| Household items | |
| Why does a mirror invert left and right, but not up and down? | |
| Left and right are relative directions, meaning the actual direction depends on your position. If you turned around by 180 degrees, your left and right would be inverted. Up and down are absolute directions. Up is always toward the sky and down is always toward the ground, no matter how you're standing. A mirror doesn't actually invert left and right, it only makes you think there's another person standing in the opposite direction. Since left and right depends on the direction the person is facing, you get the impression that your left hand is the "other" person's right hand. | |
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Why do you get white bubbles, no matter which color bubble bath you use? |
| Notice that you only start with a small cup of the liquid, and end up with a tub full of bubbles. The color is still there, but it's been diluted so much that your eyes don't recognize it any more. Similarly, if you put a cup of sugar into a tub full of water, the water wouldn't taste sweet either (make sure your tub is clean before trying this). | |
| Why is the telephone key pad arranged differently than a calculator key pad? | |
| There are many theories. One of them says it was because there were accountants who can punch numbers on a calculator key pad very quickly, but the original tone dialing system didn't work with fast input. So they had to find a way to slow people down, and this is the solution that they found. | |
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If nothing ever sticks to teflon, how do they make teflon stick to the pan? |
| They have a special patented technology. Besides, some things still stick pretty well to teflon. Ever tried cooking an egg on a "non-stick" pan without butter? | |
| Why is there an eject button on the VCR remote? Don't you have to get up to get to the tape? | |
| I've always wanted one on my remote... the reason being, it takes time for the tape to be ejected. I can use that time to walk over to the VCR, so I won't have to wait before getting the tape. Time is money, and a penny saved is a penny earned! | |
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Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand? |
| Actually, it depends on how you look at the three hands. If you see the minute hand first, the second hand second and the hour hand third, then everything works out. (Yes, I know the "second" refers to the unit of time, not the numerical index.) | |
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Why do you press harder on the buttons of a remote control when you know the batteries are dead? |
| It's most likely out of frustration, or a habit developped in the old days when pressing harder might actually work for mechanical machines. For electronic remote controls, it will only work when the buttons are old, sticky, or dirty. Pressing harder in this case can help establish a better electrical contact. If the batteries are really dead though, there's only one way to fix the problem. | |
| Why do hair shampoo instructions say "Lather. Rinse. Repeat"? If you did this, would you ever be able to stop? | |
| You will be able to stop once you run out of shampoo. Another thing: it says "repeat", but doesn't mention anything about doing so immediately. You can leave the repeating to the next time you wash your hair. | |
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Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle? |
| It will stick to the inside of the bottle if you leave the bottle open and let the glue dry inside. Alternatively, glue bottles are made of some special material that won't stick to that particular kind of glue. Try gluing something to the outside of the bottle and see if it sticks. | |
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Last night I played a blank tape at full blast. The mime next door went nuts. |
| In some cases, the speakers will produce something close to white noise while playing a blank tape. Doing that at full blast can drive lots of people crazy, not just mimes. | |
| How would you throw away a garbage can? | |
| Personally ask the garbage man to take it? I tried to recycle a broken recycling bin once, didn't work. | |
| Science & technology | |
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Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zigzag? |
| Slower, actually. Lightning only changes its direction when it finds an easier way (with better electrical conduction). If it was somehow forced to stay with the harder route, it wouldn't be able to go as fast, or as long. And no, lightning does not travel at the speed of light. | |
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If you are in a vehicle traveling at the speed of light and you turn on the headlights, what happens? |
| If you're in the vehicle looking at the light, you'd see the light beam travel forward at the speed of light. For people outside looking at the vehicle, the light beam would also travel forward at the speed of light, in addition to the vehicle going at the speed of light. It sounds really weird, but that's what Einstein's theory of relativity says. Oh, and don't try to imagine what it would look like. When you're going at the speed of light, time (the "4th dimension") gets frozen. | |
| If the black box flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole airplane made out of the same stuff? | |
| Sure the airplane wouldn't be damaged, but you will be. When the plane crashes, your momentum will carry you forward, smashing you against whatever is in front of you. Try putting an egg into a metallic box and drop the box - even if the box (or airplane) isn't damaged, the egg (your head) will break. "Softer" airplanes (repeat the experiment with a styrofoam box) can potentially absorb some of the energy, making the impact less severe. Also, the material of black boxes is extremely heavy compared to aluminum. If airplanes were made to be big black boxes, it would require rocket engines to fly, which is simply impractical. | |
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If you are cross-eyed and dyslexic, can you read all right? |
| No, it'll make things even worse. When you're cross-eyed, you see a superimposed image of what your two eyes perceive. Try putting your hand between you and the computer screen, you'll see either two hands or two screens, depending on how your eyes are focused. That's close to what cross-eyed people see. Dyslexic people have trouble recognizing order and symbols that look alike, like 2252522525. The two do not cancel each other out. | |
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Why are there flotation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes? |
| Parachutes require much more training before they can be used properly, and I'm pretty sure none of us wants to go through a 3-hour safety training program before being able to get onto an airplane. On the other hand, floatation devices are easily usable by almost anyone. Also, if the airplane were to crash over water, having a parachute really doesn't help. | |
| What is the speed of dark? | |
| Amazingly enough, it's faster than the speed of light. Refer to this page, search for the phrase "dark is faster than light", and enjoy reading. | |
| If the universe is everything, and scientists say that the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into? | |
