The differences between alligators and crocodiles

about 6 months ago Q: Following up on your recent trivia question, what is the difference between crocodiles and alligators? They’ve always seemed pretty much alike to me.

Read more

No one knows how many class-action lawsuits are filed each year

about 6 months ago Q: How many class-action lawsuits are filed each year?

Read more

Here’s how the Romans used fractions

about 6 months ago Q: Your most recent answer on the Roman calendar reminded me of another question I’ve had for years. With their cumbersome system of using letters for numbers, how did Romans ever write fractions?

Read more

Here’s what the monsters are saying on those Spectrum ads

about 6 months ago Q: I have a couple of questions about those Spectrum “monster” ads that call satellite and phone-internet systems “evil.” First, what does Gary, the dummy, say after he is told to leave the house? Second, when they’re playing charades during the power outage, what is it that the mummy is guessing as the Grim Reaper is wildly gesticulating? It sounds like he is saying “rum come,” but I am sure that’s not it.

Read more

What did the Romans do for a calendar before Julius Caesar?

about 6 months ago Q: What did the Romans do for a calendar before Caesar instituted his Julian standard? What did they call their months and days? Could they say, for example, TJIF — Thank Jupiter, it’s Friday?

Read more

Is Fresh Thyme still coming to Edwardsville?

about 6 months ago Q: What is happening with the Fresh Thyme store that is supposed to open in June in Edwardsville? They cut some trees and then stopped. No activity on the land. Can you give us an update?

Read more

Why does the mirror on the passenger side of a car make everything look smaller?

about 6 months ago Q: Why do cars have a standard mirror on the driver’s side and a fun-house type mirror that makes everything smaller on the passenger side? I mean, they have to remind you that objects you see are really closer than they appear. Doesn’t this make driving extra dangerous for those who do not or forget to compensate?

Read more

When Deep Purple wrote ‘Smoke on the Water,’ did they rip off the Catholic Church?

about 6 months ago Q: Isn’t the musical hook from “Smoke on the Water” really a rip-off of the Eucharistic acclamation “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again”? During church one time, my very young son asked me, “Why are they playing rock music?” But this is the only acknowledgment I have found anywhere that relates the Deep Purple tune to the psalm.

Read more

Here’s how people started believing that cats have nine lives

about 6 months ago Q: How and when did someone ever come up with the notion that “a cat has nine lives”?

Read more

Can you really get arrested for tearing that tag off your mattress?

about 6 months ago Q: Has anybody ever been arrested for tearing a tag off a mattress or pillow?

Read more

Did the U.S. really use helicopters during the Korean War as depicted in ‘M*A*S*H’?

about 6 months ago Q: Two questions: Did the United States actually use helicopters during the Korean War? I know the TV show “M*A*S*H” shows them constantly, but, being only 6-9 years old at the time, I now wonder whether that is accurate. Also, is the USS Repose still in service? In 1966, I served as a hospital corpsman on this ship.

Read more

Just who was Marjory Stoneman Douglas?

about 6 months ago Q: The nation is still mourning the loss of the 17 people who were killed during the mass shooting on Valentine’s Day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. But it also started me wondering: Just who was Marjory Stoneman Douglas?

Read more

This is the story behind the US Navy’s pea coats

about 7 months ago Q: Who designed the U.S. Navy pea coat? It had to be many decades ago, but it is still such a great design that it shows up in catalogs, Amazon and online stores. And how did it get its name?

Read more

Here’s how MLB teams handle travel, lodging and meals for their players

about 7 months ago Q: During Major League Baseball spring training, I am sure the team probably pays all transportation costs, but what about lodging and meals? While you’re on the subject, what about away games during the regular season? Do the teams pay for lodging, meals and transportation or are players given a per-diem allowance?

Read more

Belleville students used to picnic at Bellevue Park after annual parade

about 7 months ago Q: My wife and I have something we are wondering about: Until recent years, Belleville schools had parades and picnics at the end of each school year. I recall during my childhood that each parade would go through downtown Belleville, followed by a picnic at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds. However, my wife seems to think the public school picnic was, for a time, at Bellevue Park. Was this ever the case, and, if so, was the parade still downtown?

Read more

Wildfires torch dry forests throughout Western US

about 6 months ago File video: The Eagle Creek Fire has burned more than 33,000 acres of forest near Portland, Oregon, but it's just one of many wildfires blazing through the West at the tail-end of 2017's dangerous fire season.

Read more

Here’s how you can compare pollution from cars and wildfires

about 7 months ago Q: With all the forest fires that have raged in the West the past few months, I’m curious: Has it ever been estimated how many cars it would take to emit the equivalent pollution of, say, the fires in California?

Read more

These are some of the most successful ad campaigns of all time

about 7 months ago Q: What are some of the most successful commercials of all time? In terms of staying power/longevity, earworm creation of jingles, but most important, effectiveness in selling the product? I've also been told that there is an awards ceremony for commercials. Is that true?

Read more

This is how figure skaters choose the music for their performances

about 7 months ago Q: While watching the figure skating on the Olympics recently, I was wondering: Do the skaters pay someone to make the music fit the exact times they have for the short and free skates?

Read more