SLoW nIGht? Dumb Questions?

[bchgirl]

Originally Posted by AsCeNsIoN

Why doesn't the super glue stick to the inside of the tube?

Better question....why won't super glue adhere to whatever you are trying to repair, but will glue your fingers together in 5 seconds flat?

[bchgirl]

Originally Posted by fasteddie

Only since it's been 21 hours without an answer...
---
[Q] From John Branch: “I’ve heard three explanations for the term Windy City as an epithet for Chicago, Illinois: the common assumption that it refers to the winds gusting through the city (understandable to anyone who’s been there); the boasting of Chicagoans to the rest of America about the glories of their rebuilt city after the Great Fire; and the blustering of Chicago politicians to the city’s inhabitants. My guess is that the first could easily be invention after the fact, while the last is too local to account for the term’s familiarity elsewhere. What do your sources tell you?”

[A] It is indeed often said that the word windy in the name refers to the long-winded and boastful speech of Chicago politicians.

The story you will commonly find is that it dates to shortly before the great World’s Columbian Exhibition of 1893. Chicago was putting forward its claim with great verve and bombast. This really got up the nose of people in New York, which was competing with Chicago to host the exhibition. Animosity became so bad that Charles A Dana, editor of the New York Sun, wrote an editorial telling New Yorkers to pay no attention to the “nonsensical claims of that windy city. Its people could not hold a world’s fair even if they won it”. The history books tell us that Chicago did win it and did hold it (and even made a profit from it). Books also tell us that the nickname of Windy City dates from that editorial.

This story is wrong. There are several recorded instances of Chicago being called the Windy City before Mr Dana put his pen to paper. That we now have what looks like the real story is owed, as so often with American expressions, to Barry Popik, part-time parking judge and expert amateur word sleuth.

For example, he found this in the Chicago Tribune for 11 September 1886: “The name of ‘Windy City,’ which is sometimes used by village papers in New York and Michigan to designate Chicago, is intended as a tribute to the refreshing lake breezes of the great summer resort of the West, but is an awkward and rather ill-chosen expression and is doubtless misunderstood”.

It has only recently been discovered that the term appears even earlier, in a headline on the front page of the Cleveland Gazette for 19 September 1885, reporting several items of news from Chicago, particularly a judicial decision: “From the Windy City: Judge Foote’s Civil Right decision”. For the nickname to be well enough known in Cleveland that it appeared in a headline without explanation indicates that it was by 1885 getting to be an established term.

Mr Popik has suggested that the name actually originated in a scheme by the Chicago Tribune about that date to promote the city as a summer resort, using the cool breeze off the lake as the basis of its attraction. Before then, Chicago was usually nicknamed Garden City (its Latin motto was and is Urbs in Horto, “city in a garden”). There seems to have been a shift from the old name to the new in the middle 1880s.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-win1.htm

Nah, that's not why.... it's the hot air.....ssshhhh don't tell Stewiesmoms

[fasteddie]

Originally Posted by AsCeNsIoN

Why doesn't the super glue stick to the inside of the tube?

Q: Why doesn't superglue stick to the inside of its tube?

A: Superglue will not stick to the inside of its tube because the tube contains oxygen in the form of air but excludes water. Oxygen inhibits whereas water catalyses.

A: Superglue doesn't stick to the inside of the tube because, being based on a cyano-acrylate monomer, it requires moisture in the form of water or some other active hydrogen-bearing compound to polymerise.

This explains why the best join between two surfaces is made using a thin glue line. An excess thickness of glue will lead to a retarded cure. This moisture sensitivity explains two things. First, why the bottle comes with a seal that's impossible to break without covering oneself in glue and why the resulting spillage adheres so well to your skin - being warm and moist, skin makes an ideal substrate.

A: The Loctite company in the US discovered the inhibition by oxygen of the otherwise rapid polymerisation of cyano-acrylate. That is why the bottle must always be left with plenty of air inside. The liquid monomer converts to solid polymer when oxygen is excluded by trapping it between close-fitting surfaces.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg14820087.800.html

Originally Posted by AsCeNsIoN

Do penguins have knees?

