Do Penguins Have Knees? (24 page)

Davidoff concedes that in a pinch, placing the thermometer above the tongue might not be a total disaster:

Do
Penguins Have Knees?

They sure do, although they are discreetly hidden underneath their feathers. Anatomically, all birds’ legs are pretty much alike, although the dimensions of individual bones vary a great deal among species.

Penguins, like other birds, have legs divided into three segments. The upper segment, the equivalent of our thigh, and the middle segment, the equivalent of our shinbone, or the drumstick of a chicken, are both quite short in penguins.

When we see flamingos, or other birds with long legs, they appear to possess a knee turned backwards, but these are not the equivalent of a human knee. Penguins, flamingos, and other birds do have knees, with patellas (knee caps) that bend and function much like their human counterparts.

We spoke to Dr. Don Bruning, curator of ornithology at the New York Zoological Park (better known as the Bronx Zoo), who told us that the backwards joint that we perceive as a knee in flamingos actually separates the bird equivalent of the ankle from the bones of the upper foot. The area below the backwards joint is not the lower leg but the upper areas of the foot. In other words, penguins (and other birds) stand on their toes, like ballet dancers.

Penguins are birds, of course, but their element is water rather than sky. Penguins may waddle on land, but their legs help make them swimming machines. Penguins use their wings as propellers in the water, and their elongated feet act as rudders.

So rest assured. Even if you can’t see them, penguins have legs (with knees). And they know how to use them.

How
Do They Make Hot Dog Buns That Are Partially Sliced?

Now that we solved the Imponderable of why there are ten hot dogs in a package and only eight hot dog buns in a package (see
Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise?
), we can tackle a few less challenging bread Imponderables without guilt.

Barbara K. Rose, manager of consumer affairs at Continental Baking Company (the folks who bring us Wonder Bread and Twinkies), answered this question with ease:

How
Do They Fork Split English Muffins? What Causes the Ridges in English Muffins?

English muffins also run past circular blades, actually two blades, which slice only one-quarter inch or so into the muffin. But each muffin is also “forked,” passed through two spinning wheels with Roman spear points. These spears penetrate into the muffin anywhere from one to one and one-half inch, depending upon the baker’s preference.

Tom Lehmann, director of baking assistance at the American Institute of Baking, told
Imponderables
that the initial one-quarter-inch slice of the outer edges of the muffin yields a smooth consistency. The forking doesn’t sever the muffin into two separate pieces but does produce the perforations by which they slice the muffin and the ridges, nooks, and crannies that provide the rough texture for which English muffins are famous.

Continental Baking’s Barbara Rose reports that her company found that fork splitting didn’t work on their Raisin Rounds, which are sliced all the way through the muffin: “Raisin Rounds must be sliced because the raisins will accumulate on the fork splitting machinery causing several mechanical breakdowns and halting production.”

Why
Do Cat Hairs Tend to Stick to Our Clothes More Than Those of Dogs or Other Pets?

A cat’s hair is the most electrostatic of all pet hairs, which may be the main reason why cat hairs stick to clothes. But the physiology of cat hair also contributes to kitty cling. Dr. John Saidla, assistant director of the Cornell Feline Health Center, explains:

Why
Are You Never Supposed to Touch a Halogen Light Bulb with Your Fingers?

Conventional light bulbs use soda-lime glass, which is perfectly functional. But tungsten-halogen bulbs are made of much more durable quartz glass because they must withstand much higher temperatures, a minimum of 250 degrees Centigrade.

Rubin Rivera, of Philips Lighting, told
Imponderables
that quartz halogen lamps must not be touched with the fingers because the natural oils from the skin, in combination with the high temperatures reached by the bulbs when illuminated, will cause the crystalline structure of the bulb glass to change.

Caden Zollo, product manager of The Specialty Bulb Co., adds that contact with human oils can cause the glass to crack and leak. Air can then get into the filament and, in extreme conditions, can cause the bulb not only to leak but to explode.

To avoid this “explosive” situation, some halogen lamps come with a separate outer bulb so that the lamps can be touched. If your hands have come in contact with the bulb, or you need to clean the bulb, wiping it with denatured alcohol will reverse the effect of your greasy hands.

Why
Is There an “H” Inside of the “C” in the Hockey Uniform of the Montreal Canadiens?

The “H” stands for hockey. When the team was founded in 1909, it was known as “Club Canadien” and its sweaters sported a big white “C.” This tradition lasted all of one year, when the club switched to a red uniform with a green maple leaf and a Gothic “C.” Not content to rest on its fashion statement, the team changed its look again, adopting a blue, white, and red “barber pole” symbol featuring the letters “CAC,” which stood for Club Athlétique Canadien.

In 1917, the Club Athlétique Canadien folded, but owner George Kennedy replaced the “A” inside the large “C” with the letter “H,” to signify “hockey.” The letters then stood for “Club de Hockey Canadien,” the official name of the team for more than seventy years.

Why
Don’t Radio Shack Stores Use Cash Registers?

Have you ever noticed that most of the time when you make a purchase at Radio Shack, salespeople ask you for your address? Clearly, the Tandy Corporation likes to compile as much information about its business as possible, and no figures are of more interest than how their individual stores are faring in sales and inventory control.

Befitting a retail business that specializes in high technology, cash registers don’t impart enough information to satisfy the Tandy Corporation. Ed Juge, Radio Shack’s director of market planning, explains:

Don French, chief engineer for Radio Shack, adds that in many cases salespeople are away from the counter helping customers, making it relatively easy to have money stolen: “Keeping the money in a drawer makes it a little harder for this to happen.”

How
Do They Decide Where to Put Thumbnotches in Dictionaries?

A frustrated David S. Clark wrote to us: