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Ponder, if you will ... Has anyone ever seen a live Cornish game hen? Why do quarterbacks say ''Hut''? Why do ''sea'' gulls congregate in parking lots of shopping centers? What does the ''Q'' in Q-Tips stand for?
Pop culture guru David Feldman demystifies these questions and much more in Are Lobsters Ambidextrous? Part of the Imponderables® series—the unchallenged source of answers to civilization's everyday mysteries—and charmingly illustrated by Kassie Schwan, this book provides you with information that encyclopedias, dictionaries, and almanacs just don't have. And think about it, where else are you going to find out what happens to the caffeine left over from making decaffeinated coffee?
E-Book Content
ARE LOBSTERS AMBIDEXTROUS?
An Imponderables® Book (Previously published as When Did Wild Poodles Roam the Earth?) David Feldman Illustrated by Kassie Schwan
For Kassie Schwan
Contents
Preface
xxiii
Are lobsters ambidextrous?
3
Why is there no Betty Rubble character in Flintstones Multivitamins?
4
What in the heck is a tumbleweed? Why does it tumble? And how can it reproduce if it doesn’t stay in one place?
5
When a body is laid out at a funeral home, why is the head always on the left side from the viewer’s vantage point?
8
Has anyone ever seen a live Cornish game hen?
10
Why do boxer shorts have straight frontal slits and briefs have complicated “trap doors”?
11
Why have auto manufacturers eliminated the side vents from front door windows?
13
Why do the Oakland Athletics’ uniforms have elephant patches on their sleeves?
14
Why is the imperial gallon bigger than its American counterpart?
16
Why do painters wear white uniforms?
17
ix
Why do roaches run away when a light is turned on in a darkened room?
20
If moths are attracted to light, why don’t they fly toward the sun?
21
Why are moths attracted to light? And what are they trying to do when they fly around light bulbs?
22
Why do some nineteen-inch televisions say on the box: “20 IN CANADA”?
23
Why does an old person’s voice sound different from a middle-aged person’s?
24
Why is there usually no organization in the shelving of soup cans in supermarkets?
26
Why has Swanson stopped putting vent holes on the top of its pot pies?
28
Why do TWIX cookie bars have holes in them?
28
What are those wavy marks on the bottom of Snickers bars?
29
What is one hearing when one hears a house “settling” or creaking?
32
Why do dogs drool? And why do some dogs drool much more than other dogs?
34
Why do dogs eat cat feces? Why do they sometimes eat their own feces?
35
How do they keep the water in water towers from freezing in the wintertime?
38
x
Why do quarterbacks call the snap with the exclamation “hut”?
40
Why are elections in the United States held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November rather than on the first Tuesday in November?
41
How do dehumidifiers sense the humidity level in the air and “know” when to shut off automatically?
41
What do you call that little groove in the center of our upper lips?
42
What is the purpose of the little indentation in the center of our upper lips?
43
What happens to an ant that gets separated from its colony? Does it try to relocate the colony? Can it survive if it can’t find the colony?
44
Why is the color purple