Do penguins have knees?

1. Yes, though they face rearward, as most birds' knees do. The knees just aren't visible under their feathers.

2. You can see in this picture : http://www.skullsunlimited.com/black...d_penguin.html that they do have knees very close to their body.

3. Penguins, in common with all birds, have a different arrangement of joints in the legs from those in mammals. However, they do have joints equivalent to our knees - the difference is that these joints are much closer to the hip than on mammals

http://www.answerbag.com/c_view.php/2380#q_12376

Also, the person that wrote the book "Do Penguins Have Knees?" states this:

Penguins DO have knees, and I can prove it. I touched a penguin's knee myself during the photo shoot for this book.

http://www.imponderables.com/do_penguins_have.php

[BabyFidgette]

I know this question is going to sound mean, but IT'S NOT!!!

Do people on YT have a life other than their Yorkies? I know I don't!



Do I wish I did? At this point, no not really. Yorkies love unconditionally.

[bchgirl]

Why is a flock of crows called a murder?

[AsCeNsIoN]

LoL!!! I never expected anyone to answer me!! ROFL!! Thanks Fasteddie You are the fountain of all knowledge!

So penguins do have knees, thats so cool. Cute little wadlers

[bugaboosmom]

What if when we are asleep and dream that is reality and right now is just a dream?

[OLIVIA_KARHIS]

I am in germany right now (from texas) and my land lord gose wolf wolf. My bunny looks at him like he is CRAZY.

[LaLoca1]

Why can't I win the lottery?

[fasteddie]

Originally Posted by bchgirl

Why is a flock of crows called a murder?

What is a group of crows called (as in "a gaggle of geese")?
The poetic term for a bunch of crows is a "murder." No scientist calls them that, only poets. Scientists would call it a flock.
[everything you ever wanted to know about crows can be found here]
http://cumv.bio.cornell.edu/mcgowan/crowfaq.htm#murder

"Flock" is correct, but only if the geese are standing around killing time. If the group of geese is flying, it becomes a "skein". If the geese are on the water, the're a "gaggle".

A "convocation" of Eagles. (Not to be confused with a convention of Eagles, who are the ones wearing hats.)
A "charm" of hummingbirds.
A "skulk" of foxes.
A "chattering" of starlings.
A "mustering" of storks.
An "unkindness" of ravens.
A "seige" of herons.
A "leap" of leopards.
A "murder" of crows.
A "sloth" of bears

Let's begin with Cub Scouts. As with geese, the group terms vary according to what the Cubs are doing. If they are meeting at someone else's house, for exmple, they are referred to as a "den". If they are meeting at your house, they are a "din" of Cub Scouts, a very important distinction, believe me! A group of den mothers, the adult leaders of Cubs, is a "frazzle". Collectively, the husbands of den mothers are "the weekly poker game."

There are different names for groups of fishermen in different situations. A group of fishemen driving out to begin a day of fishing is an "exuberance". If he day turns out to be unsuccessful, the group is variously referred to as a "sulk" or a "grumble". A group of ice fishermen is a "chatter" or a "chill", although the term "loony" is often used, particularly by wives of ice fishermen.
As a group, spouses of fishemen off on a three-day lark, or even an exaltation of larks, are variously a crash of wives, a leap of wives, and sometimes a murder of wives. Often a single wife will appear to be a whole group under these circumstances and it is all right to use the appropriate group term, if you get the chance and think it will do you any good.
Strangely, there are a few interesting group names for hunters. For example, a group of lost hunters is referred to as "a group of lost huntes," although wives will occasionally refer to such a group as a "nincompoopery". A "boast" of hunters refers to any group of hunters larger than one. A "tedium" is any group of hunters who get started talking about their first deer, first elk, or any of their other firsts, of which there are whole exaltations.

