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04/21/2006 06:54:20 PM · #1 |
Why does the sun lighten our hair, but darken our skin?
Why can't women put on mascara with their mouth closed?
Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"?
Why is "abbreviated" such a long word?
Why is a boxing ring square?
Why is it called lipstick if you can still move your lips?
Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"?
Why is it that rain drops but snow falls?
Why is it that when you're driving and looking for an address, you turn down the volume on the radio?
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavour, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons?
Why is the third hand on the watch called second hand?
Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?
Why is the word dictionary in the dictionary?
Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet?
Why isn't there mouse-flavoured cat food?
Why can't they make the whole plane out of the same substance that little indestructible black box is?
Can fat people go skinny-dipping?
Why do you need a driver's license to buy alcohol when you can't drink and drive?
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04/21/2006 07:08:20 PM · #2 |
| Do you really want serious, logical answers? |
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04/21/2006 07:09:28 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Do you really want serious, logical answers? |
why not? |
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04/21/2006 07:22:18 PM · #4 |
| Why do dogs run sideways/crooked? (are their back legs quicker than their front ones?) |
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04/21/2006 07:25:23 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by Artan:
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Do you really want serious, logical answers? |
why not? |
the same reason that my masterpieces score so low on DPC ;-) Just because.
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04/21/2006 07:31:51 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by Artan:
Why does the sun lighten our hair, but darken our skin? |
The two tissues are different. Hair is an excretion of keratinoid proteins, and is essentially dead. The action of UV light acts to bleach the tissue, though I can't explain the exact mechanism by which this high-energy input effects the change. But it has no way of replenishing any pigments which are denatured by the UV exposure.
Skin is a living tissue, capable of responding to its environment. While we require a certain level of sun exposure in order to produce an adequate supply of Vitamin D (and thereby rickets, osteoporosis, and other manifestations of prolonged hypocalcemia), excessive exposure can cause irreparable harm, and so there exists a feedback mechanism whereby which a certain threshold of UV exposure will stimulate specialized dermal cells (melanocytes) to increase the production of melanin, a dark pigment which absorbs the UV rays, and helps reduce the likelihood of their triggering genetic changes (cancers) or actual burning. |
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04/21/2006 07:47:58 PM · #7 |
Message edited by author 2006-04-21 19:50:54. |
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04/21/2006 07:48:57 PM · #8 |
| Re: the plane/black box one - black boxes (actually orange, by the way) are made of several layers of protection, usually alumnium around the components, then an inch or so of insulation, then about a quarter inch of stainless steel or titanium. A plane made in the same way would be too heavy to fly. Also, each black box costs about $15,000 so price would be prohibitively high, too. |
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04/21/2006 07:49:09 PM · #9 |
oh yeah, and there is mouse flavored cat food
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04/21/2006 07:51:36 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by danthesquidkid:
oh yeah, and there is mouse flavored cat food |
... and chicken flavoured toothpaste. |
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04/21/2006 07:54:37 PM · #11 |
Why isn't phonetically spelled the way it sounds?
Why does teflon stick to the pan?
Message edited by author 2006-04-21 19:54:57. |
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04/21/2006 07:55:51 PM · #12 |
why park in a driveway and drive on a parkway
why is it that if something is sent by plane it's called shipping but if it's sent by ship it's called cargo? |
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04/21/2006 07:56:45 PM · #13 |
| AND WHY THE HELL DONT NON-STICK FRYING PANS WORK!!!!! |
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04/21/2006 07:56:47 PM · #14 |
| Re: glue sticking to inside of bottle - there are three major types of glue: 1. glue that dries (e.g. elmers), 2. glue that chemically reacts with the air (e.g. superglue), 3. glue that must be mixed with something to work (e.g. epoxy). Type 1 isn't exposed to the air while in the bottle so the solvent can't evaporate causing the glue to dry. Similarly, the air can't chemically react with type 2 glue (although as anyone who has owned superglue knows, eventually air does sneak in there and solidify the whole tube). The third kind doesn't mix itself while in the bottle. |
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04/21/2006 08:05:59 PM · #15 |
| re: teflon sticking to the pan - they used to make the surface of the pan bumpy so that the teflon molecules could cling to the pan, but the molecules weren't that well stuck and came off fairly easily (had this happen to me - a whole sheet of teflon stuck to my food - pretty disconcerting). Now they use multiple layers of teflon (sometimes they still make the surface of the pan bumpy for good measure first). The first layer of teflon has teflon molecules and another super sticky molecule that sticks both to the teflon and the pan and holds the teflon down. Then they put another layer or two of teflon on top of that. The teflon sticks to the molecules of teflon in the first layer, but doesn't have the sticky additive so is non-stick. Note, though - it's not perfect so the teflon slowly wears off leading to the question, are we eating teflon? DuPont says yes, but it won't hurt you. |
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04/21/2006 08:14:10 PM · #16 |
We have a word for this in my language (icelandic): Rist
Originally posted by Artan:
Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet?
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04/21/2006 08:22:34 PM · #17 |
| 'abbreviation'>'abbreviated' |
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04/21/2006 08:57:54 PM · #18 |
# Why are there interstates in Hawaii?
# Why isn't phonetic spelled the way it sounds?
# Why do they put Braille dots on the keypad of drive-up ATM's?
# Why are there personal flotation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?
# Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?
# If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?
# Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?
# If olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?
# Why is it that when you transport something by car, it's called a shipment; but
# when you transport something by ship it's called cargo?
# If nothing ever sticks to Teflon, how do they make Teflon stick to the pan.
# Why don't sheep shrink after it rains?
# If 7-11 is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, why are there locks on the doors?
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04/21/2006 09:00:00 PM · #19 |
I have 3:
Why ask Why? (Budweiser, I think)
Why do birds suddenly appear? (A different beer song, I think)
Why do people answer rhetorical questions? (pass the beer) |
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04/21/2006 10:02:46 PM · #20 |
Why do we dust furniture, instead of un-dust it?
Why do we shell nuts instead of un-shell them?
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04/21/2006 10:04:59 PM · #21 |
Hey, wait, I thought it was "Gud minn godur! Thad er o:xi i ho:fdinu a mer..."
Originally posted by Gunnsi:
We have a word for this in my language (icelandic): Rist
Originally posted by Artan:
Why isn't there a special name for the tops of your feet?
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04/21/2006 10:27:05 PM · #22 |
You left out the oldest why
Why do you drive on a Parkway and park and a driveway? |
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04/22/2006 01:06:55 AM · #23 |
re: "why is it that doctors call what they do practice?"
1392, "to do, act, or perform habitually," from O.Fr. practiser "to practice," from M.L. practicare "to do, perform, practice," from L.L. practicus "practical," from Gk. praktikos "practical." The noun is from 1421, originally as practise, from O.Fr. pratiser, from M.L. practicare. Also as practik, which survived in parallel into 19c. Practiced "expert" is from 1568; practicing (adj.) is recorded from 1625 in ref. to professions, from 1906 in ref. to religions.
R.
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04/22/2006 01:09:01 AM · #24 |
Here's an odd "why" that vaguely bugs me; since in our Anglo-Saxon culture yellow is the color of cowardice, why do we tie a YELLOW ribbon around the old oak tree in honor of our warriors?
Robt.
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04/22/2006 01:19:22 AM · #25 |
Why are there more questions than answers?
Message edited by author 2006-04-22 01:19:56. |
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