Utne magazine, Jan./Feb. 2005

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Mysteries of the Universe Revealed

The staff at the trivia magazine mental_floss (Nov./Dec. 2004) have unearthed answers to "The 25 Most Important Questions in the History of the Universe." A number of these soon-to-be classic conundrums caught our eye: "Which came first, the can opener or the can?" "Why can't you tickle yourself?" "Why does Hawaii have Interstate highways?" And finally the answer to the oldest conundrum of all—"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"—was worth the subscription price. While a woodchuck can't actually chuck wood, one scientist calculated that given how well a woodchuck chucks dirt, it could chuck 700 pounds of wood if it could.

Copyright © 2005 Utne Publishing Co., Inc.