Do Penguins Have Knees?

Preface

Why
don’t you feel or see a mosquito bite until after it begins to itch?

Why
doesn’t milk in the refrigerator ever taste as cold as the water or soda in the refrigerator?

Why
are address labels on subscription magazines usually placed upside-down?

Why
are there dents on the top of cowboy hats?

Why
do grocery coupons state that they have a “cash value of 1/100 of 1¢”?

How
and why did 7UP get its name?

Why
do the back wheels of bicycles click when you are coasting or back pedaling?

Why
do male birds tend to be more colorful than females? Is there any evolutionary advantage?

What
does the USPS do with mail it can’t deliver or return because of lack of a return address?

Why
are baseball dugouts built so that they are half below ground?

Why
do trains with more than one locomotive often have one (or more) of the locomotives turned backwards?

Why
is there steam coming up from the streets of New York?

How
did they keep beer cold in the saloons of the Old West?

What
is the official name of the moon?

Why
is Rhode Island called an island when it obviously isn’t an island?

Why
do blacktop roads get lighter in color as they age?

Why
must we push both the “record” and “play” switches to record on an audio tape recorder, and only the “record” on the VCR?

How
do bus drivers get into a bus when the door handle is inside the bus?

Why
is the lowest-ranked admiral called a
rear
admiral?

Why
was April 15 chosen as the due date for taxes?

What’s
the difference between a lake and a pond?

What’s
the difference between an ocean and a sea?

Why
does the United States Mint use a private firm—UPS—to ship its coin sets?

How
do figure skaters keep from getting dizzy while spinning? Is it possible to eye a fixed point while spinning so fast?

Why
do straws in drinks sometimes sink and sometimes rise to the surface?

Why
is the tenor oboe called an “English horn” when it is neither English nor a horn?

Why
are our fingers different lengths? For example, is there a reason why the “pinkie” is shorter than the “index”?

Why
are sticks of margarine and butter thicker and shorter in the western United States and longer and narrower in the East?

Why
do plastic milk cases contain a warning that their “Unauthorized use is illegal and enforced by health department and penal codes”?

Why
does shampoo lather so much better on the second application?

Why
don’t cigarette butts burn? Is there a particular barrier between the tobacco and the filter that prevents the burn?

What
are you hearing when you shake a light bulb?

Why
do fluorescent lights make a plinking noise when you turn them on?

Why
do cats like so much to be scratched behind the ears?

Why
aren’t there plums in plum pudding? And why is it called a pudding rather than a cake?

What
do the little red letter and number stamped on the back of my envelope mean?

Why
do owners or handlers use the word “sic” to instruct a dog to “get him”?

In
baseball scoring, why is the letter “K” chosen to designate a strikeout?

What
are the skins of hot dogs made of?

Why
is comic strip print in capital letters?

Why
are peanuts listed under the ingredients of “plain” M&Ms?

Why
do the volume levels of different cable networks vary enormously compared to those of broadcast TV networks?

Why
are men’s shoe heels built in layers?

Why
are horses’ heights measured to the shoulder rather than to the top of the head?

Why
are the edges on the long side of lasagna usually crimped?

What
happens to your social security number when you die? How and when, if ever, is it reassigned?

What
exactly are we smelling when we enjoy the “new-car smell”?

Why
are some cleansers marked “For industrial or commercial use only”? How are they different from household cleansers?

Why
are the letters “Q” and “Z” missing from the telephone buttons?

Why
is the middle digit of North American area codes always a 0 or a 1?

Why
were duels always fought at dawn? Or is this depiction in fiction and movies not true?