How Does Aspirin Find a Headache?

by David Feldman

  Submitted by Erin Driedger of Osgoode, Ontario.

  Why Do Most Women’s Hairbrushes Have Long Handles When Men’s Hairbrushes Have Short Handles or No Handles at All?

  Why are men deprived of the graceful, long handles on women’s hairbrushes? According to the experts we contacted, the answer seems to be that the longer the hair of the user is, the longer the handle of the brush should be. Carmen Miller, product manager of Vidal Sassoon brushes and combs division, explains:

  Traditionally, men have used what is referred to as a “Club” brush—a wide-based brush with densely packed bristles and a shorter length handle. This brush is best used for smoothing hair, not texturizing or detangling, as most women’s brushes are used for. Since men usually have closely cropped hair, they need to use a brush closer to the scalp to effectively smooth their hair.

  This response, of course, begs the question of whether Annie Lennox and Sinead O’Connor use long-or short-handled brushes. Or imagine the plight of Daniel Day Lewis, in Last of the Mohicans, ferreting the burrs out of his hair with a handless brush. Fabio could use a long handle too.

  Miller indicates that the shape of the man’s hand, as well as the shortness of his hair, is a consideration in handle length:

  The [short] handle was designed to allow a man’s hand to closely grip the brush and thus better control its smoothing action. In addition, the shorter handle style is usually a wider or thicker handle, which fits a man’s larger hand more comfortably and provides a stronger brush that won’t break easily.

  The Fuller Brush Company’s laboratory manager, Bill Dayton, suggests another theory that explains why men’s hairbrushes have gotten shorter and shorter over the centuries (many older men’s brushes were indistinguishable from women’s): “Men’s brushes were designed to conserve space in military duffel bags and dop kits.”

  Submitted by Anne Taylor Spence of Washington, D.C.

  Why Do Some Ladybugs Have Spots and Others Have None?

  Ladybugs, beloved by children and politically correct animal lovers, have a great public relations person. In reality, they are just a type of beetle. There are somewhere between three thousand and four thousand species of ladybugs in the world.

  Their colorings and markings vary so much that most entomologists have concluded that nothing in particular separates a ladybug with spots from a spotless individual. You can’t tell the sex or gender of a ladybug from its markings. One individual ladybug from a given species might have spots; others of the same species, from the same region, might not.

  The variations of coloring are almost endless. Ladybugs’ bodies might be red with black markings, or orange with blue markings. Some have only two spots, while the Thirteen Spotted Lady Beetle, appropriately enough, sports thirteen. Why has nature provided them with such a seemingly random succession of markings?

  Most entomologists believe that spots are there for defensive purposes. Robin Roche, keeper and entomologist at the Insect Zoo in San Francisco, told Imponderables that in nature, red and black (two of the most common colors for ladybugs’ spots) are warning colorations. Other creatures, especially birds and rodents, learn that animals with certain colors sting or taste less than delectable. Even animals that don’t emit toxins might mimic the appearance of spotted animals that do. Many ladybugs actually do make a lurking predator’s life most unpleasant: Some spray blood, while others spray a poisonous fluid.

  Although no one can be sure, most entomologists lend credence to the theory that regional spotting variations occur because the lady-bugs’ spots simulate the appearance of a more venomous animal. But others aren’t so sure and wonder why, if the markings are so important to their defense, other individual ladybugs in the same region aren’t born with a similar defense mechanism. Lynn S. Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, suggests that some variations in spotting might be due to temperature differences, “or it may be a genetic component of a population, much like the coloration of domestic dogs (e.g., dalmatians versus Labrador retrievers).

  Submitted by Angel Vecchio of Fresno, California. Thanks also to Ashley Watts of Caledonia, Ontario.

  Why Does a Loud Bang or Opening and Closing the Oven Door Sometimes Make Soufflés and Cakes Fall in the Oven?

  Tom Lehmann, bakery, assistance director at the American Institute of Baking, told Imponderables that while a cake is being baked, the batter rises to a point slight higher than its fully baked height. The baking powder in the batter produces gas that causes the leavening effect. “At a time when the batter is at its maximum height, but has not ‘set’ due to starch gelatinization and protein coagulation, the batter is very unstable.” The cake is at its most fragile and delicate because, according to bakery consultant Dr. Simon S. Jackel, “the air cells holding the entrapped gases are very thin and weak.”

  Not all cakes will crash if confronted with a loud noise. But most will fall during this vulnerable time during the cooking process, and soufflés are always in danger. Joe Andrews, publicity coordinator for Pillsbury Brands, explains:

  The basic structure of a soufflé is developed by egg proteins, which are whipped into a foam and then set by baking. When whipping of the egg whites occurs, large pockets of air are trapped by the albumen, and in the process, this protein is partially denatured. The denaturation (or setting) continues (along with the expansion of the air bubbles) when the proteins are heated in the oven. If the oven is opened while this expansion is taking place, the air pressure change and temperature change can cause the whole structure to collapse.

