came on the scene.

In 1949, Albert and Meyer Bernstein organized Frozen Dinners, Inc., which packaged frozen dinners on aluminum trays with three compartments. They sold them under the One-Eyed Eskimo label, and only to markets in the Pittsburgh area. By 1950, the company had produced over 400,000 frozen dinners. Demand continuted to grow, and in 1952 the Bernstein brothers formed the Quaker State Food Corporation. They expanded distribution to markets east of the Mississippi. By 1954, Quaker State Foods had produced and sold over 2,500,000 frozen dinners!

The concept really took hold in 1954 when Swanson’s frozen meals appeared. Swanson was a well-known brand that consumers recognized, and Swanson launched a massive advertising campaign for their product. They also coined the phrase TV Dinner, which helped to transform their frozen meals into a cultural icon.

But this is where different stories begin to emerge. Until recently, the most widely credited individual inventor of the TV dinner was Gerry Thomas, a salesman for C.A. Swanson & Son in 1953. For example, the American Frozen Food Institute honored him in their "Frozen Food Hall of Fame" as the inventor of the TV dinner. However, his role as the inventor is now being disputed.

Conversely, Betty Cronin, a bacteriologist who was also working for the Swanson brothers at that time, asserts that it was the Swanson brothers themselves, Gilbert and Clarke Swanson, who came up with the concept of the TV dinner, while their marketing and advertising teams developed the name and design of the product. Cronin also worked on the project, taking on the technical challenge of composing a dinner in which all the ingredients took the same amount of time to cook, also called synchronization.

So who really invented the TV dinner? It depends on your definition. One thing is for sure, though: the first company to use the name and successfully market the TV Dinner was Swanson.

Who invented frozen food?
Answer:    
    Several individuals, but most credit Clarence Birdseye.

Of course, frozen food has always existed in climates that were cold enough for the food to freeze. Many people developed innovative food-freezing techniques, including Enoch Piper, William Davis, and Daniel E. Somes. However, Clarence Birdseye is credited with inventing in 1924 the quick freezing method, which produces the type of frozen foods that we know today.

While working as a fur trader in Labrador, NF, Canada, Birdseye discovered that the fish that he and the local Inuit caught froze almost immediately after being pulled from the water. He was delighted to discover that the fish was just as delicious when thawed out months later. From this experience, he theorized that food must be frozen very quickly in order for it to retain its taste and texture.

Birdseye was right. Before quick-freezing came along, foods were frozen at a fairly slow rate. This caused large ice crystals to form, which ruptured the cell membranes of the food. When the food was defrosted, the ice crystals melted and water would leak out, taking with it the food’s flavor and texture.

Birdseye developed two methods for quick freezing foods, both of which employed the innovation of packaging the food beforehand.In the first technique, the package was held between two metal belts that were chilled to -40°F to -45°F using a calcium chloride solution.

In the second and more popular technique, the packaged food was held under pressure between two hollow metal plates that were chilled to -25°F by the evaporation of ammonia. Using this method, a two-inch-thick package of meat could be frozen to 0F in about 90 minutes, while fruits and vegetables took about 30 minutes.

Birdseye’s quick-freezing process actually ended up creating 168 patents! These covered not only the freezing technique but also the packaging, type of paper used, and related innovations.

Fun Fact: March is National Frozen Food Month!

Who invented the toothbrush and when was it invented?
Answer:    
    Various Peoples. 1938 (modern).

The toothbrush as we know it today was not invented until 1938. However, early forms of the toothbrush have been in existence since 3000 BC. Ancient civilizations used a "chew stick," which was a thin twig with a frayed end. These 'chew sticks' were rubbed against the teeth.

The bristle toothbrush, similar to the type used today, was not invented until 1498 in China. The bristles were actually the stiff, coarse hairs taken from the back of a hog's neck and attached to handles made of bone or bamboo.

Boar bristles were used until 1938, when nylon bristles were introduced by Dupont de Nemours. The first nylon toothbrush was called Doctor West's Miracle Toothbrush. Later, Americans were influenced by the disciplined hygiene habits of soldiers from World War II. They became increasingly concerned with the practice of good oral hygiene and quickly adopted the nylon toothbrush.

Some other interesting toothbrush facts:

    * The first mass-produced toothbrush was made by William Addis of Clerkenwald, England, around 1780.
    * The first American to patent a toothbrush was H. N. Wadsworth, (patent number 18,653,) on Nov. 7, 1857.
    * Mass production of toothbrushes began in America around 1885.
    * One of the first electric toothbrushes to hit the American market was in 1960. It was marketed by the Squibb company under the name Broxodent.

What is “freezer burn?”
Answer:    
    The outcome of frozen food losing its moisture as a result of poor wrapping.

Have you ever wondered what happened to a steak in the freezer that looks discolored and parched? It is covered in frost and there are dry spots on the meat tissue. It looked fine when you froze it a few months ago. What caused this transformation?

When food is frozen as a method of preservation thousands and thousands of water molecules within the steak form ice crystals. These water molecules prefer the most hospitable environment- the coldest place in your freezer. The molecules migrate from the steak to the coldest place they can find, which is often the side of your freezer. The loss of these water molecules causes the steak to become dehydrated. The end result is freezer burn.

So why did this happen?

    * Most likely, your food was not tightly wrapped enabling water molecules to escape and seek a better location.

    * Also, freezer burn is likely to occur for items stored in the freezer too long. There is a limit to how long items should be stored in the freezer. Sooner or later the water molecules will find their way out of the frozen food to a colder place in your freezer. (See Refrigerator & Freezer Storage Chart listed in Web resources)

    * The temperature of your freezer may have been above 0 degrees F. Freezer burn will set in from fluctuating temperatures above 0 degrees F.

When water molecules escape from your frozen food, it is also possible for oxygen molecules to seep in. The oxygen molecules can dull the color and modify the flavor of your frozen product.

Food that has freezer burn is safe to eat, but you may find the texture and taste not to your liking. Listed below are Web sites that provide freezing tips so that your frozen food will be in first-rate condition to serve to your friends and family.

What are the seven seas?
Answer:    
    There is no definitive answer to this question. The phrase is a figure of speech and has been used to refer to different bodies of water at various times and places.

Some ancient civilizations used the phrase “seven seas” to describe the bodies of water known at that time. The ancient Romans called the lagoons separated from the open sea near Venice the septem maria or seven seas. Most current sources state that "seven seas" referred to the Indian Ocean, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Persian Gulf, Mediterranean Sea, and the Red Sea.

