Table of Contents
Can a Cockroach Survive a Nuclear Bomb? 1
Why Does Traffic Jam for No Apparent Reason? 2
Do People Really Turn Green with Envy? 4
Are Elephants Really Afraid of Mice? 5
Why Do Thunderstorms Set Off Car Alarms? 6
How Do People Hot-Wire Cars? 7
Why Does Bacon Smell So Good? 8
How Did the Term "Yankee" Originate? 9
Why Do People Have Eyebrows? 10
How Are Seedless Watermelons Made? 12
Can People Really Wake Up After Years in a Coma? 13
Why Are Mosquitoes More Attracted to Certain People? 15
Can Staring at a Solar Eclipse Make You Go Blind? 17
How Did Bread and Dough Come to Mean Money? 18
Why Are Elderly People Bad Drivers? 19
Why Do Vultures Circle Above Their Prey? 21
What's on the Rags that Villains Use to Make People Pass Out? 22
Why Does Your Nose Run in Cold Weather? 24
Why Don't Women Have Adam's Apples? 25
Does an Apple a Day Keep the Doctor Away? 26
How Did the Military Term "Gl" Originate? 27
Why Do Sausages Curl When They're Cooked? 28
Why Don't We Eat Horsemeat? 29
Why Did Pirates Make People Walk the Plank Instead of Just Throwing Them Overboard? 30
Why Does Glass Squeak When You Rub It? 32
Why Do Men Snore More than Women? 33
How Did the Term "Gringo" Originate? 34
Does Cucumber Relieve Puffy Eyes? 35
Does the Black Stuff Athletes Put Under Their Eyes Really Stop Glare? 36
Why Are Inexperienced People Called Greenhorns? 37
Is it Safe to Stand Close to Microwave Ovens? 38
Do Steroids Shrink Men's Testicles? 39
Do Toads Cause Warts? 40
Why Are Your Muscles Sorer Two Days After Exercise? 41
Why Are Airplane Cabin Lights Dimmed for Takeoff and Landing? 43
Why Don't People Ride Zebras? 44
Why Do Girls Throw Like a Girl? 46
Why Do Pharmacists Stand on Raised Platforms? 48
Why Do People Seem More Attractive When You're Drunk? 49
Are Bulls Really Attracted to the Color Red? 51
How Did the Term "Johnson" Come to Mean a Man's Penis? 52
Why Are the Words on the Back Cover of a Book Called a Blurb? 53
What Are the Origins of the Molotov Cocktail? 54
Why Do We Have Leap Years? 55
Do Sharks Have to Keep Swimming to Stay Alive? 56
Why Are Bugs Attracted to Light? 58
Do Pregnant Women Really Glow? 59
Why Do Roller Coasters Make You Puke? 60
Why Are the Letters "YKK" on Many Clothes Zippers? 63
Why is There No Cure for the Common Cold? 64
What Causes Songs to Get Stuck in Our Heads? 65
Are Women Better Multitaskers Than Men? 67
Why Do People Have Earlobes? 69
If the Third Electrical Prong Is for Grounding, Why Don't All Plugs Have it? 70
Is It True That You Can't Die in a Dream? 72
What's the Difference Between a Turtle and a Tortoise? 73
Why Is a Person's Signature Called Their "John Hancock"? 74
Did the Hanging Gardens of Babylon Ever Exist? 75
Why Do People Look Upward When Thinking? 76
What Is a Black Hole? 78
How Did the Golfing Term "Birdie" Originate? 80
Do Animals Ever Commit Suicide? 81
Is It Possible for Robots to Think for Themselves? 83
Is Red Wine Good for Your Health? 85
Do Bees Die After They Sting You? 86
How Did the Term "Blackmail" Originate? 87
Why Do Beans Make You Fart? 88
Is Baldness in Men a Sign of Virility? 89
Why Does Paper Turn Yellow Over Time? 91
Why Does Steam Come Up from the Streets of New York City? 92
Where Did the Expression "Pay Through the Nose" Originate? 93
Why Do Police Officers Hold Flashlights with an Overhand Grip? 94
How Do Figure Skaters Keep from Getting Dizzy? 95
What Do Women Look For in a Man? 97
Why Was 911 Chosen as the Emergency Number? 99
Why Is the Clink Slang for Jail? 101
Do Carrots Really Help Eyesight? 101
Why Are Pigs Roasted with an Apple in the Mouth? 103
Why Didn't People Smile in Old Photos?. 104
What's the Origin of the "Six Degrees of Separation" Theory? 106
Why Are Male Birds More Colorful Than Female Birds? 108
Why Don't You Get Goose Bumps on Your Face? 109
How Do Cats See in the Dark? 110
What Is MSG, and Why Do Only Chinese Restaurants Use It? 112
