E-Book Overview
Ponder, if you will ... What is the difference between a kit and a caboodle? Why don't people get goose bumps on their faces? Where do houseflies go in the winter? What causes that ringing sound in your ears?
Pop-culture guru David Feldman demystifies these topics and so much more in Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise? -- the unchallenged source of answers to civilization's most nagging questions. Part of the Imponderables® series and charmingly illustrated by Kassie Schwan, Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise? challenges readers with the knowledge about everyday life that encyclopedias, dictionaries, and almanacs just don't have. And think about it, where else are you going to get to the bottom of why hot dogs come ten to a package while hot dog buns come in eights?
E-Book Content
WHY DO CLOCKS RUN CLOCKWISE? An Imponderables® Book David Feldman Illustrated by Kassie Schwan
For Michael Leo Feldman
Contents
Preface
xxi
WHAT is the purpose of the warning label on a mattress? And what happens if I rip it off?
1
WHY do dogs walk around in circles before lying down?
2
IF nothing sticks to Teflon, how do they get Teflon to stick to the pan?
3
WHY is the scoring system in tennis so weird?
3
WHY have humans lost most of their body hair?
6
WHY don’t people get goosebumps on their faces?
8
WHY doesn’t countdown leader on films count all the way to one?
9
WHEN a company sells lobster tails to restaurants and stores, what do they do with the rest of the lobster?
9
WHY do they need twenty mikes at press conferences?
11
WHY do some localities use salt and others use sand to treat icy roads?
12
vii
WHY is the telephone touch-tone key pad arranged differently from the calculator key pad?
14
WHAT is the difference between a “kit” and a “caboodle”?
15
WHAT is the purpose of the ball on top of a flagpole?
17
WHY does Wayne Gretzky wear a ripped uniform?
18
WHY is there always pork in cans of pork and beans?
19
HOW do military cadets find their caps after tossing them in the air upon graduation?
20
WHY does American electricity run on A.C. rather than D.C.?
21
WHAT is that sniffing noise boxers make when throwing punches?
22
WHY, in any box of assorted chocolates, are the caramels square, the nougats rectangular, the nuts oval, and the creams circular?
24
WHATEVER happened to pay toilets?
25
WHEN a pothole is formed on the road, why don’t we see the displaced concrete?
27
WHY do most cities in the United States put a maximum-height restriction on a fence a homeowner may put around his residence?
27
WHY do your feet swell up so much in airplanes?
31
viii / DAVID FELDMAN
WHY are hamburger-bun bottoms so thin?
32
WHY do golfers yell “fore” when warning of an errant golf shot?
34
WHY are all executions in the United States held between midnight and seven A.M.?
34
WHY do ants tend to congregate on sidewalks?
37
WHY do American cars now have side-view mirrors on the passenger side with the message, “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear”?
38
WHY do dogs smell funny when they get wet?
40
Why do all dentist offices smell the same?
41
WHAT are those large knobs between sets of escalators in department stores?
42
WHY is Jack the nickname for John?
43
WHICH side gets the game ball when a football game ends in a tie?
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