BIG QUESTIONS

Why Do So Many Countries End in "-stan"?

Who put the bomp in the bomp bah bomp bah bomp? Who put the -stan in Afghanistan? I don’t know about the former, but we can thank the Proto-Indo-Europeans for the latter.

What's the Song That Clock Chimes Play?

Readers Meg, Wayne, and Rajiv all wrote in to ask about the tune that clock chimes typically play. What’s it called? Where did it come from? How’d it get so popular? Here’s the story.http://youtu.be/2mfBkd7MAdMIn 1793, a new clock was installed at St Mary

Why Does Bad Weather Aggravate Old Injuries?

Reader Jen wrote in to ask, “Why do old injuries ache during crummy ache during crummy weather?" The idea that certain aches and pains correspond with, and can even predict, the weather is widespread, and has been around since at least the days of ancient

What Are "Dibs"?

Everyone wants dibs (such as “I’ve got dibs on that last piece of pizza!”) but do we know what they are or why we call them? Chances are you first started calling dibs back when you were a kid on the playground. Coincidentally, the playground is exactly

How Secure Are Electronic Voting Machines?

It’s not that the machines have slight security glitches. It’s more that they’re almost comically hacker-friendly. Take the touchscreen Diebold Accuvote system. In 2012, nearly one-quarter of Americans are expected to use them to cast ballots. But the mac

Why Do Moths Eat Clothes?

They don’t, technically. It’s actually their larvae, or caterpillars, that eat clothes, not the adult moths.It’s only a relatively small group of moths, the family Tineidae, that have any interest in your clothing. Throughout much of the US, you’ll only f

Why Do Crabs and Lobsters Turn Red When You Cook Them?

While they might be bright red when they hit your dinner plate, crabs and lobsters are usually brown, olive-green or gray when alive and in the wild (at least in the mid-Atlantic U.S.; crustaceans farther south come in a variety of vibrant colors).

Why Are Dalmatians Linked to Firefighting?

Sure, his coloring makes him look good against a red background, but it turns out that in the early days of firefighting, the Dalmatian served an important

Why Can't You Remember Being a Baby?

There are probably blackout periods you can’t remember at all from your childhood, and the memories you do have are likely hazy and garbled. Although pretty much everyone experiences this phenomenon known as childhood amnesia, its causes are still somewha

How Does Aspirin Help During a Heart Attack?

The heart is the most important muscle in the body, so it seems like something of a marketing ploy by the folks at Bayer to suggest that something so simple as a humble aspirin tablet can be of any use when this life-sustaining organ goes into epic fail m

How Did the Chicken Cross the Ocean?

At some point in the last few thousand years, someone in India or Southeast Asia decided to try catching one of the wild fowl than ran through the jungles and roosted up in the trees. We don’t know exactly what that person was intending, but the bird prob

Why Can't You Start Your Own Post Office?

As more and more Americans embrace email and other communication technologies, the U.S. Postal Service has absorbed the hit. The agency lost an estimated $10 billion in 2011 and expects to top that this year, leaving many analysts to wonder how long it ca

Does Peeing on a Jellyfish Sting Actually Help?

Whatever the variables, a sting is never exactly pleasant. Urine is often no good. Sure, urine contains salts, but it's just too variable.

Does Wedding Rice Really Make Birds Explode?

Throwing rice at a newly married couple has been a tradition for thousands of years, possibly going back as far as the ancient Assyrians and Egyptians. Are birds suffering from our holy matrimonies?

What Is a Blue Moon, and How Rare Is It?

Stockbyte/John FoxxBefore Curiosity landed on Mars, the main topic of discussion among amateur astronomers was the blue Moon that is scheduled to make an appearance on August 31. The widely accepted definition of a blue Moon is a full Moon that appears tw

What Causes Eye Floaters?

Eye floaters—or 'muscae volitantes,' Latin for 'hovering flies'—are those tiny, oddly shaped objects that sometimes appear in your vision, most often when you’re looking at the sky on a sunny day.

Why is There a Pyramid Atop the Washington Monument?

The pyramid was supposed to serve as a lightning rod, and since Frishmuth had already done some plating work for the monument, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called on him to fashion the topper as well.

Who Wrote "Happy Birthday to You" (and Who's Collecting the Millions in Royalties)?

“Happy Birthday to You” has been used in hundreds of movies, countless advertisements, an estimated 1,500,000+ singing telegrams, and been the basis for pieces by classical composers like Igor Stravinsky and Aaron Copland. It’s arguably the most recognize

Who Ensures That "No Animals Were Harmed in the Making of This Film"?

Rest easy, Air Bud fans. The AHA outlines their standards of animal care in their “Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media.”

Why Is Bird Poop White?

Birds’ digestive systems and naughty bits don’t work exactly like ours or most other animals'. Instead of pooping and peeing separately, they basically do it all in one weird mess.

What Causes "Old Book Smell"?

“A combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness” is how an international team of chemists describes the unique odor of old books in a study. Poetic, sure, but what causes it?Books are made up almost e

How Did Nickelodeon Make Green Slime?

Don't say, "I don't know." Since making its debut on 'You Can't Do That on Television,' Nickelodeon’s green slime has become an icon of pop culture.

Is It Really Illegal to Remove Your Mattress Tag?

Spoiler Alert: It's not. The purpose of the tag is to assure consumers that they’re buying a new, never-been-used product and to let them know exactly what’s inside it.

Where Do Seedless Watermelons Come From?

When a run-of-the-mill watermelon and a souped-up frankenmelon love each other very much, they come together and make a baby seedless wundermelon.Seedless watermelons are a lot like mules – sterile hybrids formed by crossing genetically incompatible paren

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