When Do Fish Sleep?

by David Feldman

  Luckily, cloud drops do not fall at the same velocity as a water balloon. In fact, cloud drops are downright sluggards: They drop at a measly 0.3 centimeters per second. And cloud drops are so tiny, about 0.01 centimeters in diameter, that their descent is not even noticeable to the human eye.

  Submitted by Ronald C. Semone of Washington, D.C.

  Why Are There More Holes in the Mouthpiece of a Telephone than in the Earpiece?

  We just checked the telephone closest to us and were shocked. There are thirty-six holes on our mouthpiece, and a measly seven on the earpiece. What gives?

  Tucked underneath the mouthpiece is a tiny transmitter that duplicates our voices, and underneath the earpiece is a receiver. Those old enough to remember telephones that constantly howled will appreciate the problems inherent in having a receiver and transmitter close together enough to produce audible transmission without creating feedback.

  Before the handset, deskstand telephones were not portable, and the speaker had to talk into a stationary transmitter. Handsets added convenience to the user but potential pitfalls in transmission. While developing the telephone handset, engineers were aware that it was imperative for the lips of a speaker to be as close as possible to the transmitter. If a caller increases the distance between his lips and the transmitter from half an inch to one inch, the output volume will be reduced by three decibels. According to AT&T, in 1919 more than four thousand measurements of head dimensions were made to determine the proper dimensions of the handset. The goal, of course, was to design a headset that would best cup the ear and bring the transmitter close to the lips.

  One of the realities that the Bell engineers faced was that there was no way to force customers to talk directly into the mouthpiece. Watch most people talking on the phone and you will see their ears virtually covered by the receiver. But most people do not hold their mouths as close to the transmitter. This is the real reason why there are usually more holes in the mouthpiece than in the earpiece. The more holes there are, the more sensitive to sound the transmitter is, and the more likely that a mumbled aside will be heard three thousand miles away.

  Submitted by Tammy Madill of Millington, Tennessee.

  How Do Fish Return to a Lake or Pond that Has Dried Up?

  Our correspondent, Michael J. Catalana, rightfully wonders how even a small pond replenishes itself with fish after it has totally dried up. Is there a Johnny Fishseed who roams around the world restocking ponds and lakes with fish?

  We contacted several experts on fish to solve this mystery, and they wouldn’t answer until we cross-examined you a little bit, Michael. “How carefully did you look at that supposedly dried-up pond?” they wanted to know. Many species, such as the appropriately named mudminnows, can survive in mud. R. Bruce Gebhardt, of the North American Native Fishes Association, suggested that perhaps your eyesight was misdirected: “If there are small pools, fish may be able to hide in mud or weeds while you’re standing there looking into the pool.” When you leave, they re-emerge. Some tropical fish lay eggs that develop while the pond is dry; when rain comes and the pond is refilled with water, the eggs hatch quickly.

  For the sake of argument, Michael, we’ll assume that you communed with nature, getting down on your hands and knees to squeeze the mud searching for fish or eggs. You found no evidence of marine life. How can fish appear from out of thin air? We return to R. Bruce Gebhardt for the explanation:

  There are ways in which fish can return to a pond after total elimination. The most common is that most ponds or lakes have outlets and inlets; fish just swim back into the formerly hostile area. They are able to traverse and circumvent small rivulets, waterfalls, and pollution sources with surprising efficiency. If they find a pond with no fish in it, they may stay just because there’s a lot of food with no competition for it.

  Submitted by Michael J. Catalana of Ben Lomond, California.

  Why Do We Call Our Numbering System “Arabic” When Arabs Don’t Use Arabic Numbers Themselves?

  The first numbering system was probably developed by the Egyptians, but ancient Sumeria, Babylonia, and India used numerals in business transactions. All of the earliest number systems used some variation of 1 to denote one, probably because the numeral resembled a single finger. Historians suggest that our Arabic 2 and 3 are corruptions of two and three slash marks written hurriedly.

  Most students in Europe, Australia, and the Americas learn to calculate with Arabic numbers, even though these numerals were never used by Arabs. Arabic numbers were actually developed in India, long before the invention of the printing press (probably in the tenth century), but were subsequently translated into Arabic. European merchants who brought back treatises to their continent mistakenly assumed that Arabs had invented the system, and proceeded to translate the texts from Arabic.

  True Arabic numerals look little like ours. From one to ten, this is how they look:

  Submitted by Dr. Bruce Carter of Fort Ord, California.

  When You Are Driving Your Car at Night and Look Up at the Sky, Why Does It Seem that the Moon Is Following You Around?

  If you, like every other literate human being, have read Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise? and Other Imponderables, then you know why the moon looks larger on the horizon than up in the sky, even though the moon remains the same size. Clearly, our eyes can play tricks on us.

  Without reference points to guide us, the moon doesn’t seem to be far away. When you are driving on a highway, the objects closest to your car go whirring by. Barriers dividing the lanes become a blur. You can discern individual houses or trees by the side of the road, but, depending upon your speed, it might be painful to watch them go by. Distant trees and houses move by much more slowly, even though you are driving at the same speed. And distant mountains seem mammoth and motionless. Eventually, as you travel far enough down the highway, you will pass the mountains, and they will appear smaller.

