Do Penguins Have Knees? (36 page)

Shampoos, lathering of

Sheriffs’ badges, shape of

Shoes

layers on

on side of the road

Shredded Wheat, Niagara Falls on box of

Shrimp, baby, peeling and cleaning of

“Sic,” as dog command

Silos, shape of

Skating, figure, and dizziness

Social Security cards, lamination of

Social Security numbers, reassignment of

Socks, disappearance of

Steam and streets of New York City

Straws, rising and sinking of, in glasses

Sunrises, timing of

Sunsets, timing of

Tall old people, rareness of

Taxes, April 15 due date of

Taxicabs, rear windows of

Telephones

area code numbers

911 as emergency number

“Q” and “Z,” absence from buttons of

Television

measurement of

volume levels of

Thermometers, placement of

3-D glasses and movies

Thumb notches in dictionaries

Tonsils, function of

Tortilla chips, price of, vs. potato chips

Traffic lights, placement of colors on

Traffic noise of U.S. vs. other countries

Trains

backwards locomotives in

Trains
(cont.)

EXEMPT signs at railroad crossings

United States Mint and shipment of coin sets

UPS and shipment of coin sets

United States Postal Service (USPS)

and CAR-RT SORT on envelopes

and undeliverable mail

Videotape recorders

“play” and “record” switches on

and storms

Videotapes, rental, two-tone signals on

Water, manufacture of

Water faucets, bathroom vs. kitchen

Watermelon seeds, white vs. black

Water towers, height of

White chocolate, vs. brown chocolate

Windows, rear, of automobiles

Wines, and dryness

YKK on zippers

Zippers, YKK on

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

“1/2,” 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’s 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

Airplanes
(cont.)

“Qantas,” spelling of

red and green lights on

seat belts

shoulder harnesses

U.S. flags on exterior

Alarm clocks, 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

on neck of champagne bottles

two sides of

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 tapes 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, 1983

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 mound, 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

Bathtubs, overflow mechanisms on

Bats, baseball, stripes on

Batteries

automobile, weight of

concrete floors and

drainage of, in cassette players

nine-volt, shape of