Strange But True


STRANGE BUT TRUE- Yawning yarns: Not always a boring story Published on Sep 13th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Most people know that babies yawn, as do neonates within minutes of birth and even fetuses in utero. Boredom, of course, can trigger yawning, which is socially...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Sweet dreams: Animals have them too-- maybe Published on Sep 6th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Do any other species dream in their sleep, and how would we know? They certainly couldn't tell us about it. –D. Fossey A. Guess again. Chimpanzees, like...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Sob story: Cutting the onion causes the tears Published on Aug 30th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Why are onions such tear-jerkers? Is it because of all the misinformation about them? –S. Dikkers A. Misinformation, yes, such as that pyruvic acid is the...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Fool yourself: Love the one you're with Published on Aug 23rd, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Among all lovers, who generally are rated as above average in appearance, intelligence, warmth, and sense of humor, as well as being open-minded, outgoing and...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Stoned: David had physics on his side Published on Aug 16th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. In the classic Biblical confrontation, how did little David manage to defeat Goliath using just a sling? –G. Bush A. For 40 days the giant Philistine...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Suck it up: Mouth-testing a vacuum's power Published on Aug 9th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Who put the original suck in the "suction sweeper," as the vacuum cleaner was once called? Exactly how much suck is in one? –B. Hoover A. Today's variety...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Topping off: Most of a mountain is under ground Published on Jul 26th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Earth analogy: The tip of an iceberg is to the whole iceberg as a mountain is to _________? –Z. Pike A. The whole mountain, which is much bigger than...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Neither snow nor slime: Some mail really <i>is </i>slow Published on Jul 19th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Is snail mail ever literally slow as a snail? –B. Franklin A. Snail mail will cross the North American continent in a few days, averaging maybe 60 mph....
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Cleo's end: Cobra likely eclipsed asp Published on Jul 12th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Queen Cleopatra is undoubtedly history's most famous suicide by snakebite. She had lived fast and died young, having chosen her weapon wisely. How was she a...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Drive-by: Don't reach out and touch someone Published on Jul 5th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. When might the simple act of reaching out and handing a package of gum to another person get both of you killed fast? Don't try this! –E. Ford A. In a...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Bad vibes: Bridges, breasts, brews all bounce Published on Jun 28th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. What do the tragic Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse of 1940, your coffee cup sloshover, and the need for the modern sports bra all have in common? –P....
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Shake on it: How many degrees from FDR? Published on Jun 21st, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Ever shake the hand of someone who shook the hand of someone... who shook FDR's hand? –J.E. Hoover A. U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt no...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Mouse music: What's that sound in the cupboard? Published on Jun 14th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Birds sing, whales sing, but what's that singing late at night out in the kitchen cupboard? –B. Potter A. The singing of mice is well-authenticated and...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Hook up: Connected people have it better Published on Jun 7th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. In a word or two, what's the secret to happiness? a) money b) freedom c) social relationships d) being yourself e) self-reliance? –B. Graham A. Hugs...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Eve knew: Bad food experience causes misery Published on May 31st, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. At the movies, you eat two jumbo buckets of buttered popcorn and get very sick. For years afterward, you can't stand the sight of buttered popcorn. What...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Just say no: Lie detectors often lie Published on May 24th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. True or False: Given the 90 percent accuracy of a polygraph, people who are innocent should have few qualms about taking a "lie detector" test. –J.E....
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Drinkin' buds: Trees know to suck it up Published on May 17th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. What's the weirdest place trees get water from? –T. Lawson A. "Trees can suck big time, and they can suck water right out of a stone," says Oregon State...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Sympathetic simians: Apes, chimps express empathy Published on May 10th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Empathy and social reciprocity are at the root of the golden rule of "Do unto others" in religions and cultures worldwide. Guess where else these "pillars of...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- A one, and a... Dance to enhance your lovelife Published on Apr 26th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. How is dancing one of those "cheap psychological tricks for lovers"? –A. Taylor A. Cheap because it works, says Perry W. Buffington, in his book of...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Hot footn': Missing gene means side-stepping pain Published on Apr 19th, 2007 1 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. A "firewalker" can cross a bed of red-hot wood coals aided by the "Leidenfrost effect" (vaporizing foot moisture forms an insulating cushion) and by quick-...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Pip, pip! How apple trees travel the world Published on Apr 12th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. From Belle de Boskoop to Cox's Orange Pippin and 20,000 others, they're loaded with vitamins and antioxidants and can be cooked, dried, fermented or eaten...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Waaa: Humans are biggest cry-babies Published on Apr 5th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Guess who are the biggest crybabies in the Animal Kingdom? –Gunther Gebel-Williams A. No guessing here. In fact, we are the only criers, since while other...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Dinos did it: T-rex's earth-shaking sex Published on Mar 29th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Thinking back many eons, wouldn't a pair of passionate T. rexes heaped upon one another have broken some bones? How on Earth did dinos do it? –M. Crichton...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Avalanche advice: Tuck a balloon in your backpack Published on Mar 22nd, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. How might skiers caught in a downrushing avalanche save themselves by being like a Brazil nut shaken in a container full of peanuts? What must they carry along...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Flat head: Body modifications nothing new Published on Mar 15th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Can you imagine the list of body parts that in some culture or other at some time or other have been "modified" for ritualistic, religious, or cosmetic reasons...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Picture this: Keep turning pages for baby Published on Mar 8th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Your little bright-eyed bundle of wonders just may be a budding Einstein if Baby... a) had a high birth weight b) has an exceptionally long third toe c) sits up...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Pericarp-ing: Tough shell yields bigger pop Published on Mar 1st, 2007 0 comments Q. What does popcorn science have to say about why popcorn pops? –O. Redenbacher A. Plenty. Picture each kernel as a tiny pressure cooker where the water trapped inside vaporizes and turns...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Ice dance: how to start a fire in the Arctic Published on Feb 22nd, 2007 0 comments Q. Out in the frozen wilderness, you lose your backpack in a fall. You still have a knife, but your matches are gone. It's getting really cold and you need a fire. There's wood around but no...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Sun sums: How to calculate shadow lengths Published on Feb 15th, 2007 0 comments Q. On which day of the year does a house cast its longest shadow, and why might some folks want to know? –J. Tolbert A. Sunshine access is the issue. Shadows are longest on the shortest day of...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Roach rodeo: Managing those extra little pests Published on Feb 8th, 2007 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. What's a bug wrangler do for a living? Hint: There may be a few "extras" inhabiting your kitchen. – F. Kafka A. Wranglers provide and...