  The most common bang, of course, is the opening and closing of the oven door. Anyone near a loudspeaker at a rock concert knows that sound vibrations can be felt; a soufflé or cake can be pummeled by a nearby noise. Although cakes are usually hardier than soufflés, Andrews indicates the same problems that afflict soufflés also make cakes fall,

  especially if the primary source of leavening for the cake is beaten egg whites (e.g., angel food or chiffon cakes). Layer cakes contain more flour and the structure is formed as much by starch gelatinization as egg denaturation, so they would not be as susceptible to falling when the door is opened—unless the door is opened too early in the baking process (during the first twenty minutes) before the cake structure has set.

  Only when the internal temperature of the cake reaches a range of 160 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit is the cake out of the woods, because, as Jackel puts it, “the liquid batter is now converted to solid cake structure.”

  Submitted by Sherry Grenier of Amos, Quebec.

  Why Do Angel Food Cakes Have to Be Turned Upside-Down While Cooling?

  As we just learned, angel food cakes are structurally delicate when baking, but once they’ve achieved a solid state, why in the heck do we have to turn them on their heads? We headed back to our trusty experts for their counsel. Tom Lehmann responded:

  Angel food cakes are really nothing more than an expanded egg white foam with sugar added for sweetness, and flour added to stabilize the foam and prevent it from collapsing during baking and cooling. Due to their inherent weakness, angel food cakes would collapse during baking and cooling if it weren’t for two things. First, an angel food cake pan is never greased. This allows the batter to grip the pan sides for added support. The cakes are then stuck tightly enough to the pan after baking to allow them to be inverted without the cake falling out of the pan. By inverting the pan, we prevent the cake from further settling during cooling and obtain a light, tender finished cake.

  Dr. Jackel notes that inverting the cake is absolutely essential for achieving an evenness of consistency:

  Although the top of the angel food cake has lost moisture in the oven during baking, and formed a dry skin, the bottom of the cake has retained some of the moisture and is slightly soft and sticky, because the bottom of the pan is not designed to release moisture as the cake bakes. When the cake is cooled, it is turned over so that the sticky, moist bottom of the cake has a chance to
lose the extra moisture to the atmosphere and form a skin. The top has already formed the skin the oven and therefore is already dry and firm.

  Submitted by Gregg Hoover of Pueblo, Colorado.

  Why Have Auto Manufacturers Moved the Brights/ Dimmer Switch from the Floorboard to the Stalk of the Steering Column?

  We have fond memories of cross-country trips in which we were so bored during barren stretches that we would amuse ourselves by clicking the dimmer control on the floorboard, even though our lights weren’t on. This may not compete with square dancing or coin collecting as a pastime, but it was some solace as we fantasized about the next odometer check or Stuckey’s we might encounter.

  Alas, our old diversion has now faded into nostalgia. In the 1970s, Detroit followed the lead of European and Japanese automakers and mounted brightness controls on a stalk of the steering column. At first we wondered whether this change was mandated by regulation, but we quickly learned there was no such requirement. An expert at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who prefers to remain anonymous informed us that the Department of Transportation only cares that there be a control to turn the high beams on and off, and that a (blue) light alerts the driver that the brights are on. (Red lights are reserved for warning indicators, such as overheating, oil shortages, etc.)

  From the government’s standpoint, the location of the control is not a safety issue, so the dimmer switch could be mounted on the ceiling and require a head butt to engage. So why did the automakers bother changing? We received five different explanations:

  1. The move allowed auto manufacturers to put all the electrical features in the steering column instead of isolating one electrical element far away on the floor. This is why light, windshield wiper, and cruise controls have joined the horn and directional signals on the steering columns of most cars. Furthermore, as pointed out by Vann Wilber, director of safety and international technical affairs for the American Automobile Manufacturers Association, the floors of cars tend to get wet in the winter, and the water can seep into the electrical system, a potential safety hazard.

  2. Consumers seem to prefer it. Wilber told Imponderables that the Big Three American automakers conducted human factors research indicating that drivers can identify hand-operated controls more quickly and easily than floor-mounted counterparts. Obviously, if the controls are adjacent to the steering wheel, the driver’s hands are close to the beam control. Now that automobiles are often laden with as many gewgaws as jet instrument panels, the visibility of controls has become increasingly important. According to a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Lighting Committee, well-labeled stalk controls forestall drivers from looking around the dashboard, feeling around with their feet, or even worse, looking on the ground for the right pedal to depress, when they should be looking at the road.

