Why does beer have alcohol? Because the yeast cells in the beer feed on sugar and produce ethanol. Yeast is an egg-shaped single-celled fungus. There are 1,500 different species of yeast. 1% of all fungal species are yeast. Humans use yeast for several things, but the most common are bread and alcoholic drinks. When yeast […]
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What is the Jevons Paradox? It is that improvements in efficiency of a machine increase the overall consumption of energy by making the machine cheaper and more efficient. The paradox is named after William Stanley Jevons who was an English economist and logician. He lived from 1835 to 1882, unfortunately drowning while bathing at the
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What is an anchorite? An anchorite or an anchoress were people who were walled into a small cell built into a church so that they could carry out a life of prayer and religious contemplation. Anchorites were men and anchoresses were women. The great majority of anchorites were actually women. Studies of the archives have
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Why can blowing up a balloon make you pass out? Because we hyperventilate and have too much oxygen and not enough carbon dioxide. Counterintuitively, it is too much oxygen and not enough carbon dioxide that can cause people to faint when they blow up a balloon. One would think that it is a lack of
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Are all bones made of calcium? Mammal bones and bird bones are all mostly made of collagen and calcium. Fish bones are either made of collagen and calcium, or of cartilage. Our bones, and all mammal bones, are not made only of calcium. Calcium is a large part, but it is not everything. Mammal bones
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What is the difference between short and long-term memory? Short-term memory holds small blocks of information for a few seconds up to a few minutes. Long-term memory holds information indefinitely. Memories can cross from short-term into long-term and be held for longer. There are three steps in making a memory and short-term memory is the
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What is high fructose corn syrup? It is a sweetener made from cornstarch. There is a lot of debate over whether high fructose corn syrup is bad for you or not. The American Food and Drug Administration says there is no evidence to show that high fructose corn syrup is any worse for you than
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How did the Vatican become a country? Benito Mussolini gave it to the Roman Catholic church in 1929. The Vatican is the world’s smallest country. It has a population of 453 people and is 0.44 square kilometers. That makes it about 2,500 times smaller than the city of Rome, which surrounds it. The Vatican is
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How does a naval mine work? There are several different kinds of mine that are intended for different targets and there are several different detonation mechanisms depending on the age of the mine and the cost. Naval mines have existed since explosives were discovered. The first naval mines were used in China in the 14th
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Why are hammerhead sharks shaped like that? The location of their eyes on the end of the hammer give them a greater ability to locate and catch stingrays. There are several different types of hammerhead shark, but they all have the same hammer-shaped head. This hammer shape is called a cephalofoil. The hammerhead shark with
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