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Stump
Me Questions Answered in August 2000
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Q.: Who were Barbie and Ken named after?
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Sylvia F.
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A.: With so many references on the Web, I'm surprised anyone thought
I'd miss this one. Barbie and Ken were the names of the
daughter and son of the doll's creator, Ruth Handler.
Think Ken's a little pissed at his mom?
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Q.: Who invented the toilet?
- George D.
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A.: I
know you'd love for me to say a certain Mr. Crapper did it, but
that's not the case. The first flush toilet was created in
1596 by Sir John Harrington, the godson of Queen
Elizabeth. I wonder what Shakespeare had to say about that
one.
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Q.: Where did the Los Angeles Lakers get their name?
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Sports Buff
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A.: Sports Buff? Is that how you go through life? Then
again, some of my friends still call me Spot. Anyways, the
Lakers were the team name of the Minneapolis franchise that was
founded in 1948. The name was never changed when the team
moved to L.A. in 1960.
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Q.: Why does "In God We Trust" appear on U.S. currency?
- Greg K.
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A.: In
1955, the government made the slogan mandatory on all currency
to show that Americans were against what the government referred
to as "godless communism". Remember, this was
around the time of Sen. Joseph McCarthy's witch hunt.
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Q.: How much does an eyeball weigh?
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Tina P.
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A.: O-o-o-ok. Are you hoping to lose weight? If you are,
the eyes don't have it. An eyeball weighs only about an
ounce.
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Q.: Who's more likely to be colorblind...men or women?
- Lisa A.
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A.: The statistics say men.
It has to do with genetics. The gene that carries color blindness (a recessive trait) is on the X
chromosome. Men have an X and Y chromosome while women have 2 X's.
Therefore, if the baby in the mother's womb is a male, and the mother is a carrier of
color blind chromosomes, the male will have a better chance of being
color blind because there is nothing to cancel out the color blindness gene.
Females, on the other hand, would need two color blind X
chromosomes to create a color blind female because of the
recessive genes.
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Q.: What was Mickey Mouse's original name?
- Sam G.
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A.: If
you've ever read Outworld, Berke Breathed's follow-up to
Bloom County, you would have known that Mickey's first name was
Mortimer. Walt Disney's wife, Lillian convinced him to
change it. Thank God.
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Q.: Which elected officials of the United States government are not
allowed to travel together?
- Tom T.
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A.: The president and vice president are prohibited from traveling
together to preserve the line of succession. Did you just
read that in your social studies book?
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Q.: What's in mayonnaise?
- Sarah G.
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A.: How did my fun little trivia site become a cooking show?
Well, if you must know, mayo is made from raw egg yolks, oil,
water and vinegar. Sometimes sweeteners (salt or sugar)
and thickeners (flour) are added in. If you want the full
recipe, let me know. Just don't come looking for me when
it doesn't taste as good as Hellman's.
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Q.: Does eating broccoli make your urine smell funny?
- Bill W.
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A.: What!?! Honestly, where the hell did that come from?
The answer is no. You're thinking of asparagus.
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Q.: How many babies are in a litter of
sloths?
- Bill W.
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A.: Two questions, huh? Well, the answer to this one is
one. A sloth only gives birth to one offspring per
litter. The baby will stay with its mother (actually cling
to its mother is more accurate) until it can take care of
itself.
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