A "whiff" of skunk trappers is one of my favorite group terms, as is a "cramp" of camp cooks.
[here is a website for crow info]
www.well.com/user/crow/corvids.html
[it gets discussed on this thread]
www.bcpl.net/~tross/gnchat.html

James Lipton's "An Exaltation of Larks" is devoted to these collective nouns, many of which orignated as hunters' terms and have been in the language for centuries. Here's a gleaning from his book:
A covey of partridges
A murder of crows
A rafter of turkeys
A brood of hens
A fall of woodcocks
A dule of doves
A wedge of swans
A party of jays
A company of parrots
A colony of penguins
A cover of coots
A sord of mallards
A dissimulation of birds
A peep of chickens
A pitying of turtledoves
A paddling of ducks [on the water]
A siege of herons
A charm of finches
A skein of geese [in flight] a tidings of magpies
A cast of hawks
A deceit of lapwings
An ostentation of peacocks
A bouquet of pheasants
A congregation of plovers
An unkindness of ravens
A building of rooks
A host of sparrows
A descent of woodpeckers
A mustering of storks
A flight of swallows
A watch of nightingales
A murmuration of starlings
A spring of teal
A parliament of owls
An exaltation of larks

From: http://p098.ezboard.com/fwordorigins...icID=300.topic

[fasteddie]

Originally Posted by bugaboosmom

What if when we are asleep and dream that is reality and right now is just a dream?

That's much too complex for my puny brain!

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by fasteddie

What is a group of crows called (as in "a gaggle of geese")?
The poetic term for a bunch of crows is a "murder." No scientist calls them that, only poets. Scientists would call it a flock.
[everything you ever wanted to know about crows can be found here]
http://cumv.bio.cornell.edu/mcgowan/crowfaq.htm#murder

"Flock" is correct, but only if the geese are standing around killing time. If the group of geese is flying, it becomes a "skein". If the geese are on the water, the're a "gaggle".

A "convocation" of Eagles. (Not to be confused with a convention of Eagles, who are the ones wearing hats.)
A "charm" of hummingbirds.
A "skulk" of foxes.
A "chattering" of starlings.
A "mustering" of storks.
An "unkindness" of ravens.
A "seige" of herons.
A "leap" of leopards.
A "murder" of crows.
A "sloth" of bears

Let's begin with Cub Scouts. As with geese, the group terms vary according to what the Cubs are doing. If they are meeting at someone else's house, for exmple, they are referred to as a "den". If they are meeting at your house, they are a "din" of Cub Scouts, a very important distinction, believe me! A group of den mothers, the adult leaders of Cubs, is a "frazzle". Collectively, the husbands of den mothers are "the weekly poker game."

There are different names for groups of fishermen in different situations. A group of fishemen driving out to begin a day of fishing is an "exuberance". If he day turns out to be unsuccessful, the group is variously referred to as a "sulk" or a "grumble". A group of ice fishermen is a "chatter" or a "chill", although the term "loony" is often used, particularly by wives of ice fishermen.
As a group, spouses of fishemen off on a three-day lark, or even an exaltation of larks, are variously a crash of wives, a leap of wives, and sometimes a murder of wives. Often a single wife will appear to be a whole group under these circumstances and it is all right to use the appropriate group term, if you get the chance and think it will do you any good.
Strangely, there are a few interesting group names for hunters. For example, a group of lost hunters is referred to as "a group of lost huntes," although wives will occasionally refer to such a group as a "nincompoopery". A "boast" of hunters refers to any group of hunters larger than one. A "tedium" is any group of hunters who get started talking about their first deer, first elk, or any of their other firsts, of which there are whole exaltations.

