Trivia

Tue., Aug. 19, 1997

L.M. Boyd Crown Syndicate

Current kindergarten Q and A: “You know why the cannibals didn’t boil the missionary? He was a friar.”

Another treatise on “he” and “she” says she, if typical, speaks approximately 25,000 words a day while he, if typical, speaks about 12,500. Our Love and War man does not give much credence to such Mars-and-Venus allegations. It’s his belief that how much you speak, woman or man, depends a whole lot on whom you’re speaking to.

Q. How is it I’m able to change the shape of my tongue?

A. Within it is a liquid-filled chamber wrapped in muscles. These you tighten and release to force the fluid to react with what in textbook talk is called “hydrostatic pressure.”

Ancient Egyptians scribes baked their own clay tablets.

Q. What’s that kitchen product called “thaumatin”?

A. A nonfattening sugar substitute said to be 1,600 times sweeter than sucrose. Developed from tropical plants. Known mostly so far in Europe and Japan.

Q. Which came first in our alphabet - capital letters or lower case?

A. Caps. Around 600 B.C. Lower case, about A.D. 300.

The right whale has sideburns.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.