Do Penguins Have Knees?

by David Feldman

  Not really. The answer to this Imponderable focuses on the importance of an inexpensive metal clip. The National Football League’s Art McNally explains:

  If at the start of a series the ball was placed on the 23-yard line in the middle of the field, the head linesman would back up to the sideline and, after sighting the line of the ball, would indicate to a member of the chain crew that he wanted the back end of the down markers to be set at the 23-yard line. Obviously, a second member of the chain crew would stretch the forward stake to the 33-yard line.

  Before the next down is run, one of the members of the chain crew would take a special clip and place that on the chain at the back end of the 25-yard line. In other words, the clip is placed on the five-yard marker that is closest to the original location of the ball.

  When a measurement is about to be made, the head linesman picks up the chain from the 25-yard line and the men holding the front end of the stakes all proceed onto the field. The head linesman places the clip on the back end of the 25-yard line. The front stake is extended to its maximum and the referee makes the decision as to whether or not the ball has extended beyond the forward stake.

  Thus the chain crew, when it runs onto the field, doesn’t have to find the exact spot near the 23-yard line where the ball was originally spotted, but merely the 25-yard line. The clip “finds” the spot near the 23-yard line.

  Submitted by Dennis Stucky of San Diego, California.

  How Did Dr Pepper Get Its Name? Was There Ever a Real Dr. Pepper?

  Yes, there was a real one, although he had a period after the “r” in “Dr”. Dr. Charles Pepper owned a drug store in Rural Retreat, Virginia, and employed a young pharmacist named Wade Morrison.

  Unfortunately for Wade, Dr. Pepper wasn’t happy when a romance blossomed between the young pharmacist and his attractive daughter. Pepper nixed the relationship, and the dejected Morrison moved to Waco. Texas, and opened Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store.

  Morrison hired Charles Alderton, a young English pharmacist, whose duties included tending the store’s soda fountain. Alderton noted the waning interest of his customers in the usual fruit-flavored soft drinks and decided to blend several fruit flavors himself. Alderton finally hit upon a concoction that satisfied Morrison and his taste buds.

  Words of mouth spread about Alderton’s new creation, and in 1885, what we now know as Dr Pepper became a popular item at the Corner Drug Store. But what would they call the new drink? The Dr Pepper Company supplied the answer:

  Morrison never forgot his thwarted romance and often spoke fondly of Dr. Pepper’s daughter. Patrons of his soda fountain heard of the affair, and one of them jokingly suggested naming their new fountain drink after the Virginia doctor, thinking it would gain his favor. The new drink became known as Dr Pepper. It gained such widespread favor that other soda fountain operators in Waco began buying the syrup from Morrison and serving it.

  Even certified Peppers might not realize that Dr Pepper is the oldest major soft-drink brand and was introduced to a national constituency at the 1904 World’s Fair Exposition in St. Louis, a conclave which was to junk food what Woodstock was to the musical counterculture. (The St. Louis Fair also featured the debut of the ice cream cone, as well as hamburgers and hot dogs served in buns.)

  Morrison made a fortune and in that sense wreaked some revenge on the real Dr. Pepper, but he never regained the attentions of Miss Pepper. Alderton, the actual originator of the drink, was content to mix pharmaceutical compounds, and was never involved in the operation of the Dr Pepper Company.

  Submitted by Barth Richards of Naperville, Illinois. Thanks also to Kevin Hogan of Hartland, Michigan, and Josh Gibson of Silver Spring, Maryland.

  Why Is the Home Plate in Baseball Such a Weird Shape?

  Until 1900, home plate was square like all the other bases. But in 1900, the current five-sided plate was introduced to aid umpires in calling balls and strikes. Umpires found it easier to spot the location of the ball when the plate was elongated. If you ask most players, it hasn’t helped much.

  Submitted by Bill Lachapell of Trenton, Michigan. Thanks also to Michael Gempe of Elmhurst, Illinois, and John H. McElroy of Haines City, Florida.

  Why Do Hospital Gowns Tie at the Back?

  It’s bad enough being laid up in the hospital. Why do patients have to undergo the indignity of having their backsides exposed to all? This is a fashion statement that even sick people don’t want to make.

  We realize that hospital gowns aren’t the first priority of hospital administrators, that items like nursing staffs, research budgets, and surgical care justifiably occupy much of their time. But while hospitals pursue the impossible dream of serving edible food, the eradication of the back-tied gown is possible right now.

  The original justification for the back closure of hospital gowns was that this configuration enabled health care workers to change the gowns of the bedridden without disturbing the patients. If the gown tied in the front, the patients would have to be picked up (or lift themselves up) to remove the garment.

  Perhaps it is growing concern for “patient modesty” (buzz words in the “patient apparel” industry), or perhaps it is jockeying for competitive advantage among hospitals, especially private, for-profit hospitals, but many health-care administrators are starting to recognize the existence of alternatives to the back-tied gown. Scott Hlavaty, director of patient/surgical product management of uniform giant Angelica, told Imponderables that ties on the sides provide a maximum of patient modesty while requiring no more patient inconvenience to remove.

