Strange But True


STRANGE BUT TRUE- Hot dogs: Rovers outsmart Fluffys Published on Jun 15th, 2006 0 comments Q. Ask people if their cat or dog is smarter, and opinions will fly. What do the hard data say? –R. T. Tin A. Been asked this lots of times, says Katherine A. Houpt, animal behaviorist...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Face it: DNA can paint a portrait Published on Jun 8th, 2006 0 comments Q. Blood found at the scene of a murder is probably the killer's, but the DNA doesn't match any in the database. So how can authorities draw up a sketch of the murderer's face for their search?...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Give me a...: Our body is made of levers Published on Jun 1st, 2006 0 comments Q. You don't need an engineering degree to figure out the common denominator here, but it wouldn't hurt: Tongs, scissors, staplers, nutcrackers, bottle openers, nail clippers, tweezers, hammer claws...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Baby face: Big head tot is no monster Published on May 25th, 2006 0 comments Q. Baby in the house? Have you ever noticed how different her head looks from your own? –B. Spock A. Baby's head is big for her size, and her eyes are proportionally huge, reason for the...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Snagged: Prickly orange begat barbed wire Published on May 18th, 2006 0 comments Q. Who originally put the barb in barbed wire? –W. Earp A. Credit Mother Nature. Keeping livestock pinned within hedgerows of thorny plants is an old practice, especially where wood or...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Sea sounds: Wild underwater world of sound Published on May 11th, 2006 0 comments Q. If you could stick an ear down deep in the ocean, what would you hear? –J. Irving A. Undersea earthquakes and volcanic eruptions thunder throughout the ocean basin, says Oregon State...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Space virus: Sneeze drops fly upward Published on May 4th, 2006 0 comments Q. When an astronaut sneezes in deep space, what's in the droplets that wouldn't be there back at home? –J. Glenn A. Viruses, in a much higher count than normal even though there are no other...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Left hanging: Hooks attached en route Published on Apr 27th, 2006 0 comments Q. Rate the pain you might feel if somebody stuck two 10-inch steel hooks through the meat of your back, in under the muscles, then attached ropes and lifted you to hang in midair? a) excruciating...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Aim high: Avoid first shot in truel Published on Apr 20th, 2006 0 comments Q. Three game theorists have a serious falling out and challenge each other to a pistol "truel" (3-way duel). Mr. Black is the worst shot, hitting his target one time in three; Mr. Gray, a better...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Fugu you: A fishy way to kill yourself Published on Apr 13th, 2006 0 comments Q. "I cannot see her tonight./ I have to give her up/ So I will eat fugu." Any idea what the Japanese poet has in mind here? Let the eater beware! –H. O. Hito A. Intensive training is...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Odd reading: Odometer numbers raise questions Published on Apr 6th, 2006 0 comments Q. My husband and I were driving when he happened to spot the odometer reading 22,222. Then we drove immediately to a store where we made multiple purchases and, yup, at the checkout the total was...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Grieving gnus: Animals feel sorrow too Published on Mar 30th, 2006 0 comments Q. Along with humans, which other species appear to "respect" their dead with special observances? –G.R. Malkin A. Few pay any interest, but chimpanzees show prolonged and complex behavior...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Dim doggies? Who's smarter, puss or Fido? Published on Mar 23rd, 2006 0 comments Q. In a "Pet IQ Challenge," would your dog or cat come out ahead? –Garfield A. Intelligence tests for animals– the speed at which an animal can learn to perform a task– have been...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Water cycle: Where has that ice cube been? Published on Mar 16th, 2006 0 comments Q. Drink a glass of water and it's likely you're imbibing at least one molecule that passed through the bladder of Plato or Aristotle. Wow! Bottoms up! –J. Cousteau A. Could as well have been...
