Murder scenes, chalk outlines at
National Geographics, saving of
Navy and Army, Captain rank of
9 as number to get outside line on telephones
98.6 degrees Fahrenheit as comfortable ambient temperature
Noses, clogged nostrils and
Nostrils, clogged
Numbers, Arabic
Oil, automotive, grades of
Olive oil, virgin
Olives, pitting of
One Hour Martinizing
Pain, effect of warmth upon
Paper, legal-size
PBX systems
Pencils
color of
numbering of
Pennies, vending machines and
Periods in telegrams
Permanent press settings on irons
Permanents, pregnancy and
Physical exams, back tapping and
Pineapple in gelatin
Plumbing, sound of running water and
Poison ivy, grazing animals and
Police dogs, urination and defecation of
Popcorn, other corns versus
Post office, translation of foreign mail and
Potato skins
Pregnancy, permanents and
Priority mail, first class versus
Pubic hair, purpose of
Punts, measurement of
Queen-size sheets
Railroads, width of standard gauges of
Ranchers, hanging of boots on fence posts by
Ribbons, blue
Rice Krispies, noise of
Roaches, death position of
Rolls, coldness of airline
Roman numerals, calculations with
Roosters, crowing and
Saloon doors in Old West
Salutes, military
Secretary as U.S. government department head designation
Shaving of armpits
Sheets, queen-size
Shirts
button arrangement of
starch on
Shoes, single, found on highways
Sidewalks, cracks on
Silos, shape of
Ski poles, downhill
Snack foods and prepricing
“Snap! Crackle! and Pop!” of Rice Krispies
Sneezing and eye closure
Snow and cold weather
Social security numbers
Socks, angle of
Sour cream, expiration date on
Stamp pads and moisture retention
Starch on shirts
Stock prices as quoted in eighths of a dollar
STOP in telegrams
String cheese
Sugar, clumping together of
Summer, first day of
Tall people, aging and
Taste, sense of, in children versus adults
Tattoos, color of
Telegrams
exclamation marks and
periods and
Telephones
dialing 9 to get outside line
holes in mouthpiece
Telephone cords, twisting of
Telescopes, inverted images of
Tennis balls and fuzz
Television commercials, loudness of
Throat, uvula, purpose of
Throwing, sex differences in
Tickets, red carbons on airline
Toasters, one slice slot on
Toenails, growth of
Toilet paper, folding over in hotel bathrooms
Toilet seats in public restrooms
Tongues, sticking out of
Toothpicks, round versus flat
Toques, purpose of
Towels, smelly
Traffic signal light bulbs
Treasury, printing of new bills by
Trucks, license plates on
Tupperware and home parties
Turkeys
beards on
white versus dark meat
20-20 vision
Uvula, purpose of
Vending machines
half dollars and
pennies and
Videotape versus audio tape
Virgin olive oil
Vision
Warmth, its effect on pain and
Western Union
exclamation marks and
periods and
Whistling at sporting events
Winter, first day of
Worms as fish food
Yawning, contagiousness of
Yeast in bread
Yellow Pages, advertisements in
ZIP code, addresses on envelopes and
Master Index of Imponderability
Following is a complete index of all ten Imponderables® books and Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? The bold number before the colon indicates the book title (see the Title Key below); the numbers that follow the colon are the page numbers. Simple as that.
Title Key
1
=
Why Don’t Cats Like to Swim? (formerly published as Imponderables)
2
=
Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?
3
=
When Do Fish Sleep?
4
=
Why Do Dogs Have Wet Noses?
5
=
Do Penguins Have Knees?
6
=
Are Lobsters Ambidextrous? (formerly published as When Did Wild Poodles Roam the Earth?)
7
=
How Does Aspirin Find a Headache?
8
=
What Are Hyenas Laughing at, Anyway?
9
=
How Do Astronauts Scratch an Itch?
10
=
Do Elephants Jump?
11
=
Who Put the Butter in Butterfly?
“1/2,” meaning of, in street addresses
1040 form, numbering scheme of
20-20 vision, origins of
24-second clock in NBA basketball
3-D glasses and movies
501, Levi jeans, origin of name
7-11 Stores, lack of locks on
7UP, origins of name
“86,” origins of term
9 as number to get outside line on telephones
911 as emergency telephone number
98.6 degrees Fahrenheit as comfortable ambient temperature
Absorbine Jr., origins of
Absorbine Sr., identity of
AC, and DC
Accents, American, of foreign singers
Aches
Acre, origins of
Acrylic, virgin
Actors, speed of speech of
Address labels on magazines
Addresses and ZIP codes, on envelopes
Addresses, street, half-numbers on
Advertising sales in TV programming, overrun live programming and
Aerosol cans, shaking of
After-shave lotion, stinging and
Age of majority, 21 as
Aging and effect on voices
Agitators in washing machines, movement of
Air mail and “Par Avion”
Air temperature, versus water temperature, perception of
Airlines
chime signals on
cold rolls at meal service
dearth of female pilots on
honey roasted peanuts
inflation of oxygen masks
tickets, red carbons on
Airplanes
coffee bags in lavatories
dimming of interior lights
ear popping and
feet swelling and
numbering of Boeing jets
“Qantas,” spelling of
red and green lights on
Airplanes (cont.)
seat belts
shoulder harnesses
U.S. flags on exterior
Alarm cl
ocks, life before
Alcohol
in cough medicine
proof of
Algebra, X in
“All wool and a yard wide,” origins of term
“Allemande”
“Alligator” shirts
Alphabet, order of
Alphabet soup
distribution of letters
outside of U.S.
