Ever wonder why? Mike does, and he actually finds out what's going on. After 35 years in journalism, the last six answering readers' questions at the Rocky Mountain News, he'll put those talents to work for you.
Stories about Steve Jobs kept referring to the “turtlenecks” he always wore. Were those really turtlenecks?
Yes and no. Those were what’s called mock turtlenecks, confirmed Lesley Kennedy, a reporter for more.com and former fashion...
Is it true that race-car drivers use pure nitrogen to inflate their tires? If it’s a good idea, why don’t people use nitrogen in passenger-car tires?
Pure (actually, almost pure) nitrogen is used in...
Does the amount of suds that soap generates make a difference in cleaning? Do more suds do a better job?Suds are just part of the cleaning process, but an important part. However, the amount of suds doesn’t...
What's the difference between a blimp, a dirigible and a zeppelin?All those terms refer to lighter-than-air craft. Dirigible is the broadest term, defined by the Airships website as a lighter-than-air vehicle that is...
What's the big deal about antibacterial soap? Doesn't all soap kill bacteria?
Plain soap is highly effective in killing disease-causing bacteria. One study, cited on the website of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign...
Men don’t wear ties as much as they once did, but many men still do. How did that tradition start?
For much of history, a cloth worn around the neck has served some purpose – a scarf for...
Is the frozen dessert spelled sherbert or sherbet? If it’s sherbet, is it pronounced as if it has the second “r”?Despite the number of longtime memories to the contrary, it’s sherbet – with...
Where did the word hoosegow, used in Western movies for jail, come from?
It’s another example of American English borrowing Spanish terms from Mexico and mangling them into our own colorful terms. Hoosegow comes from the Spanish word...
What does Six Flags, the name of the amusement park chain, mean? What are the six flags?
The first park in the chain, Six Flags Over Texas, opened in 1961 in Arlington, Texas. Its name refers to the flags that...
How did Francis Scott Key come to write The Star-Spangled Banner?
Key wrote the stirring anthem as a poem after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland by the British during the War of 1812. Key, a...