Water cycle: Where has that ice cube been? Published on Mar 16th, 2006 0 comments Q. Drink a glass of water and it's likely you're imbibing at least one molecule that passed through the bladder of Plato or Aristotle. Wow! Bottoms up! –J. Cousteau A. Could as...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Go fetch! Brainy dog finds toys Published on Mar 9th, 2006 0 comments Q. Could a dog learn to pick a novel object out of a group of familiar ones– without ever having seen the object or being taught its name before? – R. T. Tin A. The German border collie...
Go fetch! Brainy dog finds toys Published on Mar 9th, 2006 0 comments Q. Could a dog learn to pick a novel object out of a group of familiar ones– without ever having seen the object or being taught its name before? – R. T. Tin A. The German border...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Swallowed up: Hanging around for lunch Published on Mar 2nd, 2006 0 comments Q. Can't say why anybody'd want to, but could you eat while hanging upside down? –D. Fledermaus A. Swallowed food is grabbed by the smooth muscle of the esophagus, which contracts in front of...
Swallowed up: Hanging around for lunch Published on Mar 2nd, 2006 0 comments Q. Can't say why anybody'd want to, but could you eat while hanging upside down? –D. Fledermaus A. Swallowed food is grabbed by the smooth muscle of the esophagus, which...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- What's in a name? Humans love appellations Published on Feb 23rd, 2006 0 comments Q. Mare Moscoviense, Mare Ingenii, Jules Verne, Gagarin, Galois, Oppenheimer, Von Karman, Poincare, Mendeleev, Mach, Landau, Hertzsprung, Korolev, Van de Graaff, Apollo– the names are...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Filthy fomites: Mom was right about money Published on Feb 16th, 2006 0 comments Q. Are "fomites" something to embrace or shun, respect, or fear? Hint: Money's a funny one. –A. Greenspan A. Shunning respectfully and knowledgeably is never a bad idea with objects that can...
Filthy fomites: Mom was right about money Published on Feb 16th, 2006 0 comments Q. Are "fomites" something to embrace or shun, respect, or fear? Hint: Money's a funny one. –A. Greenspan A. Shunning respectfully and knowledgeably is never a bad idea with...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Skunk drunk: Animals like to tipple too Published on Feb 9th, 2006 0 comments Q. If alcohol can turn a man into a beast, what does it do to the beasts? –J. Daniels A. Insects feeding on wine grapes in vineyards can become intoxicated on the fermentations, reports...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Published on Feb 2nd, 2006 0 comments <img src="/images/issues/2006/0505/strange0505.gif"> <BR> DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK <p>Q. My visiting aunt became concerned that the kids on the swingset were going too...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Up, up, and... : Nobody flies over the swing-set Published on Feb 2nd, 2006 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. My visiting aunt became concerned that the kids on the swing-set were going too high and might swing all the way around... like she did as a kid. We don't...
Up, up, and... : Nobody flies over the swing-set Published on Feb 2nd, 2006 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. My visiting aunt became concerned that the kids on the swing-set were going too high and might swing all the way around... like she did as a kid. We don'...
Dial 'B' for...: 007's phone can be yours Published on Jan 26th, 2006 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Just how amazing was the Erickson mobile phone used by agent 007 James Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies? Could one of these be in our techno-future? –A. G....
One down: Quarterback needs schooling Published on Jan 19th, 2006 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Did this guy need to go back to quarterback school, or what? He threw the football well, but on rollout passes would always lead the receiver too much,...
STRANGE BUT TRUE- Pack animals: Dogs listen to bossman Published on Jan 18th, 2006 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q.Who are "shroomers," and how did the experience of Mr. W. begin the shroomer tale?– J. Garcia A. After mushrooming, Mr. W. and his niece...
Mismatch: Pity the poor puppy mom Published on Jan 12th, 2006 0 comments DRAWING BY DEBORAH DERR McCLINTOCK Q. Recently I have noticed a lot of media attention given to artificially inseminated mixed-breed dogs. If a very small dog like a teacup poodle is...