Aluminum cans, crushability of
Aluminum foil
and heat to touch
two sides of
Aluminum foil, on neck of champagne bottles
Ambidexterity in lobsters
Ambulances, snake emblems on
American accents of foreign singers
American singles, Kraft, milk in
“Ampersand”
Amputees, phantom limb sensations in
Anchors, submarines and
Angel food cake and position while cooling
Animal tamers and kitchen chairs
Ants
separation from colony
sidewalks and
“Apache dance”
Apes, hair picking of
Appendix, function of
Apples, as gifts for teachers
Apples and pears, discoloration of
Apples in roasted pigs’ mouths
April 15, as due date for taxes
Aquariums, fear of fish in
Arabic numbers, origins of
Architectural pencils, grades of
Area codes, middle digits of
Armies, marching patterns of
Armpits, shaving of
Army and Navy, Captain rank in
Art pencils, grades of
Aspirin
headaches and
safety cap on 100-count bottles of
Astrology, different dates for signs in
Astronauts and itching
“At loggerheads”
Athletics, Oakland, and elephant insignia
“Atlas”
ATMs
swiping of credit cards in
swiping versus dipping of credit cards in
transaction costs of
“Attorney-at-law”
Auctioneers, chanting of
Audiocassette tape on side of road
Audiocassette tapes on roadsides
Audiotape, versus videotape technology
Audiotape recorders
counter numbers on
play and record switches on
Automobiles
batteries and concrete floors
bright/dimmer switch position
bunching of, on highways
cardboard on grills
clicking sound of turn signals
cockroaches in
Corvette
cruise controls
day/night switch on rear-view mirrors
dimples on headlamps
elimination of side vents
gas gauges in
headlamp shutoff
headlights and deer
holes in ceiling of
key release button on
keys, ignition and door
“new car smell”
oil loss after oil change
oil, grades of
rear windows of
rentals, cost in Florida of
side-view mirrors
speed limits
speedometers
tire tread
weight of batteries
white wall tires
windshield wipers, versus buses
Autopsies of executed criminals
“Ax to grind”
Babies
blinking
burping
hair color
high temperatures, tolerance of
sleep
Baby corn, in supermarkets
Baby pigeons, elusiveness of
Baby Ruth, origins of name
Baby shrimp, peeling and cleaning of
“Back and fill”
Back tapping during physical exams
Backlogs in repair shops
Bad breath, upon awakening, in the morning
Badges, marshals’ and sheriffs’
Bagels, holes in
Bags under eyes
Bags, paper, jagged edges and
Baked goods
Pennsylvania and
seven-layer cakes
unctuous taste until cooled
Baked potatoes in steak houses
Ball throwing, sex differences and
Ballet, “on pointe” in
Balls, orange, on power lines
Balls, tennis, fuzz and
Balsa wood, classification as hardwood
Banana peels as slipping agents
Bananas, growth of
Band-Aid packages, red tear strings on
Bands, tardiness of, in nightclubs
Bands, marching, formation of
Bands, paper, around Christmas card envelopes
Banking
ATM charges
hours
Barbecue grills, shape of
“Barbecue”
Barbie, hair of, versus Ken’s
Barefoot kickers in football
Bark, tree, color of
Barns, red color of
Bars
mirrors in
sawdust on floor of
television sound and
Baseball
black stripes on bats
Candlestick Park, origins of
cap buttons
caps, green undersides of
circle next to batter’s box in
dugout heights
first basemen, ball custody of
home plate sweeping, by umpires
home plate, shape of
Japanese uniforms
“K,” as symbol for strikeout
pitcher’s mounds, location of
Baseball cards
wax on wrappers
white stuff on gum
Basements, lack of, in southern houses
Basketball
24-second clock in NBA
duration of periods in
Basketballs, fake seams on
Baskin-Robbins, cost of cones versus cups at
“Batfowling”
Bathrooms
group visits by females to
ice in urinals of
in supermarkets
Bathtub drains, location of
Bathubs, overflow mechanisms on
Bats, baseball, stripes on
Batteries
automobile, weight of
concrete floors and
drainage of, in cassette players
nine-volt, shape of
sizes of
volume and power loss in
“Battle royal”
Bazooka Joe, eye patch of
Beacons, police car, colors on
“Bead,” “Draw a,” origins of term
Beaks versus bills, birds and
Beanbag packs in electronics boxes
Beans, green, “French” style
Beards on turkeys
“Bears [stock market]”
“Beating around the bush”
Beavers, dam building and
“Bedlam”
Beds, mattresses, floral graphics on
Beef, red color of
Beeps before network news on radio
Beer
and plastic bottles
steins, lids of
temperature in Old West
twistoff bottle caps, merits of
Beetle, Volkswagen, elimination of
Bell bottoms, sailors and
Bells in movie theaters
Belly dancers, amplitude of
Belts, color of, in martial arts
Ben-Gay, creator of
“Berserk”
Best Foods Mayonnaise, versus Hellmann’s
Beverly Hills, “Beverly” in
“Beyond the pale”
Bias on a
udiotape
Bibles, courtrooms and
Bicycles
clicking noises
crossbars on
tires
Bill posting at construction sites
Billboards, spinning blades on
Bill-counting machines
Bills versus beaks, birds and
“Bimonthly”
“Bingo,” origin of term
Binoculars, adjustments for
Bird droppings, color of
“Birdie”
Birds [see also specific types]
bills versus beaks in
coloring of
death of
direction of takeoff
droppings, color of
Birds (cont.)
honking during migration
jet lag and
migration patterns of
sleeping habits of
When Do Fish Sleep? Page 23