Not all geographers agree on this list of seven, believing that the seven seas reference will be different depending upon the part of the world and the time period in question.

Some geographers point to the Age of Discovery and suggest that the seven seas represent the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Other geographers state that the seven seas were the Mediterranean and Red Seas, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, China Sea, and the West and East African Seas.

Today we recognize more than 50 seas worldwide. A sea is defined as a division of the ocean which is enclosed or partially enclosed by land. With that said, the Caspian Sea, Dead Sea, and Aral Sea are actually saltwater lakes, because they lack an outlet to the ocean. Conversely, by this definition, the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson Bay are seas.

Interesting Sea Facts:

    * The largest sea is the Bering Sea at 876,000 sq. miles or 2,270,000 sq. kilometers.
    * The saltiest sea in the world is the Red Sea with 41 parts of salt per 1,000 parts of water.
    * The warmest sea in the world is the Red Sea, where temperatures range from 68 degrees to 87.8 degrees F depending upon which part you measure.
    * The coldest seas are found near the poles such as the Greenland, Barents, Beaufort, Kara, Laptev and East Siberian Seas found near the north pole and Weddell and Ross Seas found in the south poles. The Baltic Sea is also considered one of the coldest seas.
    * Depending upon the amount of salt in the water, sea water freezes at about 28 degrees F. High salt content lowers the temperature for freezing and low salt content raises the temperature for freezing.

What is a GPS? How does it work?
Answer:    
    The Global Positioning System (GPS) tells you     where you are on Earth.

It's eleven o'clock ... do you know where your kids are? Would you like to? One way to track them would be to have a GPS receiver installed in the car! The GPS, or Global Positioning System, is one of the hottest technologies around, and no wonder. Consider these diverse uses:

    * Minnesota scientists use GPS to study movements and feeding habits of deer.
    * Surveyors used GPS to measure how the buildings shifted after the bombing in Oklahoma City.
    * GPS help settle property disputes between land owners.
    * Marine archaeologists use GPS to guide research vessels hunting for shipwrecks.
    * GPS data has revealed that Mt. Everest is getting taller!

GPS answers five questions simultaneously:

         1. "Where am I?"
         2. "Where am I going?"
         3. "Where are you?"
         4. "What's the best way to get there?
         5. "When will I get there?"

GPS is the only system today that can show your exact position on the Earth anytime, in any weather, no matter where you are!

Development:
Like so many other high-tech developments, GPS was designed by the U. S. military. The concept started in the late '60s but the first satellite wasn't launched until February 1978. In 1989 the Magellan Corp. introduced the first hand-held GPS receiver. In 1992 GPS was used in Operation Desert Storm. On March 1996 the President decided to make GPS free for civilian users.
System Description:
GPS has three 'segments':

         1. The space segment now consists of 28 satellites, each in its own orbit about 11,000 nautical miles above the Earth.

         2. The user segment consists of receivers, which you can hold in your hand or mount in your car.

         3. The control segment consists of ground stations (five of them, located around the world) that make sure the satellites are working properly.

Civilian Use:
At first, the military did not want to let civilians use GPS, fearing that smugglers, terrorists, or hostile forces would use it. Finally, bowing to pressure from the companies that built the equipment, The Defense Department made GPS available for non-military purposes, with some restrictions. On May 1, 2000, President Clinton lifted the restrictions, and announced that the option to degrade civil GPS signals during emergencies would be phased out by 2010. The federal government is committed to providing GPS technology for peaceful uses on a worldwide basis, free of charge.

Is it possible to fry an egg on the sidewalk if it's hot enough?
Answer:    
    Yes, theoretically. But it doesn't actually get hot enough.

This question comes from the saying “It’s so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk!” How many kids, hearing it, actually try? Most likely they end up with a mess resembling scrambled eggs more than one sunny-side up. So what’s the problem?

An egg needs a temperature of 158°F to become firm. In order to cook, proteins in the egg must denature (modify), then coagulate, and that won’t happen until the temperature rises enough to start and maintain the process.

The sidewalk presents several challenges to this. According to an experiment reported in Robert Wolke’s book, What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained, sidewalk temperatures can vary depending on the composition of the sidewalk, whether it is in direct sunlight, and of course, the air temperature. Dark objects absorb more light, so blacktop paving would be hotter than concrete. More often than not, sidewalks are concrete. Wolke found that a hot sidewalk might only get up to 145°F. Once you crack the egg onto the sidewalk, the egg cools the sidewalk slightly. Pavement of any kind is a poor conductor of heat, so lacking an additional heat source from below or from the side, the egg will not cook evenly.

Something closer to the conditions of a frying pan would be the hood of a car. Metal conducts heat better and gets hotter, so people actually have been able to cook an egg on a car hood's surface.

Still, the idea of cooking an egg on a sidewalk won’t die. It is so intriguing that the city of Oatman, Arizona, hosts an annual Solar Egg Frying Contest on the 4th of July. Contestants get 15 minutes to make an attempt using solar (sun) power alone. Oatman judges, however, do allow some aids, such as mirrors, aluminum reflectors, or magnifying glasses, which would help to focus the heat onto the egg itself. It turns out that eggs also have a bit of an advantage in Arizona, the land of low humidity and high heat. Liquids evaporate rapidly when humidity is low. The eggs have a bit of “help” while they cook, and they dry out faster.

I bet you were wondering what is the origin of the saying? It’s not clear, although there is a reference to it in the Los Angeles Times on October 5, 1933, and even as far back as June 11, 1899, in The Atlanta Constitution--so the idea had captured the American imagination and become one of our common sayings by that time. And what about the other saying, “it’s so hot the chickens are laying hard-boiled eggs?” Well, what do you think?

How does sunscreen work?
Answer:    
    By combining organic and inorganic active     ingredients.

Sunscreen works by combining organic and inorganic active ingredients. Inorganic ingredients like zinc oxide or titanium oxide reflect or scatter ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Organic ingredients like octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC) or oxybenzone absorb UV radiation, dissipating it as heat. Some sunscreens protect us from the two types of damaging UV radiation: UV-A and UV-B. Both UV-A and UV-B cause sunburns and damaging effects such as skin cancer.