| Imagine you're in a balloon and the balloon is the universe. Now imagine the balloon blowing itself up. You've got expansion. | |
| If the Internet has no boundaries, then why do we need Windows, or Gates? | |
| You don't. The Internet was developed by the U.S. military, not Sir Billy. Original Internet applications (browsers, e-mail, telnet, etc.) worked with just MS-DOS (and a variety of other operating systems), without all the fancy Windows hassle. | |
| Living things and the stuff they eat | |
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How much deeper would oceans be if sponges didn't live there? |
| I love this question, but here's the serious answer. The oceans would still have the same depth. The material that sponges are made of, whatever they are, would simply be found in some other form, still inside the ocean. Ocean sponges are already soaked in water when they're made, so they don't absorb any water. By the way, those sponges aren't the same as the ones we use in the kitchen. | |
| If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes? | |
| Humans did NOT evolve from monkeys and apes! The theory is often misunderstood. Actually, all primates, including humans, monkeys, apes, baboons, chimps and what not, have all evolved from a common ancestor that sort of looks like all those modern animals combined. | |
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Why is there an expiration date on sour cream? |
| Cream can go sour, but sour cream is not just cream past its expiration date. It's cream with a special friendly bacteria culture, just like yogurt with respect to milk. Other unfriendly bacteria can still take over the sour cream and make it go bad. | |
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What do you do when you see an endangered animal that only eats endangered plants? |
| Well, you have a choice: 1. Let the animal eat the plant. But then the plant would be extinct, and the animal will die of hunger. 2. Don't let the animal eat the plant. This way at least the plant survives. 3. Teach the animal how to farm and practise sustainable development. If done properly, both the plant and the animal will live happily ever after. | |
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When you choke a smurf, what color does it turn? |
| A yellowish orange color. (I think I got this idea from the Windows XP default theme - the taskbar buttons and window borders flash between blue and a yellowish orange color.) | |
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If you tied buttered toast to the back of a cat and dropped it from a height, what would happen? |
| It's true that a cat lands on its feet most of the time. And buttered toast does have a slight tendency to fall on the buttered side. But in this case, the bread is much lighter/weaker than the cat, and the toast can't control its movement. So most likely, the cat will fall on its feet with the toast still attached to its back. If the cat is Garfield, the toast might have already been eaten. | |
| If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry? | |
| I don't know. But if you're a particle physicist, you'd be vaporized in a catastrophic explosion. (Ask a particle physicist to find out why.) | |
| Why do hot dogs come 10 to a package and hot-dog buns 8 to a package? | |
| It's an informal math test. Simple: just buy 4 packages of hot dogs and 5 packages of buns. | |
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Why do croutons come in airtight packages? It's just stale bread to begin with. |
| It's dry, but not stale. The idea is to keep it crunchy by keeping water vapor out of the bag. | |
| Do fish ever get thirsty? | |
| Yes. Put a fresh water fish into the ocean, and it would die of dehydration. | |
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Why isn't there mouse-flavored cat food? |
| I'd say mice aren't a cat's favorite food. Who can resist Whiskas cat temptations treats? Would you rather eat a mouse if you're also given cat food? | |
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Instead of talking to your plants, if you yelled at them would they grow to be troubled and insecure? |
| No. Talking to your plants doesn't do much good either. (Who talks with plants anyway? Martha Stewart?) | |
| Miscellaneous | |
| If there is an emergency at the 911 call centre, who do they call? | |
| The 911 call centers I've seen are located inside police stations, in which case yelling would probably be enough. Supposedly there are multiple call centers, so if one fails, the others can still handle the work. Emergency services also have alternate phone numbers. | |
| If squeegie kids work with soap and water all day, why are they so dirty? | |
| This reminds me of a Chinese riddle: what gets dirtier the more you wash? The answer is the water that you wash with. Squeegies get dirty soapy water all over them, but it's never rinsed off. Soapy water also attracts some dust floating in the air. The water dries, but the soap and dirt remain. | |
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Why does Hawaii have interstate highways? |
| Interstate means "across the state". It doesn't actually have to go into another one. | |
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Why is there only ONE Monopolies Commission? |
| Monopolies refer to money-making corporations that dominate a specific market and try to destroy all competitors. The Monopolies Commission is not a business, so there's no problem with having only one. | |
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Why do they put Braille dots on the key pad of the drive through ATM? |
| They don't bother making a special model of ATMs to be used in drive throughs. All machines that come out of a factory are the same, no matter where they will be installed. | |
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If you're sending someone some Styrofoam, what do you pack it in? |
| A box. | |
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If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for? |
| To help us, of course. | |
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If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, why are there locks on the doors? |
| Just in case they ever need to be closed, i.e. during a hurricane. | |
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If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented? |
| I'm Oriental, and it takes a lot more than spinning "several times" to get me disoriented. | |
| Why isn't 11 pronounced onety one? | |
| Originally the Europeans worked with "dozens", so they would have come up with a distinct word for everything up to 12. After 12 the system falls apart and we end up with these peculiar numbers. | |
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"I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence? |
| Actually, "No" is the shortest English sentence. | |
| If time heals all wounds, how come the belly button stays the same? | |
| The belly button is not a wound, it's more like a scar from your umbilical cord being cut off. And time doesn't heal all wounds, that's why people die from car accidents. | |
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What hair color do they put on the drivers licenses of bald men? |
| Whatever color their hair would be. | |
| If a lawyer and an IRS agent were both drowning, and you could only save one of them, would you go to lunch or read the paper? | |
| Save the lawyer. He can defend you in court when you're being charged with not saving the IRS agent. | |