  Notwithstanding this reasoning, we must argue that markings on the stalk are of little use if the interior of the car is dark. Although one eventually becomes accustomed to the location of controls on one’s own cars, it is disconcerting to rent an automobile and find oneself turning on the windshield wipers when one meant to cut off the high beams. Locating the old controls at worst required a one-time foot grope—knowing that there were no other controls on the floor made us less queasy about searching for it.

  3. For people driving with standard transmissions, who must constantly use the left foot for the clutch, floor-mounted controls were often a nuisance and potentially even a safety hazard.

  4. Mounting the brightness control on the steering stalk has enabled manufacturers to allow drivers to put on the high beams even when their lights were not previously on. This feature makes it possible for drivers to alert the car in front of them to move over so that they can pass.

  5. Because of the increase in international travel and alliances between American and foreign automakers, it makes sense to standardize as many features of automobiles as possible, particularly safety features.

  We can’t stop progress, we guess. But we’re not happy about this particular change. If you are depressed about your car’s barren floorboards, you may perk up a little when you find out that the issue of dimmer controls has inspired a joke among folks in the auto industry:

  General Motors is circulating a new service bulletin regarding car with high beams on the stalk. G.M. is going back to the floor-mounted switch because too many____(fill in favorite oppressed group) were getting their feet tangled in the steering wheel when they tried to turn on their brights.

  And then again, maybe you won’t perk up after hearing the joke.

  Submitted by David Letterman, somewhere in Connecticut.

  Why Is an Ineligible College Athlete Called a “Redshirt”? And Why Do Colleges Redshirt Players?

  We were surprised at how difficult it was to obtain hard information about the history of redshirting. But every football source we contacted told us to contact Pat Harmon, legendary Cincinnati sportswriter and currently historian of the College Football of Fame. Harmon was king enough to write us about the origins of this colorful term:

  At the University of Alabama many years ago, the coaching staff had recruited a large number of new students who were football players. Some of them were mature enough to work in the regular format—four years of college, four years of football.

  But if the coaches had an overabundance of player-candidates at one position—say tackle or end—they would decide to hold some of the newcomers back a year.

  These students would go to class for five years. They would practice football for five years but play only four.

  For that first year, when they practiced every day but were not used in games, they needed an identification so the coaches could spot them quickly. They were given red shirts [to separate them from the varsity playing squad].

  The practice of developing five-year players spread to other schools, and so did the use of red shifts. Thus a player who was held out for a year was called a redshirt.

  The redshirted player lives in a twilight zone best described by writer Douglas Looney in a 1982 Sports Illustrated article:

  The redshirt gets to practice like the other players gets chewed out like the other players, goes to sleep in meetings like the other players, and takes his lumps like the other players, except he doesn’t get to play in games. Which is to say, he gets everything football has to offer but the fun.

  College football researcher Ray Schmidt told Imponderables that in practice, many coaches and other players actually do take it a little easier on redshirted freshmen. After all, why should coaches “waste” their time trying to perfect a play with athletes who will never implement it?

  The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)has had a long love-hate relationship with redshirting. The NCAA first legally adopted the practice in 1961 on behalf of a DePaul basketball player who did not play his freshman year. Because of technical regulations then in place, the player was free to play during the college season but ineligible during postseason competition.

  Unfortunately, the redshirt rule was abused. Although technically legal, murmurs of discontent among coaches was heard when the head football coach of the University of Washington, Ray James, who had a particularly talented group of upperclassmen, redshirted twenty-one of his twenty-three freshmen in 1978. As Bob Carroll of the Pro Football Researchers Association told Imponderables, eventually “coaches started stashing players away simply to preserve their eligibility.”

  Of course, if the coaches’ redshirting strategy works, the academic sophomore/football freshman starts off his actual intercollegiate play bigger, faster, and smarter than he would if he played right away. But redshirting can backfire. If he does not impress the coaching staff, he risks losing a scholarship for the next four years; if successful he freshman increases his potential marketability in the pros and could dominate his nonredshirted college competitors.

  Submitted by Dr. John Nushy of Torrance, California.

  If You Dig a Hole an
d Try to Plug the Hole with the Very Dirt You’ve Removed, Why Do you Never Have Enough Dirt To Refill the Hole?

  After speaking to several agronomists, we can say one thing with certainty: Don’t use the word “dirt” casually among soil experts. As Dr. Lee P. Grant of the University of Maryland’s Agricultural Engineering Department remonstrated us, dirt is what one gets on one’s clothes or sweeps off the floor. Francis D. Hole, professor emeritus of soil science and geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was a little less gentle:

  What would you do if you were some fine, life-giving soil who is twenty thousand years he senior of the digger, and you were operated on by this fugitive human being with a blunt surgical instrument (but without a soil surgeon’s license), and if you were addressed as so much “dirt” to boot? I am suggesting that a self-respecting soil would flee the spot and not be all there for you to manipulate back into hole.