Ultraviolet radiation is broken into three types of wavelengths:

    * UV-A: This is the longest wavelength and is not absorbed by the ozone. It penetrates the skin deeper than UV-B.
    * UV-B: Responsible for sunburns. It is partially blocked by the ozone layer.
    * UV-C: This is totally absorbed by the earth's atmosphere; we encounter it only from artificial radiation sources.

Bottle of sunscreenWhen purchasing sunscreen, the Sun Protection Factor or SPF measures how effectively the sunscreen formula limits skin exposure to UV-B rays that burn the skin. The higher the SPF the more protection the sunscreen will provide against UV-B rays. SPF does not measure UV-A. If you are looking for UV-A protection, the experts recommend that you purchase a product that has broad-spectrum protection.

What is the smallest flower in the world?
Answer:    
    Water-meal, or Wolffia globosa.

Water-meal is one of the duckweeds in the family Lemnaceae that contains some 38 species of the smallest and simplest flowering plants. The plant itself averages 1/42” long and 1/85” wide or about the size of one candy sprinkle. It can weigh about 1/190,000 of an ounce, equivalent to two grains of table salt. They are very hard to see! Imagine if you tried to fill a thimble with them, it is estimated that you would need some 5000 plants!

Each Wolffia flower consists of a single pistil and stamen; it also produces the world’s smallest fruit, called a utricle. The plant is found in quiet freshwater lakes or marshes with species worldwide. Since the plants have no roots, they can easily float on the surface of the water, where they resemble cornmeal. Water-meal is sometimes used in cold-water aquaria since it is easy to propagate.

What is the largest flower in the world?
Answer:    
    The Rafflesia arnoldii.

The flower with the world's largest bloom is the Rafflesia arnoldii. This rare flower is found in the rainforests of Indonesia. It can grow to be 3 feet across and weigh up to 15 pounds! It is a parasitic plant, with no visible leaves, roots, or stem. It attaches itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. When in bloom, the Rafflesia emits a repulsive odor, similar to that of rotting meat. This odor attracts insects that pollinate the plant.

Another enormous flower found in Indonesia is the Amorphophallus titanum, or Titan arum. It is also known as the "corpse flower" for its unpleasant odor. Like the Rafflesia, the Titan emits the smell of rotting flesh to attract pollinators. Technically, the Titan arum is not a single flower. It is a cluster of many tiny flowers, called an inflorescence. The Titan arum has the largest unbranched inflorescence of all flowering plants. The plant can reach heights of 7 to 12 feet and weigh as much as 170 pounds!

Is a coconut a fruit, nut or seed?
Answer:    
    Botanically speaking, a coconut is a fibrous one-seeded drupe, also known as a dry drupe. However, when using loose definitions, the coconut can be all three: a fruit, a nut, and a seed.

Botanists love classification. However, classification of plants can be a complicated matter for the average person. Coconuts are classified as a fibrous one-seeded drupe. A drupe is a fruit with a hard stony covering enclosing the seed (like a peach or olive) and comes from the word drupa meaning overripe olive. A coconut, and all drupes, have three layers:  the exocarp (outer layer), the mesocarp (fleshy middle layer), and the endocarp (hard, woody layer that surrounds the seed).

The coconut we buy in the store does not resemble the coconut you find growing on a coconut palm. An untouched coconut has three layers. The outermost layer, which is typically smooth with a greenish color, is called the exocarp. The next layer is the fibrous husk, or mesocarp, which ultimately surrounds the hard woody layer called the endocarp. The endocarp surrounds the seed.  Generally speaking, when you buy a coconut at the supermarket the exocarp and the mesocarp are removed and what you see is the endocarp.

Some scientists like to refer to the coconut as a water dispersal fruit and seed. A seed is the reproductive unit of a flowering plant. From a reproductive point of view, a seed has the “baby” plant inside, with two basic parts: the embryo root (hypocotyl) and the embryo leaves (epicotyl). In the coconut’s case, if you look at one end of the coconut, you’ll see three pores (also called eyes). The coconut seed germinates and a shoot emerges from one of the pores. In addition to the “baby” plant in the seed, there is the food to kick off its life called the endosperm. The endosperm is what makes up most of the seed and, in the coconut’s case, is the yummy white stuff we eat.

The word coconut itself can also be confusing because the word “nut” is contained in the word. A nut can be defined as a one- seeded fruit. With that loose definition, a coconut can also be a nut. However, a coconut is not a true nut. A true nut, such as the acorn, are indehiscent or do not open at maturity to release its seeds. The seeds are released when the fruit wall decays or are digested by an animal.

Yet another interesting aspect of the coconut that has baffled scientists for over 200 years is where did it originate? Is it of Old World or New World origin? Scientists have used art, botany, entomology, etymology, folklore, fossils, genetics, and travel records to try to figure out where the coconut first appeared.

Odoardo Beccari, a renowned palm specialist from the early 20th century, suggests that the coconut is of Old World origin and more than likely came from the Indian Archipelago or Polynesia.  To strengthen his argument, there are more varieties of coconut palms in the Eastern hemisphere than in the Americas.

However, some scientists (O.F. Cook , H.B. Guppy, K.F.P. von Martius,) argue that the coconut is of New World origins, having migrated westward across the Pacific.

Interesting Coconut Facts

    * Every bit of the coconut is used. As a result, coconuts are called the “Tree of Life” and can produce drink, fiber, food, fuel, utensils, musical instruments, and much more.

    * When intra-venous (IV) solution was in short supply, doctors during World War II and Vietnam used coconut water in substitution of IV solutions.

    * Botanically, the coconut palm is not a tree since there is no bark, no branches, or secondary growth. A coconut palm is a woody perennial monocotyledon with the trunk being the stem.

    * Possibly the oldest reference is from Cosmas, a 5th century AD Egyptian traveler. He wrote about the “Indian nut” or “nut of India” after visiting India and Ceylon, Some scholars believe Cosmas was describing a coconut.

    * Soleyman, an Arab merchant, visited China in the 9th century and describes the use of coir fiber and toddy made from coconuts.

    * In 16th century, Sir Francis Drake called coconut “nargils”, which was the common term used until the 1700’s when the word coconut was established.

    * It takes 11 -12 months for the coconut to mature.

    * At one time scientists identified over 60 species of Cocos palm.  Today, the coconut is a monotypic with one species, nucifera. However, there are over 80 varieties of coconut palms, which are defined by characteristics such as dwarf and tall.

    * Coconut growing regions are as far north as Hawaii and as far south as Madagascar.