  If you think the mountain range off the highway is large or far away, consider the moon, which is 240,000 miles away and bigger than any mountain range (more than 2,100 miles in diameter). We already know that our eyes are playing tricks with our perception of how big and far away the moon is. You would have to be traveling awfully far to make the moon appear to move at all. Astronomy editor Jeff Kanipe concludes that without a highway or expanse of landscape to give us reference points “this illusion of nearness coupled with its actual size and distance makes the moon appear to follow us wherever we go.”

  This phenomenon, much discussed in physics and astronomy textbooks, is called the parallax and is used to determine how the apparent change in the position of an object or heavenly body may be influenced by the changing position of the observer. Astronomers can determine the distance between a body in space and the observer by measuring the magnitude of the parallax effect.

  And then again, Elizabeth, maybe the moon really is following you.

  Submitted by Elizabeth Bogart of Glenview, Illinois.

  When Does a Calf Become a Cow?

  The calf’s equivalent of a bar mitzvah occurs after it stops nursing, usually at about seven to eight months of age. After they are weaned and/or when they reach twelve months, they are referred to as yearling bulls or yearling calves.

  According to Richard L. Spader, executive vice president of the American Angus Association, “calves don’t achieve full-fledged bullhood or cowhood until they’re in production. We normally refer to a first calf heifer at, say, twenty-four months of age or older, as just that, and after her second calf as a three-year-old, she becomes a cow.”

  Bulls don’t usually reach maturity until they are three. After they wean from their mothers, they are referred to as “yearling bulls,” or “two-year-old bulls.” Are we now all totally confused?

  Submitted by Herbert Kraut of Forest Hills, New York.

  When One Has a Cold, Why Does Only One Nostril at a Time Tend to Get Clogged (Even Though Which Nostril Gets Clogged Can Change at Any Time)? Come to Think of It, Why Do
We Need Two Nostrils in the First Place?

  The shifting of clogged nostrils is a protective effort of your nasal reflex system. Although the nose was probably most important to prehistoric man as a smelling organ, modern humans’ sense of smell has steadily decreased over time. The nose is now much more important in respiration, breathing in O2 to the nose, trachea, bronchi, lungs, heart, and blood, and ultimately the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. As rhinologist Dr. Pat Barelli explains:

  A fantastic system of reflexes which originate in the inner nose sends impulses to the heart and indirectly to every cell in the body. These reflexes, coupled with the resistance of the nose, increase the efficiency of the lungs and improve the effectiveness of the heart action.

  The most common reason for congested nostril switching is the sleep process. When we sleep, our body functions at a greatly reduced rate. The heart beats slower and the lungs require less air. Rhinologist Dr. Zanzibar notes that patients

  commonly complain that at night when they lie on one side, the dependent side of the nose becomes obstructed and they find it necessary to roll over in bed to make that side open. Then the other side becomes obstructed, and they roll over again.

  When the head is turned to one side during sleep, the “upper nose” has the entire load of breathing and can become fatigued. According to Dr. Pat Barelli,

  one nostril doing solo duty can fatigue in as little as one to three hours, and internal pressures cause the sleeper to change his head position to the opposite side. The body naturally follows this movement. In this way, the whole body, nose, chest, abdomen, neck, and extremities rest one side at a time.

  Bet you did’t know your schnozz was so smart. Our motto is “One nostril stuffed is better than two.”

  Submitted by Richard Aaron of Toronto, Ontario.

  Why Do New Fathers Pass Out Cigars?

  “What this country needs is a good five-cent cigar” might have been first uttered in the early twentieth century, but in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, cigars cost much more than five cents. According to Norman Sharp, of the Cigar Association of America, “cigars were so rare and treasured that they were sometimes used as currency.”

  Two hundred years ago, a baby boy was considered a valuable commodity. He would work the fields all day and produce money for the father, whereas a baby girl was perceived as a financial drain. At first, precious cigars were handed out as a symbol of celebration only when a boy was born.

  By the twentieth century, some feminist dads found it in their hearts to pass the stogies around even when, drat, a girl was born. Now the ritual remains a primitive but relatively less costly act of male bonding—a tribute to male fertility while the poor mother recovers alone in her hospital room.

  Submitted by Scott P. Frederick of Wilmington, North Carolina. Thanks also to Mike Bartnik of Omaha, Nebraska; and Dan and Patty Poser of San Luis Obispo, California.

  What Are Dimples? And Why Do Only Some People Have Them?

  Dimples are a generic name for indentations of the skin. Dimples are produced when muscle fibers are attached to the deep surface of the skin, such as in the cheek or chin, or where the skin is attached to bones by fibrous bands, such as the elbow, shoulder, and back.

  Dimples are most likely to appear where the skin is most tightly attached to the underlying bone. Anatomist Dr. William Jollie, of the Medical College of Virginia, indicates that “dimples probably are due to some developmental fault in the connective tissue that binds skin to bone.”

