Mr. Write's Page

The Questions…

1. What is a shorkie?

2. In 1864, French writer Alexander Dumas made a deal with the public library in the town of Cavaillon. He traded hundreds of volumes of his books for a lifetime supply of — what?

3. The pigeon, the salmon, and the hippopotamus are greatly different creatures, but they have in common a unique method of communicating. What is it?

4. In the 1660s, Dutch naturalist Jan Swammerdam discovered that bee colonies are headed by a queen bee. Prior to that, what was the prevailing thought?

5. In 1906, Congress voted to make a change to the Statue of Liberty that caused a storm of public outrage. The politicians promptly backed down. What was the proposal?

The Answers…

1. A shorkie is a dog, a cross between a Shih Tzu and a Yorkshire Terrier.

2. Cantaloupes (the French word for which is cavaillons, in honor of the town where they are a major crop). In exchange for the books, Dumas was to receive 12 cantaloupes every summer for the rest of his life. He died six years (72 cantaloupes) later.

3. All three can produce and hear sounds at an ultra-low frequency — sounds so low in pitch that most other animals can’t hear them.

4. Before Swammerdam, scientists believed a king bee ran the hive, and bees reproduced by spontaneous generation. Swammerdam set things straight when he dissected a “king bee” and found ovaries.

5. Congress wanted to paint the statue to cover up the signature green patina, which is caused by oxidation of the copper exterior. Years later, experts discovered that the patina protects against further oxidation. The statue was found to be “virtually intact.”