Why does hair turn gray?
Answer:    
    It is well known that gray hair results from a reduction of pigment, while white hair has no pigment, but why this happens remains somewhat of a mystery.

Parents often cite having teenagers as the cause of gray hair. This is a good theory, but scientists continue to investigate why hair turns gray. In time, everyone’s hair turns gray. Your chance of going gray increases 10-20% every decade after 30 years.

Initially, hair is white. It gets its natural color from a type of pigment called melanin. The formation of melanin begins before birth. The natural color of our hair depends upon the distribution, type and amount of melanin in the middle layer of the hair shaft or cortex.

Hair has only two types of pigments: dark (eumelanin) and light (phaeomelanin). They blend together to make up the wide range of hair colors.

Melanin is made up of specialized pigment cells called melanocytes. They position themselves at the openings on the skin’s surface through which hair grows (follicles). Each hair grows from a single follicle.

The process of hair growth has three phases:

    * Anagen: This is the active growth stage of the hair fiber and can last from 2- 7 years. At any given moment 80-85% of our hair is in the anagen phase.

    * Catagen: Sometimes referred to as the transitional phase, which is when hair growth begins to “shut down” and stop activity. It generally lasts 10- 20 days.

    * Telogen: This occurs when hair growth is completely at rest and the hair fiber falls out. At any given time, 10-15 % of our hair is in the telogen phase, which generally lasts 100 days for scalp hair. After the telogen phase, the hair growth process starts over again to the anagen phase.

As the hair is being formed, melanocytes inject pigment (melanin) into cells containing keratin. Keratin is the protein that makes up our hair, skin, and nails. Throughout the years, melanocyctes continue to inject pigment into the hair’s keratin, giving it a colorful hue.

With age comes a reduction of melanin. The hair turns gray and eventually white.

So why does our hair turn gray or white?

Dr. Desmond Tobin, professor of cell biology from the University of Bradford in England, suggests that the hair follicle has a “melanogentic clock” which slows down or stops melanocyte activity, thus decreasing the pigment our hair receives. This occurs just before the hair is preparing to fall out or shed, so the roots always look pale.

Moreover, Dr. Tobin suggests that hair turns gray because of age and genetics, in that genes regulate the exhaustion of the pigmentary potential of each individual hair follicle. This occurs at different rates in different hair follicles. For some people it occurs rapidly, while in others it occurs slowly over several decades.

In a February 2005 Science article (Nishimura, et al.) Harvard scientists proposed that a failure of melanocyte stem cells (MSC) to maintain the production of melanocytes could cause the graying of hair. This failure of MSC maintenance may result in the breakdown of signals that produce hair color.

There are other factors that can change the pigmentation of hair, making it lighter or darker. Scientists have divided them by intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) factors:

Intrinsic factors:

    * Genetic defects
    * Hormones
    * Body distribution
    * Age

	

Extrinsic factors:

    * Climate
    * Pollutants
    * Toxins
    * Chemical exposure

Hair-raising facts:

    * An average scalp has 100,000-150,000 hairs.

    * Hair is so strong that each hair can withstand the strain of 100 grams (3.5 ounces). An average head of hair could hold 10-15 tons if only the scalp was strong enough!

    * Human hair grows autonomously, that is each hair is on its own individual cycle. If all our hair were on the same cycle, we would molt!

    * Hair has the highest rate of mitosis (cell division). An average hair grows 0.3 mm a day and 1 cm per month.

Why do fingers and toes wrinkle in the bathtub?
Answer:    
    The outermost layer of the skin swells when it absorbs water. It is tightly attached to the skin underneath, so it compensates for the increased area by wrinkling. However, new research is investigating the role of digital vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels) of water immersion wrinkling of the skin.

There are various theories of why fingers and toes wrinkle in water. Most biologists suggest that the tough outer layer of skin made up of dead keratin cells is responsible. Keratin is a protein found in hair, nails, and the outermost layer of our skin.

Our skin is made up of three layers:

    * The subcutaneous tissue is the deepest layer. It contains fats and connective tissue along with large blood vessels and nerves.
    * The dermis is the middle layer. It contains the blood vessels, nerves, hair roots, and sweat glands.
    * The epidermis is the topmost layer. It helps to prevent evaporation of water from the body and to protect the internal layers from harm.

The epidermis is made up of four layers:

    * the stratum corneum
    * granular layer
    * squamous cell layer
    * and basal cell layer

The stratum corneum is the outer layer of our skin - the part that we can see and feel. This is the layer with the dead keratin cells.

While a person is in the pool or a bathtub for a long time, the dead keratin cells absorb water. This absorption causes the surface area of the skin to swell, but the outer layer is tightly attached to the living tissue. So, to compensate for the increased surface area, our skin wrinkles.

So why does this happen to hands and feet and not to other parts of the body? Because the hands and feet have the thickest layer of dead keratin cells. Our hands and feet are subjected to a lot of wear and tear. Imagine if the palm of our hands had skin as thin as that on our backs. No fun playing basketball with skin that thin!

Scientists continue to look for the exact mechanisms of why our fingers and toes wrinkle when immersed in water (Wilder-Smith et al, Hsieh et al). One theory gaining recognition is the role of digital vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels). When hands are immersed in water it seems that the nerve fibers are triggered to “shrink” and glomus bodies (body temperature regulators in the skin) in the hand lose volume, which then pulls the skin structures downwards to produce wrinkling. Studies on patients with loss of nerve function in their hands due to a disorder or replantation of amputated fingers exhibit no or slight wrinkling in the fingers when immersed in water (Hsieh et al). As the nerve functions return, so did the wrinkling.

What is the strongest muscle in the human body?
Answer:    
    There is no one answer for this question since there are different ways to measure strength. There is absolute strength (maximum force),
dynamic strength (repeated motions), elastic strength (exert force quickly), and strength endurance (withstand fatigue).

There are three types of muscles in the human body: cardiac, smooth and skeletal.

Cardiac muscle makes up the wall of the heart and is responsible for the forceful contraction of the heart. Smooth muscles make up the walls of the intestine, the uterus, blood vessels, and internal muscles of the eye. Skeletal muscles are attached to the bones and in some areas the skin (muscles in our face). Contraction of the skeletal muscles helps limbs and other body parts move.

Most sources state that there are over 650 named skeletal muscles in the human body, although some figures go up to as many as 840. The dissension comes from those that count the muscles within a complex muscle. For example the biceps brachii is a complex muscle that has two heads and two different origins however, they insert on the radial tuberosity. Do you count this as one muscle or two?

