Curious folks ask: 162 real answers on amazing inventions, fascinating products, and medical mysteries

225 Pages·2010·1.178 MB·English

by  Seethaler, Sherry

W
at are youu curious about? What haveyouu always
wondered about? For more than five years, renowned
science and health writer Dr. Sherry Seethaler has been answering
questions like yours in her weekly column in theSan Diego
Union-Tribuneee. Now she’s brought together 162 of the best
questions and answers in a book you won’t be able to put down.
Seethaler is one of this generation’s best science explainers,
and it shows: Every answer is accurate, fun to read, and distilled
to a single page or less!
Want to know how canned air works… or nuclear bombs?
What causes goose bumps, earwax, dandruff, headaches?
Whether it’s healthy to crack your knuckles, drink decaf,
eat chocolate? What it costs to run all those LED lights around
your house? It’s all here—and a whole lot more!
Your body’s oddities: knees to knuckles,
itches to sneezes
Surprising facts about how your body grows and works
Our ingenious inventions
The past, present, and future of our relentless human inventiveness
Pesky pathogens: viruses, bacteria, and prions
How they keep outsmarting us, and why it’s so hard to stay healthy
Common chemical concoctions
The science behind the everyday products that have transformed our lives
Uniquely human: how we got here,
how we’re unique
New lessons from genetics, archaeology, and evolutionary biology
ftpressscience.com | An imprint of Pearson
Curious Folks Ask
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Curious Folks Ask
162 Real Answers on Amazing Inventions,
Fascinating Products,
and Medical Mysteries
Sherry Seethaler
Vice President, Publisher: Tim Moore
Associate Publisher and Director of Marketing: Amy Neidlinger
Editorial Assistant: Pamela Boland
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Copy Editor: Gayle Johnson
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Indexer: Erika Millen
Senior Compositor: Gloria Schurick
Manufacturing Buyer: Dan Uhrig
©2010 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Publishing as FT Press
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Printed in the United States of America
First Printing February 2010
ISBN-10: 0-13-705738-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-705738-2
Pearson Education LTD.
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For everyone who has ever wondered
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Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii
Chapter 1 Ingenious inventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Iceless icebox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Full of cold air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
May the Force be with you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Sci-fi science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Catching a wave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Out,damned spot! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Glass stretch marks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Seeing double . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Say what? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
On the road again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Kooky clocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Lost with digital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Era arrangement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Let there be light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Temperature tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Spying on Martians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Otherworldly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Earthling outpost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Man or machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Play ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Pharaoh’s secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Dense edifice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Tiny toys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Twinkle,twinkle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Curly cords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Mr. Weasley’s collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Electric synchrony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
In chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Equine engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Man’s best friend v. 2.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
Taking to the sky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Off-kilter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Architecture by numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
viii curious folks ask
Chapter 2 Chemical concoctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Sticky situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Strong bond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Black gold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
What’s in a name? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Auto alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Sugar high . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Water fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Periodic-table personalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Jolt-free beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Decaf danger? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Gently down the stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Water,water everywhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Reticent rubber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
On top of Old Smoky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Odor eater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Exquisite earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Drug disintegration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Lone nutrients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Rub-a-dub-dub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Chore tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Chapter 3 Body parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Toe the line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Surgeons’ favorite organ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Longer and longer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Tough tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Ashes to ashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Holey lids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Producing peepers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Guardian lashes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Stopping short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Grating habit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Local harvest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Cell selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Whiter shade of pale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Healing potion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71
Replacement parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Not so wise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73