  Angelica and other companies manufacture gowns for patients that minimize patient exposure and inconvenience when procedures are performed. Hlavaty explains:

  There are specialized gowns with “I.V. sleeves” that allow the gown to be removed by unsnapping the sleeves so that the I.V. tubes do not have to be removed from the patient in order to change a gown. Also, with the advent of pacemakers and heart monitors, “telemetry pockets” have been placed in the center of gowns. These pockets have openings in the back to allow for the pass through of the monitoring device so that these do not have to be disconnected either.

  Some nurses we spoke to commented that gowns with back closures make it more convenient to give shots (in the backside, of course). But many patients prefer to wear their own pajamas, and nurses always manage to administer the shot.

  Even if a patient were so incapacitated that a back closure was deemed best, many improvements have been made in hospital uniforms to prevent patients from exposing themselves to roommates and passersby. Back-closure gowns wouldn’t be such a problem if the closures were made secure. Uniforms are now available with metal or plastic grippers, as well as velcro. And just as important, gowns are available with a “full overlap back,” which provides enough material to overlap more like a bathrobe than a traditional hospital gown. At least with a full overlap gown, you have a shot at covering your rump if the closure unfastens.

  Sure, these improvements in gown design cost a little more. But in times when a day in the hospital costs more than the weekly salary of the average person, who cares about a few more cents? After all, how can you encourage postsurgical patients to take a stroll around the hospital corridors when they’re more concerned about being the objects of peeping Toms than they are about aches and pains?

  Submitted by Diane M. Rhodes of Herndon, Virginia.

  What’s the Difference Between White Chocolate and Brown Chocolate?

  One big difference seems to be that white chocolate doesn’t exist. We were shocked to consult five dictionaries and find that none of them has a listing for “white chocolate.” And the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates all the ingredients, properties, and definitions of chocolate, also does not recognize the existence of white chocolate.

  Therefore, we may conclude that white chocolate is not a form of chocolate at all. Charlotte H. Connelly, manager of consumer affairs for Whitman’s Chocolates, wrote Imponder
ables that because there is no legal definition of white chocolate, manufacturers are “not restricted to the type or the amount of ingredients that are incorporated in the ‘white chocolate’ recipe.”

  In practice, however, there is only one difference between white and brown chocolate—brown chocolate contains cocoa powder. Richard T. O’Connell, president of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association of the United States of America, explains:

  The cocoa bean from whence chocolate comes is ground into a substance called chocolate liquor (nonalcoholic) and when placed under hydraulic pressure, it splits into two parts, one of cocoa butter and the other cocoa powder. In normal “brown” chocolate, the chocolate liquor is usually mixed with additional cocoa butter to get that “melt-in-your-mouth” flavor. In “white” chocolate (which is not a chocolate), cocoa butter is usually mixed with sugar. Cocoa butter is light tan in color and, therefore, the term “white” is given to it.

  Submitted by Vivian Delduca of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. Thanks also to Fay Gitman of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

  Why Aren’t Large-Type Books as Big as They Used to Be?

  Twenty-five years ago, it was easy to spot the large-print books in bookstores—they were the ones that had to be housed in oversized bookshelves. And if you bought a few copies, you needed a dolly to haul them away.

  No more. In the past, publishers simply enlarged the “regular” book until the print was big enough for the visually impaired to read. Now, most publishers reset the type and keep the size of the pages identical to those of its “small-print” companion.

  Obviously, if the print is bigger and the book size is the same, either the margins must be reduced or the page count must increase. In most cases, book designers can’t steal enough white space to avoid increasing the page count of the large-print book. But in order to keep them from getting too bulky and expensive, large-print manufacturers use thinner paper that is sufficiently opaque so that the print doesn’t bleed over to the other side of the page.

  What Causes the Green-Tinged Potato Chips We Sometimes Find? Are They Safe to Eat?

  Potatoes are supposed to grow underground. But occasionally a spud becomes a little more ambitious and sticks its head out. Nature punishes the potato by giving it a nasty sunburn.

  But why do potatoes turn green rather than red? No, it’s not out of envy. The green color is chlorophyll, the natural consequence of a growing plant being exposed to light. According to Beverly Holmes, a public relations representative of Frito-Lay, chip producers try to eliminate the greenies. But a few elude them:

  We store our potatoes in dark rooms and have “pickers” on our production lines who attempt to eliminate [green] chips as they move along on the conveyers because of their undesirable appearance. However, a few chips can make their way through the production process.

  Is it harmful to eat a green-tinged chip? Not at all. Chlorophyll stains are as harmless as the green beer or green bagels peddled on St. Patrick’s day, and chlorophyll contains no artificial ingredients.

  Submitted by Dr. John Hardin of Greenfield, Indiana. Thanks also to Ed Hirschfield of Portage, Michigan.

  Why Are Tortilla Chips So Much More Expensive Than Potato Chips?

  In the supermarket, potatoes are more expensive than corn. And potato chips are less expensive than corn tortilla chips. Doesn’t anything make sense anymore?