Although most individuals have the same general set of muscles, there is some variability from one person to another. Generally, smooth muscles are not included with this total since most of these muscles are at cellular level and number in the billions. In terms of a cardiac muscle, we only have one of those- the heart.

Muscles are given Latin names according to location, relative size, shape, action, origin/insertion, and/or number of origins. For example the flexor hallicis longus muscle is the long muscle that bends the big toe:

    * Flexor = A muscle that flexes a joint
    * Hallicis = great toe
    * Longus = Long

The following are muscles that have been deemed the strongest based on various definitions of strength (listed in alphabetical order):

External Muscles of the Eye
The muscles of the eye are constantly moving to readjust the positions of the eye. When the head is in motion, the external muscles are constantly adjusting the position of the eye to maintain a steady fixation point. However, the external muscles of the eye are subject to fatigue. In an hour of reading a book the eyes make nearly 10,000 coordinated movements.

Gluteus Maximus
The gluteus maximus is the largest muscle in the human body. It is large and powerful because it has the job of keeping the trunk of the body in an erect posture. It is the chief antigravity muscle that aids in walking up stairs.

Heart
The hardest working muscle is the heart. It pumps out 2 ounces (71 grams) of blood at every heartbeat. Daily the heart pumps at least 2,500 gallons (9,450 liters) of blood. The heart has the ability to beat over 3 billion times in a person’s life.

Masseter
The strongest muscle based on its weight is the masseter. With all muscles of the jaw working together it can close the teeth with a force as great as 55 pounds (25 kilograms) on the incisors or 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) on the molars.

Muscles of the Uterus
The uterus sits in the lower pelvic region. Its muscles are deemed strong because they contract to push a baby through the birth canal. The pituitary gland secretes the hormone oxytocin, which stimulates the contractions.

Soleus
The muscle that can pull with the greatest force is the soleus. It is found below the gastrocnemius (calf muscle). The soleus is very important for walking, running, and dancing. It is considered a very powerful muscle along with calf muscles because it pulls against the force of gravity to keep the body upright. This muscle keeps an individual from falling backwards.

Tongue
The tongue is a tough worker. It is made up of groups of muscles and like the heart it is always working. It helps in the mixing process of foods. It binds and contorts itself to form letters. The tongue contains linguinal tonsils that filter out germs. Even when a person sleeps, the tongue is constantly pushing saliva down the throat.

What causes the noise when you crack a joint?
Answer:    
    Escaping gases, movement and rough surfaces.

Your joints can make a variety of sounds: popping, cracking, grinding, and snapping. The joints that "crack" are the knuckles, knees, ankles, back, and neck. There are different reasons why these joints "sound off".

    * Escaping gases: Scientists explain that synovial fluid present in your joints acts as a lubricant. The fluid contains the gases oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. When you pop or crack a joint, you stretch the joint capsule. Gas is rapidly released, which forms bubbles. In order to crack the same knuckle again, you have to wait until the gases return to the synovial fluid.
    * Movement of joints, tendons and ligaments: When a joint moves, the tendon’s position changes and moves slightly out of place. You may hear a snapping sound as the tendon returns to its original position. In addition, your ligaments may tighten as you move your joints. This commonly occurs in your knee or ankle, and can make a cracking sound.
    * Rough surfaces: Arthritic joints make sounds caused by the loss of smooth cartilage and the roughness of the joint surface.

Is joint cracking harmful? If you are feeling pain when your joints pop, than you should seek a health care professional. In terms of knuckle cracking, some studies show that knuckle cracking does not cause serious harm. Other studies show that repetitive knuckle cracking can do some damage to the soft tissue of the joint. It may also lead to a weak grip and a swelling hand.

What are stem cells?
Answer:    
    Stem cells are the cells that have an ability to become various types of cells. They are present both during embryonic development (embryonic stem cells) and in the adult body (adult stem cells).

Stem cells have unique properties that other cells do not have. 

First, to understand what stem cells are, you need to understand how humans and other mammals develop:

1. Sperm fertilizes an egg and forms a single cell called a zygote.

2. The zygote undergoes a process known as mitosis, in which it replicates its chromosomes (which carry each parent’s DNA) and then divides, resulting in two identical cells. These cells are called totipotent and have the ability to develop into a new organism. The zygote repeats the process of mitosis for about 5 or 6 days creating a small ball of a few hundred cells called a blastocyst.

3. The blastocyst has an outer-layer of cells called the trophoblast, which will eventually form the protective placenta. Inside the trophoblast is a group of cells called the inner cell mass. The organism in a stage between zygote to fetus is called an embryo* and the cells are called embryonic stem cells.

At this point embryonic stem cells have the ability to become a cell for any part of the body (nerve, muscle, blood, etc.). This ability to become any type of cell in the body is called pluripotent. The difference between totipotent and pluripotent cells is only that totipotent cells can give rise to both the placenta and the embryo.

4. As the embryo grows these pluripotent cells develop into specialized, multipotent stem cells. Multipotent stem cells have the ability to develop specific types of cells (terminally differentiated cells). For example a blood stem cell (multipotent) can develop into a red blood cell, white blood cell or platelets (all specialized cells). There are multipotent stem cells for all of the different types of tissue in the body.

*Embryo: the embryo of mammals is defined as the stage of organism between the first division of zygote and the time it becomes a fetus through further development. For humans, the embryo is defined as the implantation of fertilized egg in the uterus through the eighth week of its development. The embryo will be called a fetus after the eighth week until birth.

Stem Cells are different from other cells because:

1. They can continue to divide for long periods of time: Most cells such as skin cells cannot replicate themselves after a certain period of time. Stem cells are self-sustaining by replicating themselves for a much longer period of time.

2. They are unspecialized: Specialized cells have specific capabilities that allow them to perform certain tasks. For example a red blood cell contains hemoglobin that allows it to carry oxygen. Stem cells have unspecialized capability and do not have tissue- specific structures to perform specialized functions.

3. They can give rise to specialized cells: Stem cells go through a process called differentiation and create special types of cells (muscle, nerve, skin, etc.).

Embryonic stem cells
Embryonic stem cells are the cells within the protective layer of the blastocyst. They are pluripotent, which means they can develop into any of the cells of the adult body. Researchers believe that, because they are pluripotent, and easy to grow, they have the best potential for replacing damaged or lost tissue or body parts.