Why Can't We Remember Our Early Childhood? 113
Why Do Bicycle Tires Go Flat If a Bike Is Not Used for a Long Time? 115
When Did Humans Discover That the Earth Is Round? 116
Why Is There Sometimes Sand in the Pockets of New Blue Jeans? 117
Why Does Ice Cream Give You Brain Freeze? 118
Does Alcohol Really Kill Brain Cells? 120
Why Are Old Men Sexually Reproductive but Old Women Aren't? 121
Why Do Beavers Build Dams? 123
Why Do Women Open Their Mouths When Applying Mascara? 124
Why Does an "X" Stand for a Kiss and an "O" for a Hug? 126
Why Do Boxers Make a Sniffing Noise When They Throw Punches? 127
How Did Mumbo Jumbo Come to Mean Unintelligible Talk? 128
Why Don't Penguins Get Frostbite on Their Feet? 129
Why Do Gazelles Periodically Leap in the Air When Being Chased by Predators? 130
Why Does Spicy Food Make the Eyes and Nose Water? 132
Why Do Old Men Wear Their Pants So High? 133
Why Does Filipino Start With an F? 135
Is There Any Science to Déjà Vu? 136
Why Do Snakes Dart Out Their Tongues? 137
Why Do You Often See a Single Shoe Lying on the Side of the Road? 138
Why Are the Dates in Movies and Television Shows Written in Roman Numerals? 140
How Did the Dollar Symbol Originate? 141
Why Do Starving Children Have Bloated Stomachs? 142
How Did a White Rag Come to Represent a Truce? 143
How Does an Athlete Get a Second Wind? 144
How Did the Term "Spaghetti Western" Originate for Western Movies? 146
Do Plants Feel Pain? 147
Why Do Our Palms Sweat When We Are Nervous? 149
Who Invented the Wheel? 150
Is Using a Cell Phone at a Gas Station Actually Dangerous? 151
Why Are Easter Eggs Given? 153
Why Does Time Seem to Fly As We Get Older? 155
Is the Tomato a Fruit or a Vegetable? 157
What Caused the 2008 Global Financial Collapse? 158
Why Is 666 Considered the Devil's Number? 160
Why Do So Many Irish Names Have an "O" in Front of Them? 161
Does a Goldfish's Memory Really Only Last a Few Seconds? 161
How Does the Date-Rape Drug Work? 163
What Does the "D" in D-Day Stand For? 164
Why Do Sound Check Guys Only Say "Check One, Two"? 165
Why Do We Have 10 Fingers and 10 Toes? 166
What Makes the Earth Spin? 168
Why Are Some Parts of the Body More Ticklish Than Others? 169
Why Cant People Drink Seawater? 170
How Do Candles That Don't Blow Out Work? 171
Why Do Women Live Longer Than Men? 172
Why Do Some Blind People Wear Dark Glasses? 174
Why Do Quarterbacks Say "Hut!"? 175
Why Are Men in Charge of the Barbecue When Women Do Most of the Cooking? 176
Why Are the Upper Class Called Blue Bloods? 177
Why Is the Moon Sometimes Visible During the Day? 178
If Only Female Mosquitoes Bite, What Do the Males Eat? 179
Why Does Pepper Make People Sneeze? 180
How Does Water Divining Work? 181
Can You Swallow Your Tongue? 183
Does Lightning Ever Strike the Same Place Twice? 184
What Causes Jealousy in a Relationship? 185
What Makes Drinking Glasses Sweat? 187
Can You Catch a Disease from a Toilet Seat? 188
What Makes a Boy's Voice "Crack" at Puberty? 189
Why Do Gas Tank Gauges Take Longer to Go from Full to Half-Full Than Half-Full to Empty? 190
How Does Aspirin Find the Pain? 192
Why Are Most Babies Born with Blue Eyes? 193
Why Do Old Ladies Dye Their Hair Blue? 194
How Are Bombs Defused? 195
Why Do Roman and Greek Statues Have No Pupils in the Eyes? 196
Why Do Most Car Accidents Happen Close to Home? 197
Why Are There So Few Women Pilots? 198
How Did Hunky-Dory Come to Mean "Everything is OK"? 200
When Drinking Alcohol, Why Do People Go to the Toilet More Often After "Breaking the Seal"? 201
Why Do Wounds Itch as They're Healing? 203
Are Lions Really Afraid of Kitchen Chairs? 204
Is There Really a Calm Before the Storm? 205
How Do Arson Investigators Find the Cause of a Fire? 206
Does Warm Water Freeze More Quickly Than Cold Water? 207
What Is the Meaning of Life? 209
Photo Credits 211
About the Author 213
