www.whyville.net Feb 28, 2010 Weekly Issue



singel12
Guest Writer

I Have Always Wondered

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Has there ever been something that you just wanted to know? Something that didn't really matter, but nevertheless spiked your curiosity to a point that it was all you could think about? And no matter who you asked, all of their answers were unsatisfactory!

I am here to tell you that you are not alone. I have often gazed at something and wondered, "How?" or, "Why?" To set you mind at rest, I researched some of the more interesting things on my ever-growing list of curiosities. Here are my results:

Why does ribbon curl when you run a scissor under it?

If you have ever wrapped a present, you'll know what I mean. Nary a holiday season goes by that I don't wonder how the scissors manage to transform a blind piece of string into a beautiful decoration. Apparently, when you drag the ribbon over the scissors, it stretches on side out, making it far longer than the other side. The result is a curly ribbon!

How many words are in a book?

Since all books are different, I can't give a solid, absolute answer on this one. But I can tell you how many words are in one book -- "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" has 76,944 words exactly.

Why is there no blue Skittle?

"Taste the rainbow!" But wait . . . isn't blue a part of the rainbow? And for that matter what about indigo? I had to ask my dad on this one, and he said it's because, as a general rule, people don't make blue food. It looks too much like mold. In fact, he said, there was even a bit of controversial over whether or not to make a blue M&M.

Why do dogs bury bones?

The answer to this one was so simple, I could have kicked myself: survival, of course. Back before dogs were domesticated, they never knew if they might need an emergency meal. So they would bury some for the unknown future.

What are the most common words in the English language?

Here are the top ten: 1. the
2. of
3. to
4. and
5. a
6. in
7. is
8. it
9. you
10. that

Who took a bite of the Apple logo? . . . Guilty.

-singel12

Author's Note: Sources: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/about/books/ps/book_ps.html
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/why-do-dogs-bury-bones/page1.aspx
http://www.health002.com/Home/how-does-ribbon-curl.html
http://www.world-english.org/english500.htm

 

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