Adult stem cells
Also known as progenitor cells or somatic stem cells, adult stem cells are located, in small quantities, throughout the body and generate specialized cells for the area they are located. These cells do not renew themselves as well as embryonic stem cells. Still, if these cells are put in a different environment, they may produce a different type of cells from the originating cell.

Stem cell research is an active area of inquiry and scientists are discovering new characteristics of stem cells every day. For example, recent research indicated that multipotent stem cells from one type of tissue (blood) might actually have the ability to generate cells for a different type of tissue (nerve).

Scientists are continuing to search for new sources of adult stem cells. Some of the locations where stem cells have been located include: bone marrow, skin, liver, blood, and the brain. Some adult stem cells, which have already been used to treat illnesses, include hematopoietic stem cells and umbilical cord blood stem cells.

Hematopoietic stem cells are located in the bone marrow and form blood cells. They have been successfully used to treat blood disorders for younger patients. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are located in the blood of the umbilical cord after birth. Umbilical cord stem cells are similar to hematopeitetic stem cells in adults, but they are less mature and have much more potential to differentiate into various types of cells.

Does your heart stop when you sneeze?
Answer:    
    No, your heart does not stop when you sneeze.

A sneeze begins with a tickling sensation in the nerve endings that sends a message to your brain that it needs to rid itself of something irritating the lining of your nose. You first take a deep breath and hold it, which tightens your chest muscles.  The pressure of air in your lungs increases, you close your eyes, your tongue presses against the roof of your mouth and suddenly your breath comes out fast through your nose.

So where did the myth originate that your heart stops when you sneeze?  The changing pressure in your chest due to sneezing also changes your blood flow, which may change the rhythm of your heartbeat. Dr. Richard Conti, past president of the American College of Cardiology, speculates that the belief that the heart actually comes to a stop during a sneeze could result from the sensation of having the heart "skip a beat." When there is a prolonged delay before the heart's next beat, he said, that beat is then more forceful and more noticeable, perhaps as a funny sensation in the throat or upper chest (Ray, 1992).

Why do people say, “God bless you,” after someone sneezes?

There are varying accounts as to the origin of this response.  One belief is that it originated in Rome when the bubonic plague was raging through Europe.  One of the symptoms of the plague was coughing and sneezing, and it is believed that Pope Gregory VII suggested saying “God bless you” after a person sneezed in hopes that this prayer would protect them from an otherwise certain death.

The expression may have also originated from superstition.  Some people believe that the custom of asking for God’s blessing began when ancient man thought that the soul was in the form of air and resided in the body’s head.  A sneeze, therefore, might accidentally expel the spirit from the body unless God blessed you and prevented this from occurring.  Some ancient cultures also thought that sneezing forced evil spirits out of the body endangering others because these spirits might now enter their bodies.  The blessing was bestowed to protect both the person sneezed and others around him.

Sneeze responses from around the world:

English – “Bless you” or “God bless you”
German – “Gesundheit”
Greeks and Romans – “Banish the Omen”
Hindu – “Live” and responds “With you”
Zulu – “I am now blessed”

Interesting facts:

    * Sneezes are an automatic reflex that can’t be stopped once sneezing starts.

    * Sneezes can travel at a speed of 100 miles per hour and the wet spray can radiate five feet.

    * People don’t sneeze when they are asleep because the nerves involved in nerve reflex are also resting.

    * Between 18 and 35% of the population sneezes when exposed to sudden bright light.

    * Some people sneeze when plucking their eyebrows because the nerve endings in the face are irritated and then fire an impulse that reaches the nasal nerve.

    * Donna Griffiths from Worcestershire, England sneezed for 978 days, sneezing once every minute at the beginning. This is the longest sneezing episode on record.

What does it mean when they say the universe is expanding?
Answer:    
    When scientists talk about the expanding universe, they mean that it has been growing ever since its beginning with the Big Bang.

The galaxies outside of our own are moving away from us, and the ones that are farthest away are moving the fastest. This means that no matter what galaxy you happen to be in, all the other galaxies are moving away from you.

However, the galaxies are not moving through space, they are moving in space, because space is also moving. In other words, the universe has no center; everything is moving away from everything else. If you imagine a grid of space with a galaxy every million light years or so, after enough time passes this grid will stretch out so that the galaxies are spread to every two million light years, and so on, possibly into infinity.

The universe encompasses everything in existence, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy; since forming some 13.7 billion years ago in the Big Bang, it has been expanding and may be infinite in its scope. The part of the universe of which we have knowledge is called the observable universe, the region around Earth from which light has had time to reach us.

One famous analogy to explain the expanding universe is imagining the universe like a loaf of raisin bread dough. As the bread rises and expands, the raisins move farther away from each other, but they are still stuck in the dough. In the case of the universe, there may be raisins out there that we can’t see any more because they have moved away so fast that their light has never reached Earth. Fortunately, gravity is in control of things at the local level and keeps our raisins together.

Who Figured This Out?

The American astronomer Edwin Hubble made the observations in 1925 and was the first to prove that the universe is expanding. He proved that there is a direct relationship between the speeds of distant galaxies and their distances from Earth. This is now known as Hubble’s Law. The Hubble Space Telescope was named after him, and the single number that describes the rate of the cosmic expansion, relating the apparent recession velocities of external galaxies to their distance, is called the Hubble Constant.

So, is the Universe Infinite?

It might be easier to explain about the beginning of the universe and the Big Bang Theory, than to talk about how it will end. It is possible that the universe will last forever, or it may be crushed out of existence in a reverse of the Big Bang scenario, but that would be so far in the future that it might as well be infinite. Until recently, cosmologists (the scientists who study the universe) assumed that the rate of the universe’s expansion was slowing because of the effects of gravity. However, current research indicates that the universe may expand to eternity. But research continues and new studies of supernovae in remote galaxies and a force called dark energy may modify the possible fates of the universe.

What are the northern lights?
Answer:    
    The northern lights, one of several astronomical phenomena called polar lights (aurora polaris), are shafts or curtains of colored light visible on occasion in the night sky.

Polar lights (aurora polaris) are a natural phenomenon found in both the northern and southern hemispheres that can be truly awe inspiring. Northern lights are also called by their scientific name, aurora borealis, and southern lights are called aurora australis.