A "whiff" of skunk trappers is one of my favorite group terms, as is a "cramp" of camp cooks.
[here is a website for crow info]
www.well.com/user/crow/corvids.html
[it gets discussed on this thread]
www.bcpl.net/~tross/gnchat.html

James Lipton's "An Exaltation of Larks" is devoted to these collective nouns, many of which orignated as hunters' terms and have been in the language for centuries. Here's a gleaning from his book:
A covey of partridges
A murder of crows
A rafter of turkeys
A brood of hens
A fall of woodcocks
A dule of doves
A wedge of swans
A party of jays
A company of parrots
A colony of penguins
A cover of coots
A sord of mallards
A dissimulation of birds
A peep of chickens
A pitying of turtledoves
A paddling of ducks [on the water]
A siege of herons
A charm of finches
A skein of geese [in flight] a tidings of magpies
A cast of hawks
A deceit of lapwings
An ostentation of peacocks
A bouquet of pheasants
A congregation of plovers
An unkindness of ravens
A building of rooks
A host of sparrows
A descent of woodpeckers
A mustering of storks
A flight of swallows
A watch of nightingales
A murmuration of starlings
A spring of teal
A parliament of owls
An exaltation of larks

From: http://p098.ezboard.com/fwordorigins...icID=300.topic

The answer man lives! And a witty reply to boot. Thanks FE, you da answa man.

[fasteddie]

Originally Posted by LaLoca1

Why can't I win the lottery?

Hopefully you aren't spending as much as the lady here, because by NOT playing you may be able to amass a small fortune and your odds of this small fortune may be decidedly better!
---
For the past five years, 23-year old Amber Aase has bought California lottery tickets, spending $10 to $20 a week. Sometimes $30 a day when the jackpot got gigantic -- or the dream got desperate.

"It's always when I don't have the money that I actually play, hoping that I'm going to double my money, so that I have money to pay bills and get ahead."

If you add it all up -- $10 to $20 a week for 5 years -- Amber invested more than $3,100 in the lottery. She estimates her winnings at $300. That's a $2,800 loss! We asked financial planner Carol Van Bruggen how Amber could have done better for herself.

This graph shows what Amber's same $3,100 investment would have given her had she put her money in the stock market -- in a basic mutual fund with a minimal 12% rate of return.

"Over a five-year period of time, she actually would have had $4,088. But what's amazing is: if she continued to do this, she would have...almost $312,000 by the age of 50."

But Amber is not convinced, even when we show her the astounding long-term pay off.

"I need to put money away. I agree, and this is a good way to do it. But what if I win on this one in my pocket?"

We wish you luck, Amber. Not on your lottery tickets, but when you create your own winning ticket -- with your investments!

http://www.pbs.org/moneymoves/hot_to...3/numbers.html

[MeganS]

this is funny! here's one...

why do we park in the driveway and drive on the parkway? that has always confused me.....

[fasteddie]

Why do we drive on the parkway and park on the driveway?

19-Jun-1987

Dear Cecil:

Please answer this question--I've been lying awake nights just wondering. Why do we drive on the parkway and park in the driveway? --Deidra N., Baltimore

Dear Deidra:

Believe it or not, this is the third time I've gotten this question in as many months. It must be the sunspots.

Let's get one thing cleared up right off the bat: you can drive on the driveway. Indeed, if you'll permit me to wax philosophical for a moment, this is the very essence of drivewayness--to enable you to drive from the street to your garage. Moreover, you can park on the parkway, if you're willing to risk the wrath of the law. I don't know that this clarifies things much, but it seemed like a point worth making.

I think the crux of the issue, however--I love using words like crux--is the dual meaning of "park."

Park in the sense of tended greenery and park in the sense of stowing your vehicle, though deriving from the same root, diverged in meaning long ago. In Old French, a parc was an enclosure. To this day a military park means an area where vehicles are stored and serviced. As early as 1812 there was a verb "to park," meaning to store one's howitzers in a military park. This carried over to carriages and ultimately to any sort of vehicle.

Our notion of landscaped parks, meanwhile, derives from the medieval practice of enclosing game preserves for the use of the aristocracy. The term was later applied to the grounds around a country estate, then to royal parks in London to which the proles were grudgingly admitted, and finally to any landscaped public grounds. The idea of enclosure is still evident in expressions like "ball park," for an enclosed playing field. Any more questions, smart stuff?

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_080.html