the great questions of 2008, YTD

I have a little black book that I carry with me at all times. It’s my life in calendar format. The last 10 pages are dedicated to ‘Great Questions of 2008”. These are stumpers that come up during my conversations with friends. See how many you get right! Take the Challenge. Answers follow the questions.

1. What do Water Chestnuts look like in its natural form? Like normal chestnuts?
2. Are green peas the inside of green beans?
3. Is Bob Dole’s hand REAL or FAKE?
4. Did African American men or Women get the vote first (technically)?
5. Are coffee beans red?
6. What are macaroons exactly?
7. Do Asians metabolize alcohol faster?
8. How any cabs are there in Manhattan?
9. Irene, why is salt water taffy so special?
10. How do dogs lap water?
11. What is the difference between liquor and liqueur?
12. What do you call people who live in Myanmar, formerly Burma?
13. Is there a test to see if a pilot passes out when flying an F16?
14. Are Snapple facts true?
15. Snapple Fact: Seals sleep in 90 second increments
16. Snapple Fact: Beavers was once the size of bears (!!!! What happened????)
17. What is the origins of SARS?
18. What is Trazodone?
19. What is the Mongolian Blue Mark? And does Irene have it?
20. Is “Knightrider” Michael’s last name?
21. Can dogs be autistic?
22. Is Jon Stewart 5’2”?

Answers:

1. In fact, yes. Yes they do.
2. No silly!
3. Real, but only 1.5 fingers of his right hand work
4. African American Men
5. The coffee tree produces red or purple fruits (drupes). DRUPES!! Hooray for drupes!
6. Macaroons are cookies or confections. The macaroon is a close relative of of the macaroni and the Macarena. JUST KIDDING! Can be made of almonds, coconut, hazelnuts.
7. not faster, just differently.
8. 13,000. still not sure if this answer is correct.
9. Friends, it’s special for so many reasons. But interestingly enough, there is no clear connection between “salt water” and the“taffy” it precedes apart from the fact that it contains both salt, and water. (duh)
10. OMG! They lap it with the tongue scooping it pointing downwards! "A dog's tongue curls down and back (NOT UP) in a sort of fishhook shape and he literally pulls the water up and it falls into the floor of his mouth," explains Stan Coren, professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia and author of "How Dogs Think."
11. A liqueur is a sweet alcoholic beverage, often flavored with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, roots, plants, barks, and sometimes cream. Liqueur = Liquor
12. Burmese even tho their country is now called Myanmar.
13. I DON”T KNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But one can pass out bc the G force is so great when doing the loop de loop in an F16.
14. Yes. But no one believes me
15. it’s true.
16. also true!
17. From eating civit cats: A team of researchers from China and Hong Kong has found a genetic link between SARS in civet cats and humans, thus the disease seems to have been transmitted across species.***OR***From bats: SARS may have originated in wild bats in China, an international team of scientists report this week in Science.
18. a psychoactive compound with sedative, anxiolytic, and antidepressant properties.
19. Mongolian spots are blue, bluish-gray, bluish-green or blue-black flat skin markings that appear at birth or shortly thereafter during the infantile age ON THEIR BUMS. Common among Asian, East Indian, and African races, but rare among Caucasian and other races. I am fairly certain i still have mine or else it’s a bruise that won’t go away.
20. Knight
21. Yes. Tho not clinically diagnosed as autistic, dogs can have autistic symptoms
22. No. 5’7” seems to be the most common answer out there.

SNAPPLE FACT: You are smarter for having read this entry.