  So all this time we’ve envied those with dimples but didn’t realize that they were exhibiting an anatomical flaw! And the tendency toward dimples seems to be hereditary. You have your father to blame, Michael Douglas.

  Submitted by Donna Lamb of Stafford, Texas.

  Why Do Bath Towels Smell Bad After a Few Days When They Are Presumably Touching Only Clean Skin?

  Most towels are made of 100% cotton. While it’s true that after a shower you have eliminated most of the germs and dirt from your skin, the process of rubbing a towel against the body rubs off dead skin that sticks to the moist towel. Towels become an ideal nesting place for the mildew endemic to humid bathrooms.

  Most people flip a fan on or open the windows when showering but then turn off the fan or close the windows when they dry themselves. Jean Lang, director of Marketing at Fieldcrest, says it is much more important to promote circulation after the shower. Without dispersing the moisture, the bathroom becomes like a terrarium. The same type of mildew that afflicts plastic shower curtains attacks towels, especially if the towels have never dried completely from their last use.

  We remember our windowless high school locker room with little nostalgia. The lack of ventilation and circulation led to mildew and smelly towels. We would have gladly endured the smell of garbage for the odious aroma of schoolmates’ moist towels.

  Submitted by Merry Phillips of Menlo Park, California. Thanks also to Paul Funn Dunn of Decatur, Illinois.

  How Do Stamp Pads Keep Moist When They Are Constantly Exposed to the Drying Influence of Air?

  The ink used in stamp pads has a glycol and water base, which forms a mixture that actually absorbs moisture from the air. On a humid day, this hygroscopic effect allows the stamp or stamp pad to replenish any moisture lost on dry days.

  Submitted by Russ Tremayne of Auburn, Washington.

  Why Are Tupperware® Brand Products Sold Only at Parties? Couldn’t They Make More Money by Selling the Stuff in Stores Too?

  Until Earl Tupper came along, most housewares were made of glass, ceramics, wood, or metal—traditional, dependable materials. In 1945, Tupper established Tupper Plastics and tried to market his containers in retail stores.

  Tupper’s products bombed. Consumers feared that plastic material would prove flimsy, and they didn’t understand or believe that Tupper’s innovative airtight seal would keep foods fresh. Two salespeople with experience demonstrating Stanley Home Products on the party plan saw Tupper’s products and convinced him that sales would mushroom if his plasticware were demonstrated. Early tests were highly successful. In 1951, Tupperware Home Parties was incorporated, and all Tupper products were removed from store shelves.

  Now that the public has learned that Tupperware plastic is durable and effective, why doesn’t Tupperware compete with less established brand names in K-Mart’s and Macy’s? Tupperware is convinced that the party approach has unique advantages. Lawrie Pitcher Platt, Tupperware’s director of Public Relations and Community Affairs, explains:

  Tupperware brand products continue to be sold on the party plan because each dealer is like a teacher. He or she demonstrates the many subtle features designed into the pieces shown and discusses product care and the full lifetime warranty. Tupperware brand products are a lifetime purchase, unlike many products manufactured today, and it is management’s belief that learning about use and care enhances the value to the customer.

  Translation: The Tupperware dealer justifies the higher cost of its product.

  As of 1989, Tupperware has 89,000 independent dealers in the United States alone and 325,000 in forty-two countries worldwide. With such a solid sales force base, Tupperware would jeopardize the revenue of its dealers by selling Tupperware brand products on a retail basis again. Why risk a retail rollout when Tupperware already has a dedicated sales force devoted solely to its product? Avon and Fuller Brush have experienced problems with direct sales of late, but Tupperware’s success may be partly attributable to its party concept, in which the “sponsor” gets rewarded with free merchandise for throwing the party. And unlike many direct sellers, Tupperware doesn’t necessarily invade customers’ homes. About 25% of all Tupperware parties in the United States are now held outside the home.

  Submitted by Charles Kluepfel of Bloomfield, New Jersey.

  Why Do Monkeys in the Zoo Pick Through Their Hair All the Time? Why Do They Pick Through One Another’s Hair?

  In the wild, primates pick at their own hair freq
uently but for short periods of time. Usually, they are trying to rid themselves of parasitic insects, insect webs, or remnants of food.

  Monkeys in captivity are much less likely to be riddled with parasites, but may be afflicted with another skin problem. Monkeys exude salt from the pores of their skin. The salt lands on loose bits of skin, and monkeys will often pick through their hair trying to shed the salty flakes.

  A Monkey, unlike a human, has no difficulty in scratching its back (or any other part of its body, for that matter). Most animal behaviorists assume that apes—be they gibbons or chimpanzees—search through one another’s hair for purely social reasons. One psychologist, H. H. Reynolds, noted that chimpanzees are not altruistic or naturally cooperative: “Grooming behavior appears to be one of the most cooperative ventures in which chimpanzees engage.”

  Perhaps mutual grooming in monkeys is akin to the human handshake, whose original purpose was to signal that a potential weapon, the outstretched hand, would not turn into a clenched fist.