BIG QUESTIONS

Will There Be a Hurricane Sandy Baby Boom?

Last week, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, readers @amyh914, @dauentina and ?@TheRealYadiM all asked if we should expect a spike in birth rates along the East Coat nine months from now—a mini-baby boom caused by Sandy.The idea that disasters and birth rat

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Why Do Nebraska and Maine Split Electoral Votes?

In the majority of the United States, one candidate gets all of a state’s electoral votes. Two states, however, don’t have to go the all-or-nothing route: Nebraska and Maine, thanks to the Congressional District Method.

When Did We Start Naming Winter Storms?

Don’t be surprised if you hear a meteorologist refer to the nor'easter that’s about to hit the East Coast as “Athena.” They’re just following the example of The Weather Channel, which recently announced that it will name “noteworthy winter storms,” just a

Where Did The Idea Of "Red States" and "Blue States" Come From?

Wikimedia CommonsThat’s all, folks: The 2012 election is finally over. In the run up, we tackled big election questions, from why we vote on Tuesdays to what would happen in the event of a natural disaster on Election Day to whether Americans actually mov

Why Do Cats Paw Around Their Food Bowls?

I could write a book on the strange stuff my cat does, but when I switched her food from dry to wet recently, she started doing something really weird: She’d maneuver her way around her food dish, pawing the ground as she went. Her behavior was odd enough

How Do Blood Pressure Tests Work, And What Do Those Numbers Mean?

Getting your blood pressure taken is a standard part of most visits to the doctor, but the details might seem mysterious—so read on.What It IsBlood pressure (BP) is the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of the arteries as it's pumped from th

Is It Legal To Kill A Zombie?

Like the Shaun of the Dead slogan says, "aim for the head." But before you start readying your zombie apocalypse weapon of choice, you'd better find out if you're going to get in trouble for taking out the infected. According to San Diego criminal lawyer

What Were They Thinking?: The Psychology of Riding Out the Storm

Last night we put the call out for readers’ nagging hurricane questions. @BrothaDom and @michellesipics both asked for a peek into the minds of people who defy evacuation orders “in the face of everything that is sane.”Just hours before Hurricane Sandy ma

Why Do Dogs Kick Their Legs When You Scratch Their Bellies?

Every dog seems to have one—that special spot on his belly or flank that, when scratched, sends his back leg kicking like crazy. It’s odd and amusing, especially because some dogs seems to be as confused by it as their owners are. What’s going

Do People Really Walk in Circles When They’re Lost?

It’s a reliable movie trope: Our heroes are lost in the woods, and in their valiant effort to make a beeline out of the forest or back to camp or civilization, they inevitably get turned around and wind up back at the same spot where they began.When a sci

How Do Zebras Get Their Stripes?

Coat patterns such as a zebra’s stripes afford animals the ability to blend into their environment and among other individuals with the same patterns. Predators can’t see camouflaged animals or target specific individuals in a mass of spots or stripes. A

How Happy Are Clams?

Wikimedia Commons"Happy as a clam" is one of those expressions that makes you wonder: Does this phrase come from an actual measurement of the happiness of

How Do 3D Glasses Work?

Stereoscopy—the illusion of depth created by showing a separate image to each eye—is at least as old as photography itself. In the last few years, however, stereoscopic 3D movies have come back in a big way. Theaters show you 3D movies by projecting two i

What Makes Something an Antique?

Every time you watch Antiques Roadshow, you probably wonder: Just how do we know what items are antiques?

Where Did Hard Hats Come From?

Historically, dockworkers covered their hats with tar and let that harden to offer some protection against falling objects. But hard hats as we know them today developed slowly.Wikipedia credits writer Franz Kafka with designing the first industrial hard

Why Do We Say “Pardon My French” When We Curse?

My dad always used to preface the dropping of an F-bomb or a tangent of creative profanity with a request that listeners “pardon his French.”

What's Up With "10-4" And Other Radio Lingo?

Reader and frequent question-asker Nate J. wrote in wondering why we say things like "10-4" and "Roger" on walkie-talkies and other two-way radios.

Why Is the Sound of Nails on a Chalkboard So Unpleasant?

The act of scraping nails down a chalkboard creates a sound so awful that most people have an instantaneous reaction: A shiver runs up the spine, and they slap their hands over their ears. Anything to block out that noise! But why do unpleasant sounds af

What is Rubella?

Rubella Virus. Wikimedia CommonsAlmost everyone is familiar with the measles and mumps, but the 'R' in the MMR vaccine might not ring a bell. Here's the lowdown.Discovery and SymptomsRubella is a disease caused by a virus of the same name. It can be sprea

Why Is Cranberry Juice Good For UTIs?

A mental_floss staffer who shall remain nameless asks, “Why is cranberry juice good for treating UTIs? I will not tell you why this question had been on my mind.”Bacterial infections in the urinary tract and its organs are pretty common, especially in adu

Why Is Abruptly Quitting Something Called "Going Cold Turkey"?

Around this time of year, we’re all loosening our belts and getting ready to gorge ourselves on hot, gravy-laden turkey. So we couldn’t help but wonder about things at the opposite end of the temperature spectrum: the “cold turkey” invoked when people up

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Why Are Blueprints Blue?

Photo Courtesy of the Free Library of PhiladelphiaTechnical drawings of architectural or engineering designs always seem to consist of white images and text on blue paper. Why?

How Do Tongue Twisters Twist The Tongue?

Try and say “she sells sea shells by the sea shore” three times very fast. The first time might go alright, but on the second or third go-round, chances are the words start to degrade as you’re saying them, falling apart in your mouth like a crumbling Jen

Is It True That T. Rex Could Only See Things That Were Moving?

I rewatched Jurassic Park a few weeks ago and, from the story to the special effects, it still holds up. But I’ve been nagged by one thing that’s stuck with me from the first time I saw the movie...

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