  Faced with our whining, snack food representatives remain unbowed. Expense of raw food supplies isn’t the only determinant of food costs, they explained with patience and a tinge of exasperation. It’s the processing of tortilla chips that makes them more expensive.

  Even before it is cooked, the corn must be soaked for hours prior to processing. And then the fun begins. Al Rickard, director of communication for the Snack Food Association, explains:

  To make a tortilla chip, a snack manufacturer must cook the corn, grind it into a corn flour, mix it into the proper consistency, and send it through a large machine that rolls the dough into large sheets and cuts out the tortilla chips. The chips are then baked and fried before moving to the seasoning and packaging operations.

  By contrast, potato chips are made by simply washing, peeling, and slicing potatoes, which then move through a continuous fryer before moving out to the seasoning and packaging operation. Tortilla chip manufacturing requires more equipment and more labor, so the final cost is higher.

  Frito-Lay’s Beverly Holmes mentions that tortilla chips vary more in price than potato chips. Frito-Lay’s Doritos brand is priced higher than potato chips, but in many markets, “restaurant-style” tortilla chips have been introduced.

  Restaurant-style tortilla chips are often sold in large, clear bags. They tend to be larger in size and are made with less salt, oil, and seasoning since these chips tend to be eaten with dips and sauces.

  Submitted by John Morgan of Brooklyn, New York.

  Does the Moon Have Any Effect on Lakes or Ponds? If Not, Why Does It Only Seem to Affect Oceans’ Tides? Why Don’t Lakes Have Tides?

  If there is any radio show that we fear appearing on, it’s Ira Fistel’s radio show in Los Angeles. Fistel, a lawyer by training, has an encyclopedic knowledge of history, railroad lore, sports, radio, and just about every other subject his audience questions him about, and is as likely as we are to answer an Imponderable from a caller. Fistel can make a “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions winner look like a know-nothing.

  So when we received this Imponderable on his show and we proceeded to stare at each other and shrug our shoulders (not particularly compelling radio, we might add), we knew this was a true Imponderable. We vowed to find an answer for the next book (and then go back on Fistel’s show and gloat about it).

  Robert Burnham, senior editor of Astronomy, was generous enough to send a fascinating explanation:

  Even the biggest lakes are too small to have tides. Ponds or lakes (even large ones like the Great Lakes) have no tides because these bodies of water are raised all at once, along with the land underneath the lake, by the gravitational pull of the Moon. (The solid Earth swells a maximum of about eighteen inches under the Moon’s tidal pull, but the effect is imperceptible because we have nothing that isn’t also moving by which to gauge the uplift.)

  In addition, ponds and lakes are not openly connected to a larger supply of water located elsewhere on the globe, which could supply extra water to them to make a tidal bulge. The seas, on the other hand, have tides because the water in them can flow freely throughout the world’s ocean basins…

  On the side of Earth nearest the Moon, the Moon’s gravity pulls sea water away from the planet, thus raising a bulge called high tide. At the same time on the other side of the planet, the Moon’s gravity is pulling Earth away from the water, thus creating a second high-tide bulge.

  Low tides occur in between because these are the regions from which water has drained to flow into the two high-tide bulges. (The Sun exerts a tidal effect of its own, but only 46 percent as strong as the Moon’s.)

  Some landlocked portions of the ocean—the Mediterranean or the Baltic—can mimic the tideless behavior of a lake, although for different reasons. The Mediterranean Sea, for example, has a tidal range measuring just a couple of inches because it is a basin with only a small inlet (the Strait of Gibraltar) connecting it to the global ocean. The Gibraltar Strait is both narrow and shallow, which prevents the rapid twice-a-day flow of immense volumes of water necessary to create a pronounced tide. Thus the rise and fall of the tide in the Atlantic attempts to fill or drain the Med, but the tidal bulge always moves on before very much water can pour in or out past Gibraltar.

  Alan MacRobert, of Sky & Telescope, summarizes that a body of water needs a large area to slosh around in before tidal effects are substantial, and he provides a simple analogy:

  Imagine a tray full of dirt dotted with thimbles of water, representing a land mass with lakes. You could tilt it slightly and nothing much would happen. Now imagine a tray full of water—an ocean. If you
tilted it just a little, water would sloop out over your hands.

  Submitted by a caller on the Ira Fistel show, KABC-AM, Los Angeles, California.

  Why Do the Backs of Social Security Cards Say “Do Not Laminate” When We Are Expected to Keep the Cards for Our Entire Lives?

  The main purpose of the social security card seems to be to prove that we exist. And laminating a card hampers the ability of the government to ascertain whether a card has been tampered with or counterfeited. If your card doesn’t pass muster, you don’t exist, so we’re talking about important stuff here.

  John Clark, officer of the Social Security Administration, told Imponderables that the social security card incorporates several security features to foil would-be card defacers:

  The [card] stock contains a blue tint marbleized random pattern. Any attempt to erase or remove data is easily detectable because the tint is erasable.

  Planchets (small multi-colored discs) are randomly placed on the paper stock and can be seen with the naked eye.