questions asked of Slate’s “Explainer”
http://www.slate.com/id/2206835/
The Explainer’s Unanswered Questions From 2008
* Why does some music make you want to shake your butt?
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* I am an 11-year-old boy and girls in my class harass me constantly and I want to file a restraining order against one of them. Is that possible?
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* If one gets a personal e-mail from a very famous or important person, such as the president, or the queen of England, or the Pope, or Paul McCartney, can that e-mail have monetary value? I guess not. It’s just an electronic transmission on a screen. There’s no original. There’s no way to buy or sell it. Seems a shame tho.
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* Does indoor tanning hurt your tits if you have had a breast silicone implant put in for over 30 years?
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* If you were on a boat, what signs do sharks give if they are hungry and will attack versus if they just want to swim around the boat?
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* If someone with DNA from the Stone Age were born today, would they be normal?
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* I have been accused of assault in Ohio. The woman fell over a box in the hall backward, and my brother opened the door, saw her lying there, and started hitting me. I got him down and held him down. It was all over a fight concerning my niece. What do you think will happen?
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* Burma’s dictator has a chestful of bullshit medals. What’s up with that, Explainer?
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* If there is so much oil in the Middle East, could one missile (such as the ones used to penetrate bunkers and caves) explode deep underground and hypothetically blow up a few countries?
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* Can an average person not in politics get a pardon from the president of the United States? (Possession of forged instrument, October of 1989.)
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* Please explain the method of formation and origin of black holes. Are they located at the Bermuda Triangle area and why there?
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* Who made up the rule that if you wore a shirt all day, went home, and washed it, you can’t wear it the next day?
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* I live in Chicago, where taxi drivers are constantly talking on their phones. To whom are they talking?
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* Are the frequently used “jaws of life” really necessary or just big-boy toys for rescuers?
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* How long can humans live when they are caught on fire? For example, when a car crashes and explodes turns into a gulf of flames, but humans are alive.
Hah!
By the way, with regard to:
Why do all of the deli guys and food cart guys call me “Boss” (well, me and everyone else)?
Jenny noted that a waiter called me that, and she concluded that he had somehow learned that at work I’m the boss.
:-)
December 18th, 2008 at 1:54 am
[quote]* Are the frequently used “jaws of life” really necessary or just big-boy toys for rescuers? [/quote]
I can answer this one.
A lot of times they are necessary. The metal in your car doesn’t bend easily, and when it’s mangled in an accident, we use them to cut, pry, or spread the metal out of the way.
Of course at other times, we just use them because slicing a car to pieces is really really fun…well…that, and the fact that if we don’t take you out of a smashed car in a very specific way, you can sue the crap out of us. Meh.
Best use of the ‘jaws’ I’ve ever seen? I used them to cut a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half-dollar, and one of the new dollar coins in half. I still have them sitting in my safe. (We were bored and doing ‘equipment checks’)
December 18th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
I did see some firefighters operate their jaws-of-life and it was very impressive.
The enthusiasm displayed was, I’m sure, strictly because they were professionals doing their job with quiet dedication and had nothing to do with getting to play with very impressive power tools.