Why is artificial sugar sweet? Because they have molecules that fit into the sweetness receptors in our taste buds. We have about 8000 taste buds on our tongues, although we cannot see them. The tongue is covered in tiny lumps called papillae. The taste buds are inside these papillae. Taste buds are made up of […]
#802 Why is artificial sugar sweet? Read More »
What is a subprime mortgage? It is a mortgage given to someone with a low credit rating who is thought to be a risk of non-repayment. They have more risk for banks, so they have much higher interest rates. As an interesting aside, the word “mortgage” comes from the old French “mort”, which meant “death”
#801 What is a subprime mortgage? Read More »
How is salt mined? In the same way that any other mineral is mined. There are three ways of producing salt. It can be mined out of the ground, it can be mined as a solution, or it can be left after the water is evaporated away. Salt on Earth is usually found underneath the
#800 How is salt mined? Read More »
Why are some people lactose intolerant? Because their body doesn’t make enough of an enzyme called lactase. Milk is a liquid produced in the mammary glands of most mammals. It is made of 87% water with the remainder made up mostly of fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. The proteins act as an emulsifier because
#799 Why are some people lactose intolerant? Read More »
How does a missile shield work? Attacking missiles can be brought down in the boost phase, the midcourse phase, and the terminal phase. Each phase of the missile’s path requires a different method to bring it down. A missile defense shield was first thought about in the Second World War. Germany had invented the V-2
#798 How does a missile shield work? Read More »
Why does a cracked whip make a sound? One portion of the whip moves faster than the speed of sound, creating a sonic boom. A sonic boom is created by anything that goes faster than the speed of sound, which is 343 m/s in air. Air behaves in the same way as a fluid, so
#797 Why does a cracked whip make a sound? Read More »
Why is there a plastic island in the Pacific Ocean? Because of the amount of plastic waste we throw into the sea and because of the point where ocean currents converge. There are plastic islands in all of the oceans on Earth, not just the Pacific. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch just happens to be
#796 Why is there a plastic island in the Pacific Ocean? Read More »
How do weight loss drugs work? They either reduce the appetite, reduce the absorption of nutrients, or increase the amount of fat that the body burns. Obesity is becoming a worldwide problem these days. It used to be only affluent countries that suffered from it, but now there are not many countries that are unaffected.
#795 How do weight loss drugs work? Read More »
How many people do you need for a revolution? You need 3.5% of a population to start a revolution. There have been countless revolutions throughout human history. The ones that probably stick in our minds (depending on where we are from) are the French Revolution from 1789, the American Revolution from 1765, the Chinese Revolution
#794 How many people do you need for a revolution? Read More »
Why do beavers build dams? To make a deep pond that they can live in. Beavers are rodents and they are the second largest rodents in the world. Only the capybara is bigger. However, unlike most other rodents, beavers are herbivores. They mainly eat tree bark, water plants, and grasses. Because they are mammals and
#793 Why do beavers build dams? Read More »