Sten Odenwald, author of The 23rd cycle, learning to live with a stormy star (New York, Columbia University Press, c2001), provides insight to how northern lights are formed:

The origin of the aurora begins on the surface of the sun when solar activity ejects a cloud of gas. Scientists call this a coronal mass ejection (CME). If one of these reaches earth, taking about 2 to 3 days, it collides with the Earth’s magnetic field. This field is invisible, and if you could see its shape, it would make Earth look like a comet with a long magnetic ‘tail’ stretching a million miles behind Earth in the opposite direction of the sun.

When a coronal mass ejection collides with the magnetic field, it causes complex changes to happen to the magnetic tail region. These changes generate currents of charged particles, which then flow along lines of magnetic force into the Polar Regions. These particles are boosted in energy in Earth’s upper atmosphere, and when they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms, they produce dazzling auroral light.

Odenwald further tells us "Aurora are beautiful, but the invisible flows of particles and magnetism that go on at the same time can damage our electrical power grid and satellites operating in space. This is why scientists are so keen to understand the physics of aurora and solar storms, so we can predict when our technologies may be affected."

Can I see them anywhere?
Yes. Although more frequent at higher latitudes, closer to the poles (such as in Canada, Alaska, Antarctica), they have been seen closer to the equator as far south as Mexico. To view them, look in the direction of the closest pole (the northern horizon in the northern hemisphere, the southern horizon in the southern hemisphere).

Can I see them at any time of the year?
Yes. In some areas, such as Alaska or Greenland, they may be visible most nights of the year. And they occur at any time of the day, but we can’t see them with the naked eye unless it’s dark.

What causes the colors and patterns?
Colors and patterns are from the types of ions or atoms being energized as they collide with the atmosphere and are affected by lines of magnetic force. Displays may take many forms, including rippling curtains, pulsating globs, traveling pulses, or steady glows. Altitude affects the colors. Blue violet/reds occur below 60 miles (100 km), with bright green strongest between 60-150 miles (100-240 km). Above 150 miles (240 km) ruby reds appear.

Fun Facts about northern lights:

    * The name “Aurora Borealis” is credited to Galileo Galilei (1616) and means “northern dawn.”
    * Auroras have been observed since ancient times.
    * The height of the displays can occur up to 1000 km (620 miles), although most are between 80-120 km.
    * Auroras tend to be more frequent and spectacular during high solar sunspot activity, which cycles over approximately eleven years.
    * Some displays are particularly spectacular and widespread and have been highlighted in news accounts. Examples include auroral storms of August-September, 1859, Feb 11, 1958, (lights 1250 miles wide circled the Arctic from Oregon to New Hampshire) and March 13, 1989, (the whole sky turned a vivid red and the aurora was seen in Europe and North America as far south as Cuba).
    * Legends abound in northern cultures to explain the northern lights. Some North American Inuit call the aurora aqsarniit (“football players”) and say the spirits of the dead are playing football with the head of a walrus. Often legends warn children that the lights might come down and snatch them away.
    * June 1896, Norwegian Kristian Birkeland, the “father of modern auroral science,” suggested the theory that electrons from sunspots triggered auroras.
    * Yellowknife (Northwest Territories, Canada) is the capital for aurora tourism.
    * The earliest known account of northern lights appears to be from a Babylonian clay tablet from observations made by the official astronomers of King Nebuchadnezzar II, 568/567 BC.
    * Some people claim to hear noises associated with the northern lights, but documenting this phenomenon has been difficult.

Why is it hot in summer and cold in winter?
Answer:    
    Because the earth's axis is tilted.

It is all about the tilt of the Earth's axis. Many people believe that the temperature changes because the Earth is closer to the sun in summer and farther from the sun in winter. In fact, the Earth is farthest from the sun in July and is closest to the sun in January! The Earth's movement around the sun causes the seasons, but it does not affect the temperatures during the seasons.

During the summer, the sun's rays hit the Earth at a steep angle. The light does not spread out as much, thus increasing the amount of energy hitting any given spot. Also, the long daylight hours allow the Earth plenty of time to reach warm temperatures.

During the winter, the sun's rays hit the Earth at a shallow angle. These rays are more spread out, which minimizes the amount of energy that hits any given spot. Also, the long nights and short days prevent the Earth from warming up. Thus, we have winter!

Why do turkeys have dark and white meat?
Answer:    
     In a turkey the active muscles such as the legs store a lot of oxygen and become dark, while less active muscles like the breast remain white.

Turkeys can fly short distances -- typically from ground to perch -- but they are not known for their sustained flighing abilities. They rely on their legs to get them around. The active muscles, such as the legs and thighs, are full of blood vessels. These blood vessels contain myoglobin (or muscle hemoglobin), which delivers oxygen to the muscles. The more myoglobin the muscles contain, the darker the muscle.

Scientists often refer to these active muscles as slow-twitch fibers. Slow-twitch fibers are built for endurance, which allows the muscles to work for long periods of time. Thus the turkey can run around all day without getting tired.

On the other hand, white meat is the result of well-rested muscles. The breast muscles, which are used for flying, are hardly used by turkeys. There is no need to have a rich supply of oxygen delivered to these muscles. Scientists refer to these types of muscles as fast-twitch fibers. Fast-twitch fibers are designed for quick bursts of energy, but they fatigue quickly. In addition, fast twitch muscles are fueled by glycogen (carbohydrate stored in body tissues) giving the muscles that immediate explosion of energy needed to move rapidly.

Why does pepper make you sneeze?
Answer:    
    Because the chemical piperine, an irritant, gets into the nose.

A sneeze is a reflex that is triggered when nerve endings inside the mucous membrane of the nose are stimulated.

Pepper, be it white, black, or green, contains an alkaloid of pyridine called piperine. Piperine acts as an irritant if it gets into the nose. It stimulates (or irritates) the nerve endings inside the mucous membrane. This stimulation will cause you to sneeze. Actually, the nose wants to kick out this irritant and the only way it knows how to do this is by sneezing."

Did you know ...

    * Sneezing is called sternutation.
    * When you sneeze air rushes out your nose at a rate of 100 miles per hour!
    * There are an estimated 5 million scent receptors in the human nose.
    * Our noses produce an estimated one to two pints of mucus a day.


Pepper facts:

    * Known as the "king of spices" because it is one of the oldest and most popular spices in the world.
    * Pepper was so valuable that in ancient Greece and Rome it was used as currency.
    * It is believed that when the Goths defeated Rome in 410, they demanded a ransom of 3,000 pounds of pepper, along with other valuables such as silk.
    * During the middle ages, peppercorns were accepted in lieu of money for dowries, rent and taxes.
    * During the 19th century, Salem, Massachusetts played an important role in the world pepper trade and made some of America's first millionaires.

