Answers to Questions You Never Thought to Ask

Question #1: If commercially prepared sour cream is cream that has soured, why does it have an expiration date?

Answer: Even though sour cream is the product of cream that has already gone sour, bacteria acts upon it and mold begins to form.

Question #2: Can regular corn be popped?

Answer: There are five varieties of corn grown: dent, pod, sweet, fling, and popcorn. Because it is water content that makes corn pop, and popcorn is the only variety with a high content - about 13.5% - it is the only type of corn that pops consistently.

Question #3: Where did cottage cheese get its name?

Answer: Cottage cheese first made its début by accident, when heat turned curdled ordinary milk into soft, moist lumps that tasted good. Farmers in Europe during the middle ages made the cheese in their cottages.

Question #4: When making ice cubes, why do some turn out cloudy and others clear?

Answer: The slower the water freezes the clearer the ice cubes. That is because air bubbles have time to rise to the top and escape before freezing. Cloudy ice cubes are the result of water that froze too quickly for bubbles to escape.

Question #5: Why are golf balls dimpled?

Answer: Because in 1908 a man by the name of Taylor patented the design after it was proven that dimpled balls had more aerodynamic lift and consistency in flight than smooth balls.

Question #6: Why is it that some boiled egg yolks turn gray or green?

Answer: The gray or green tinged discoloration is caused by iron and sulphur compounds that accumulate when eggs are overcooked. This happens when eggs are either boiled for too long a period, or allowed to remain in the hot water after they have already boiled.

Question #7: Why are tennis balls fuzzy?

Answer: Tennis balls are covered with felt for two main reasons first, to slow the ball down. The United States Tennis Association has strict rules about the “bound" of tennis balls. One such regulation stipulates that the ball should have a bound of more than 53 inches but less than 58 inches when dropped upon a concrete base from a height of 100 inches. The fluffier the felt, the more wind resistance there is. Secondly, the ball is covered with felt to increase rack control upon contact.

Question #8: What are dimples?

Answer: Although coveted, dimples are a hereditary “flaw" the result of skin’s connective tissue too tightly attached to underlying bone.

Question #9: Why is cheddar cheese orange?

Answer: Cheddar cheese is orange for cosmetic purposes it gets its color artificially using natural ingredients, annatto and paprika.

Question #10: If we can record on “both sides" of an audio tape, why can’t we do the same thing with a videotape?

Answer: Because an audio tape records just audio a video tape records audio and video, using both sides of the tape at the same time.

Bonus Question and Answer:

Do audio cassette tapes really record on both sides? The Answer is No. Audio cassette tapes record along both edges of the tape, one edge at a time.