Answers to Questions Kids Ask! - Where "Why?" Turns to "Wow!"
Born on this day
August 25, 20101918 - Leonard Bernstein
1917 - Mel Ferrer
1930 - Sir Sean Connery
1938 - Frederick Forsyth
1942 - Howard Jacobson
1947 - Ann Archer
1949 - Martin Amis
1954 - Elvis Costello
1956 - Matt Aitken
1961 - Billy Ray Cyrus
1970 - Claudia Schiffer
Goosebumps are caused by smooth muscle that pulls on your hair follicles, causing indentation. Then you get that characteristic raised-and-lowered looking skin. The pulling makes the hairs stand up. We don’t have that same type of system on our faces. Evolutionarily, most of our long coarse hairs have been lost. The reason that animals need this system is, when cold, the hairs stand up and trap air close to the body to keep them warm. And when scared, the standing up of the hairs makes the animal’s body look bigger, presumably to give it an illusion of size advantage. Neat, huh?
Link to this question!
How come we have hair on our bodies?
Humans are mammals — just like cats, dogs, bats, elephants, monkeys and foxes. Ever notice that mammals are pretty hairy animals? That’s because mammals have to stay warm — and…
How does a hot air balloon work?
The basic principle of ballooning is simple: Warm air rises. If warm air is contained in a lightweight bag it will rise until the temperature of the air inside the…
Why do my fingers, toes, and ears get cold first on a winter day?
It would sure be terrific if your toes could stay toasty all the time. But this doesn’t happen in frosty weather because your body has bigger things to worry about–like…
Why whenever I eat ice cream too quickly, do I get a slight headache?
That mild achin’ in your head you speak of is known, in not-so-scientific terms, as an “ice cream headache” or “brain freeze.” And while some like it cold–especially those of…
What is Air made out of?
Air is primarily made up of two elements, nitrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen makes up 78.05% of air and oxygen another 20.95%. The remaining less than 1% is primarily argon, but…