Trivia

Q. What do I call the relationship between me and the real parents of my godchild?

A. “Compaternity” is the word for the spiritual linkage.

Q. You said girls like being teenagers more than boys like being teenagers. But you didn’t explain why. …?

A. Scholars have addressed that: In the teens, girls discover the power nature gave them - sex appeal - and in association with boys they go from cute to compelling. Whether it confuses, frightens or delights the girls isn’t the point. It’s power, the first power many achieve, and some power is better than no power.

In a 1957 National Geographic appeared a picture of flamingos. Donald Featherstone of Leominster, Mass., liked their looks. He started a business to make pink plastic models of them for yard ornaments. Twenty million have been sold so far. Your turn. Dream up something.

Q. If you’re locked in a completely sealed room, what would kill you first - carbon dioxide poisoning or oxygen deprivation?

A. The toxic carbon dioxide.

Carnivorous animals reportedly won’t eat another animal downed by a lightning strike.

Q. What was the country that had no potholes on its roads?

A. Could be you mean Guatemala under the dictator Jorge Ubico. After he took control in 1931, he rode his motorcycle all over the country. Whenever he hit a pothole, he tracked down the local official, took away that fellow’s car, and made him ride a bicycle for a year. Just about all the potholes disappeared.

Q. What else do most men convicted of violent crimes oftentimes have in common?

A. Tattoos. History of abuse as children. Record of late bedwetting.