In 1993, water aerobics was only for senior citizens or patients in rehab. Nowadays, it encompasses a variety of trendy underwater sports, all of which are healthy. The body has 90 percent support when under water. That means the joints only have to...
Dear Annie: I live with my boyfriend, Mike, in a very small apartment. Last month, his mother and 14-year-old sister moved in. They had nowhere else to go. His mom has no money and nothing to contribute except for some food stamps, which keep the pan...
Mike: Amanda, do you like my new look? I spent all weekend looking for clothes to match my new look and my new attitude. From now on, I'm a rebel without a cause and nobody gets in my way! Amanda: Hahaha... you look like someone who slaughtered a poo...
Amanda: Sorry I'm late, Mike－some slowpoke blocked my way going down the escalator and I just missed the subway train. I hate it when people take their sweet time and don't get out of the way! Arrrgggh!!! Mike: Yeah, I know exactly what you're talk...
Mike: Hey Amanda, where are you headed off to in a pink tracksuit? Amanda: Where do you think? I'm going to the nearby track so that I can burn off some of this flab I accumulated during the school year. I think I'll jog for about half an hour to sta...
when speaking on the telephone we often run into trouble with particular words that, in face-to-face conversation, aren't troublesome at all. Words such as feeling and ceiling seem especially hard to get across the line -- or to understand when liste...
For a planet to support life, the planet must be located within its star's habitable zone. That is, it must be located at a distance where the temperature would allow water to remain in liquid form. At present we've identified about 250 extrasolar pl...
Have you ever seen a perfectly cloudless sky? Cloudless, that is, except for two or three long white lines smeared across the perfect blue sky by airplanes like smudges on a pane of glass. Why do airplanes sometimes leave contrails behind? Actually,...
Rainbows are one of nature's most ephemeral beauties, but there's a related phenomenon that's even more ghostly. These are the pale white, rainbow-like arches that are sometimes seen on foggy days or in dense fog banks. What's responsible for these s...
Most of us know balloons from festivals and fun fairs, where they are colorful and amusing, but in the 19th century, before airplanes were invented, balloons were used in wartimes to spy on the enemy position. One or two men would go up with a telesc...
Dear Annie: My husband has an office that doubles as a spare bedroom. Every holiday season, we have overnight company. To make room for them, I have to pick up papers from under the desk, the computer, the floor, etc. Last year, I carried 30 boxes of...
So much of the time we humans look upon insects as pests. But as Don and Yael discuss in this Moment of Science, a world without them might not be as nice as we might think. [Insect buzzing and swatted] D: Gotcha! Isn't it enough that termites are ea...
Don: Hey Yael, are you a twin? Yael: Nope. D: Are you sure? Y: Unless there's something my parents haven't told me, yes, I'm sure. I'd know if I had a twin brother or sister. D: Perhaps, but even if you don't have a twin, you could still be a twin. Y...
Don: Time to go again to the A Moment of Science mailbag. Yal: A listener writes, Dear A Moment of Science, I was watching a Star Trek marathon recently--the original Star Trek, not the newer versions. And I began to wonder if any of the technology i...
Don: Today on A Moment of Science, herring make sounds when passing gas... Yal: Don, be serious! D: I am serious, Yal! The Atlantic herring is one of the most abundant fish on Earth!The silvery foot-long fish live in huge schools of thousands to hund...