 How did the grapefruit get its name? It doesn't look like a grape.
Answer:    
    It is believed that the name refers to the manner in which grapefruit grows in clusters on a tree.

Most botanists agree that the grapefruit is a cross between a Pummelo (see http://pas.byu.edu/pas100/pummelo.htm) and a sweet orange (see http://www.floridata.com/ref/C/citr_sin.cfm.)
Grapefruit, like all citrus fruit, is a Hesperidum, or a large modified berry with a thick rind.

If you see grapefruit growing on a tree, you will notice that they grow in clusters. It is suggested that these clusters resemble the shape of large yellow grapes and so the fruit was called a grapefruit. Another explanation is that the premature grapefruit looks similar in shape to unripe green grapes.

Why does chopping an onion make you cry?
Answer:    
    Unstable chemicals.

Onions produce the chemical irritant known as syn-propanethial-S-oxide. It stimulates the eyes' lachrymal glands so they release tears. Scientists used to blame the enzyme allinase for the instability of substances in a cut onion. Recent studies from Japan, however, proved that lachrymatory-factor synthase, (a previously undiscovered enzyme) is the culprit (Imani et al, 2002).

The process goes as follows:

   1. Lachrymatory-factor synthase is released into the air when we cut an onion.
   2. The synthase enzyme converts the sulfoxides (amino acids) of the onion into sulfenic acid.
   3. The unstable sulfenic acid rearranges itself into syn-ropanethial-S-oxide.
   4. Syn-propanethial-S-oxide gets into the air and comes in contact with our eyes. The lachrymal glands become irritated and produces the tears!

What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?
Answer:    
    Although yams and sweet potatoes are both angiosperms (flowering plants), they are not related botanically. Yams are a monocot (a plant having one embryonic seed leaf) and from the Dioscoreaceae or Yam family. Sweet Potatoes, often called ‘yams’, are a dicot (a plant having two embryonic seed leaves) and are from the Convolvulacea or morning glory family.

Yams
Yams are closely related to lilies and grasses. Native to Africa and Asia, yams vary in size from that of a small potato to a record 130 pounds (as of 1999). There are over 600 varieties of yams and 95% of these crops are grown in Africa. Compared to sweet potatoes, yams are starchier and drier.

Sweet Potatoes
The many varieties of sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) are members of the morning glory family, Convolvulacea. The skin color can range from white to yellow, red, purple or brown. The flesh also ranges in color from white to yellow, orange, or orange-red. Sweet potato varieties are classified as either ‘firm’ or ‘soft’. When cooked, those in the ‘firm’ category remain firm, while ‘soft’ varieties become soft and moist. It is the ‘soft’ varieties that are often labeled as yams in the United States.

Why the confusion?
In the United States, firm varieties of sweet potatoes were produced before soft varieties. When soft varieties were first grown commercially, there was a need to differentiate between the two. African slaves had already been calling the ‘soft’ sweet potatoes ‘yams’ because they resembled the yams in Africa. Thus, ‘soft’ sweet potatoes were referred to as ‘yams’ to distinguish them from the ‘firm’ varieties.

Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires labels with the term ‘yam’ to be accompanied by the term ‘sweet potato.’ Unless you specifically search for yams, which are usually found in an international market, you are probably eating sweet potatoes!

How did the squash get its name?
Answer:    
    "Squash" comes from the Narragansett Native American word askutasquash, which means "eaten
raw or uncooked."

Squashes are one of the oldest known crops--10,000 years by some estimates of sites in Mexico. Since squashes are gourds, they most likely served as containers or utensils because of their hard shells. The seeds and flesh later became an important part of the pre-Columbian Indian diet in both South and North America. De Soto, Coronado, and Cartier all saw “melons” (probably squash) in the Americas.

Northeastern Native American tribes grew pumpkins, yellow crooknecks, patty pans, Boston marrows (perhaps the oldest squash in America still sold), and turbans. Southern tribes raised winter crooknecks, cushaws, and green and white striped sweet potato squashes. Native Americans roasted or boiled the squashes and pumpkins and preserved the flesh as conserves in syrup. They also ate the young shoots, leaves, flowers, and seeds.

Virginia and New England settlers were not very impressed by the Indians’ squash until they had to survive the harsh winter, at which point they adopted squash and pumpkins as staples. Squashes were baked, cut and moistened with animal fat, maple syrup, and honey.

Squashes come in many different shapes and colors including tan, orange, and blue. There are many kinds of squashes, all part of the genus Cucurbita (Family Cucurbitaceae). The terms pumpkin, winter squash, and summer squash have been applied to fruits of different species.

    * Cucurbita maxima (round, thick stems) are winter squash (buttercup, Hubbard, turban, winter pumpkins). Usually larger fruit with hard seeds, they ripen in the fall. We have to peel them. They can be stored for several months.
    * C. moschata (round stems) are also winter squash such as butternuts, musky winter squash, and the cushaw.
    * C. pepo (pentagonal, prickly stem) are summer squash: zucchini (Italian for sweetest), marrow, courgette (French), yellow squash, ornamental gourds, crookneck, spaghetti squash, and summer pumpkins. Usually soft edible shell and seeds, they ripen in summer and need to be eaten soon after harvest.

Fun Facts about Squash:

    * For pie, Pilgrims first hollowed out a pumpkin, filled it with apples, sugar, spices and milk, then put the stem back on and baked.
    * One of the first published recipes for pumpkin pie (Pompkin Pudding) was in Amelia Simmons’ 1796 cookbook, American cookery. This the first cookbook to be written by an American and published in the United States <http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/tri054.html>
    * An average pumpkin weighs 10-20 pounds, though the Atlantic Giant variety can weigh 400-600 pounds, enough for perhaps 300 pies!
    * Presidents Washington and Jefferson grew squash in their gardens.
    * The Hubbard squash was formally introduced to American gardens by James J. H. Gregory (1857) from Marblehead, Massachusetts. He became an authority on squashes, publishing in 1893, Squashes: how to grow them.
    * Squashes are a good source of minerals, carotenes and vitamin A, with moderate quantities of vitamins B and C. Summer squash is high in water content, thus low in calories.

And why is the game also called squash? It used to be called "Rackets" and a “squashy" soft ball constructed of thin rubber was used. It had a number of holes that caused the ball to collapse when hit hard.