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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Animal Kingdom | |
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| Do all bears hibernate? | |
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| Is it true that a dinosaur larger than Tyrannosaurus rex was recently found? | |
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| Do spiders and other insects ever sleep? | |
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| What is the fastest snake in the world? | |
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| Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? | |
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| Why don't squirrels fall when they run across a telephone wire? | |
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| What makes flamingos pink? | |
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| Crime | |
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| How many innocent people have been executed by law in the United States since 1900? | |
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| What was the largest bank robbery in U.S. history? | |
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| What are the differences among first-degree, second-degree, and third-degree murder? | |
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| Is it true that there was a man who loved his girlfriend so much that when she died he dug up her grave and kept her corpse in his home? | |
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| Who was the famous bandit who wore a metal bucket on his head? | |
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| Who was Dr. H. H. Holmes? | |
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| Customs | |
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| How did the custom of kissing originate? | |
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| Why is a wedding ring worn on the third finger of the left hand? | |
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| How long has the running of the bulls been held and how many people have died? | |
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| Why is there a crescent moon on outhouse doors? | |
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| Why are barns always painted red? | |
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| Why is the shamrock associated with Saint Patrick? | |
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| Disasters | |
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| Which ship disaster resulted in the greatest loss of life? | |
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| What does SOS stand for? | |
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| What volcanic eruption killed the most people in the twentieth century? | |
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| What is the largest earthquake ever recorded in the continental United States? | |
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| What was the deadliest fire in U.S. history? | |
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| How many aircraft crashes have occurred in scheduled airline flights in the past fifty years? | |
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| Far Out | |
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| What was the world's largest typewriter? | |
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| Who was the model for the Gerber baby? | |
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| Who was Prester John? | |
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| Who was the first Ronald McDonald? | |
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| Have scientists actually been able to teleport an object from one location to another location? | |
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| Is it true that fleas have been trained to perform circus acts? | |
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| Food | |
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| Why is salt a good food preservative? | |
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| Where was sourdough bread invented? | |
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| How are the hulls removed from sunflower seeds? | |
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| What is the difference between Cajun and Creole? | |
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| What are the different types of caviar and why is caviar so expensive? | |
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| Why is coffee often referred to as "Joe"? | |
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| The Human Body | |
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| Is it true that we use only 10 percent of our brain at any given time? | |
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| Is it true that a full moon makes people act strangely? | |
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| What makes your fingers and toes become pruney after you have been in the bathtub for a while? | |
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| Why do your palms sweat when you are nervous? | |
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| Why do we have eyebrows? | |
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| Why does it feel good when you stretch? | |
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| Inventions | |
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| Who invented the zipper? | |
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| Why are soda cans cylindrical? | |
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| Who invented the bumper sticker? | |
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| Who invented Gatorade? | |
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| Who invented chewing gum? | |
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| Who invented plastic? | |
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| Language | |
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| Where did the term "You've been 86'ed" come from? | |
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| How many geese are in a gaggle? | |
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| What is the origin of the word "quack," meaning a fake or unethical doctor? | |
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| What is the origin of the word "cocktail" for a mixed drink? | |
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| What is the origin of the word "shrink" when used as a name for a psychologist? | |
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| Where did the term "chickenpox" come from? | |
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| Entertainment | |
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| What is the origin of the term "Oscar" for the Academy Awards? | |
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| Why don't television sets have a Channel 1? | |
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| What are the job definitions for all the credits you see at the end of a movie? | |
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| Who said, "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges!" | |
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| Where can you find the original words for Taps? | |
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| What is the name of the dog in the Maytag commercials? | |
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| Science | |
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| Why are there C and D batteries, but no A and B batteries? | |
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| If you could hollow out a sphere in the exact center of the earth large enough to hold a person, would that person feel gravity? | |
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| Has a tenth planet been discovered recently in our solar system? | |
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| How are seedless watermelons produced? | |
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| Is it true that glass is a liquid? | |
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| In movies, why does a wheel appear to be rotating backward when the wagon or car is moving forward? | |
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| Sports and Games | |
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| How did they pick the name Yahtzee for the dice game? | |
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| Why do golf balls have dimples? | |
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| Why do they pitch baseball overhand and softball underhand? | |
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| What are the meanings behind the rings on the Olympic flag ... both number and colors? | |
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| Who invented Frisbee? | |
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| What does "seeded" mean in tennis? | |
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| Transportation and Travel | |
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| Why do diesel truck drivers leave their truck engines running when parked? | |
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| If all the trains in the country were put end to end, how long would the line be? | |
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| What is the fastest propeller-driven plane in the world? | |
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| What was the China Clipper? | |
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| What makes sled dogs run? | |
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| Who holds the record for walking the farthest? | |
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| United States | |
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| How many people died during the flu epidemic of 1918? | |
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| Is it true that President Zachary Taylor was poisoned? | |
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| Which state has the most shoreline? | |
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| Why does the Great Seal of the United States have seven white stripes and six red stripes, when it's the opposite on the flag? | |
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| Is it true that a man built a castle with stones weighing up to 25 tons with no mechanical equipment or help from anyone? | |
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| How long was the Pony Express in operation? | |
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| Weather | |
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| What are the differences among sleet, freezing rain, and hail? | |
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| Did a rainmaker ever actually cause a flood in San Diego? | |
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| What is ball lightning? | |
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| What is the heat index? | |
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| What was the "year without a summer"? | |
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| Why is a rainbow curved? | |
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| World | |
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| Is it true that the only man-made object on earth that you can see from outer space is the Great Wall of China? | |
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| What are the seven seas? | |
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| Who was Hannibal and why was he crossing the Alps with elephants? | |
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| What is the story of Rome, Romulus, and Remus? | |
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| What language is spoken the most in the world? | |
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| Where are the Spice Islands? | |
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| Exploring the Internet | |
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| Index | |