Why Guy.com

What did one Jack-O-Lantern say to the other?….  “Cut it out!”

Since we’ll be carving pumpkins this week, I was wondering if I could plant the seeds from inside the pumpkin, to grow new pumpkins for next year. The answer I learned was, YES You Can!

It’s best to clean all the extra goop off the seeds, then lay them out on a paper towell to dry.  Once they’re dry, you put them away until next spring. That’s when you plant them to create your own pumpkin patch. They like a lot of sunlight and a lot of water. And then we’ll have our own pumpkins to carve next year!

I know a guy who learned the words to the National Anthem by watching baseball games on TV. He thinks the last two words of our country’s song are “Play Ball.”

With the World Series coming up, I wanted to know what is inside a baseball. This picture from our friends at Rawlings Sporting Goods does a great job of showing how they make baseballs.

You start with a round cork center — just like the cork you might have on a bulletin board in your room.  The cork is covered with two layers of rubber - a black layer and then a red layer.

Now they take yarn-like wool and wind it around and around. First it’s 121 yards of grey wool. Then that’s covered with 45 yards of white wool. And the last wool layer is 53 yards of grey wool. After that’s it’s 150 yards of cotton yarn. All of the yarn winding is then sealed with a layer of Rubber Cement.

Then for the part we’re used to seeing on a baseball, they take cowhide leather and sew it on using 108 stiches of red cotton yarn.

Let’s go Play Ball…!!!

What did the baby corn say to the mommy corn?…..  “Where’s Pop Corn?”

And that funny joke brings me to the question of the day — Why does popcorn pop? To get the answer I went the really smart scientists of NASA (the space people) to find out. They said the secret is in the water…

“So just how does popcorn pop? Only popcorn kernels can pop, and the secret is water. Each kernel contains a small amount of water stored in a circle of soft starch inside the hard outer casing. When heated to around 450 degrees Farenheit, the moisture turns to steam, creating pressure within. As the pressure builds, the casing eventually gives way, and the kernel explodes and pops, allowing the water to escape as steam and turning the kernel inside out. If you have ever popped popcorn, you know that it explodes everywhere!”

I wonder if they’ve tried popping popcorn on the space shuttle!  You can learn more from the NASA website at www.NASA.gov .

Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the glue bottle?…

Glue is sticky stuff, so it seems like it would stick to the inside of the bottle. But if you do arts and crafts like I do, you know that white glue doesn’t stick until you get it outside the bottle - like when you put it on your fingers and let it dry, then peel it off. Now that’s fun!

I asked some questions and got some answers. Glue has water in it, and when we spread it on something we want glued outside the bottle, the water evaporates, which means it dries up and disappears into the air. When the water is all gone from the glue, the glue sticks.

When glue is in a closed bottle, the water can’t evaporate so the glue stays liquid. That’s why you have to close the lid, or else the glue will dry out and stick to the bottle.

I know all about gold, but what is Frankincense and Myrrh?  Those were the three gifts the Magi took to Bethlehem for Baby Jesus, but do I want to put them on my Christmas list?  I asked the questions, and here’s what I learned…

Both Frankincense and Myrrh are saps that come from cutting the bark of some trees and allowing them to slowly ooze out. Sometimes it takes months before enough sap has built up to remove and use.  Frankincense is often used as incense that is burned to smell good. Myrrh is used more like a perfume.

They were valuable gifts back in Bible times, but are they more valuable than an Xbox 360 today?  A quick search online showed a pound of Frankincense and Myrrh on Amazon.com for only $9.55.  An ounce of gold today is worth over $1,120 dollars.

I don’t need the Frankincense because you would have to play with matches to burn it as incense. I also don’t wear any smelly perfume, so forget the Myrrh.  But I’ll glad to take all the gold you want to send me for Christmas.  Just think what an ounce of gold would buy at the video game store!

–The Why Guy