What Does the Moon Smell Like?: 151 Astounding Science Quizzes (11 page)

Q

genome, they estimated that humans have about

100,000 genes, or more — maybe even 150,000! We’re such complex creatures, it would make sense for us ONE

to have that many genes. The idea made sense at the OF

time, but it proved to be wrong, wrong, wrong. Over A

the years, the estimated number of human genes has KIND:

been trimmed about as often as some people cut

YOU

their hair. Before it gets cut any farther, or grows again . . .

What has more genes than a human?

a) chicken

b) corn

c) fruit fly

d) mouse

137

The Map of Your Genes

What has more genes than a human?

A

a) chicken

b) corn

c) fruit fly

ONE

d) mouse

OF

AKIND:

CORRECT ANSWER:

YOU

b) corn

According to recent estimates, humans have any-

where from 20,000 to 25,000 genes, roughly the same number as chickens. Now, just because we have

about as many genes as chickens, doesn’t mean we’re all that closely related to them — unless you consider eating them to be a close relationship. In an evolutionary sense, we’re much closer to mice who also have about as many genes as us. Fruit flies have roughly half as many as we do, but an ordinary ear of corn, or maize, has 45,000 genes — about twice as many as a human! Will you ever be able to look at a bowl of corn flakes in the same way again? Maybe it’ll make you wonder about why corn needs so many genes and you don’t.

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The World’s Most Successful Y

Chromosome

You probably know who your father is, and your

Q

grandfather too. But if you put about 200 greats in front of grandfather, would you be able to name that ancient ancestor? If you’re a male, the secret of your ONE

forefather’s identity is coiled up inside your Y chro-OF

mosome, which is passed down in a direct line from A

father to son. One man’s Y chromosome was so suc-KIND:

cessful that he has millions of living descendents YOU

today. About one in every 200 males on the planet descended from his direct line. Are you one of them?

Who was this potent patriarch?

a) Attila the Hun

b) Chaka Khan

c) Genghis Khan

d) Kublai Khan

139

The World’s Most Successful Y

Chromosome

Who was this potent patriarch?

A

a) Attila the Hun

b) Chaka Khan

c) Genghis Khan

ONE

d) Kublai Khan

OF

AKIND:

CORRECT ANSWER:

YOU

c) Genghis Khan

If you’re male, and your father’s line comes from anywhere in a huge chunk of Asia bounded by

Manchuria in the east, and Uzbekistan and

Afghanistan in the west, you could be descended from Genghis Khan. With more than 16 million male descendents in his direct line, he has 800,000 times as many male descendents as an average male who lived in his day — and that’s not even counting the men and women who descended from his daughters.

Genghis Khan conquered the world with his Mongol horde, and with his genes. The experts think that, one way or another, virtually everyone living near the Asian steppe probably has a bit of Genghis Khan in his or her genes.

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SNACK ATTACK: MOVIE TIME

You Can’t Have Just One

Some people can’t watch a movie without a heaping Q

helping of popcorn. Once the munching starts, it’s hard to stop. Is it gluttony? Or are there cues we’re unaware of that make us eat more? To find out if the size of the container influences how much people eat, food psychologist Brian Wansink gave away free popcorn. Moviegoers received one of a medium or large tub of fresh popcorn, or a medium or large tub of stale, five-day-old popcorn. Of the people who got fresh popcorn, those with the large tubs ate more than 50% as much as those with medium-sized tubs, but what about the ones who got the popcorn that was five days old?

How much stale popcorn did they eat from the large tub?

a) less than people eating from the medium tub

b) more than people eating from the medium tub

c) the same amount as people eating from the medium tub

d) they refused to eat any after they’d tasted it 141

You Can’t Have Just One

How much stale popcorn did they eat from the large A

tub?

a) less than people eating from the medium tub

b) more than people eating from the medium tub

SNACK

c) the same amount as people eating from the medium tub

ATT

d) they refused to eat any after they’d tasted it ACK:

MOVIE

CORRECT ANSWER:

TIME

b) more than people eating from the medium tub

Even when the popcorn was terrible, people with large tubs ate 45% more than those with medium

tubs. There’s something about bigger packages that compels us to keep eating. People consume at least 50% more eating from bigger containers than from smaller ones, and they’re not even aware that they’re doing it. It’s not a problem if you’re eating plain, air-popped popcorn, which only has about 30 calories a cup, but the calories add up with most other snack foods. Dr. Wansink recommends using smaller plates or bowls. They trick your brain into thinking there’s more food, and if you think there’s more food, you’re more likely to feel satisfied with less.

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No More Scraping the Bottom

of the Barrel

Maybe you’re in the mood for some potato chips to Q

enjoy with your flick. So, you grab a bag, rip it open, and dig in. Potato chips didn’t always come in bags, you know. A hundred years ago, grocers sold them out SNACK

of glass cases, or big, wooden barrels. People loved them, except for the broken, soggy, and stale ones ATT

scraped off the bottom of the barrel. In 1926, a clever ACK:

chip maker came up with something that not only MOVIE

kept chips fresh longer, but also make them easier to sell and to eat — individual bags.

TIME

What were the bags made of?

a) cheap cloth stitched by hand

b) folded newspaper tied up with string

c) rice paper glued together with flour paste

d) sheets of waxed paper ironed together

143

No More Scraping the Bottom

of the Barrel

What were the bags made of?

A

a) cheap cloth stitched by hand

b) folded newspaper tied up with string

c) rice paper glued together with flour paste

SNACK

d) sheets of waxed paper ironed together

ATTACK:

CORRECT ANSWER:

MOVIE

d) sheets of waxed paper ironed together

TIME

Laura Scudder, who worked in her family’s chip business in California, came up with the idea of ironing together the edges of sheets of wax paper to form a bag. Female workers made the bags at home at night.

The next day, at work, they filled them with chips, and sealed the tops with a warm iron. Goodbye to scraping the bottom of the barrel, and hello to self-serve snacks in disposable packaging.

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What Your Favourite Comfort Food

Says About You

Maybe you’ve had a rough day and you crave comfort Q

food. It makes you feel better, and makes movie time even more enjoyable. Our favourite foods tend to be holdovers from childhood. Comfort foods are usually SNACK

things that we grew up eating and associate with pleasurable feelings. When we eat them, they bring ATT

back those feelings of comfort. Your favourite comfort ACK:

food says something about you, and food psychologist MOVIE

Brian Wansink thinks he knows what it’s saying. Who says that scientists don’t have a sense of fun?

TIME

If your favourite comfort food is mac and cheese, what does that say about you? You’re . . .

a) a straight shooter

b) flexible

c) nostalgic

d) sensitive

145

What Your Favourite Comfort Food

Says About You

If your favourite comfort food is mac and cheese, what A

does that say about you? You’re . . .

a) a straight shooter

b) flexible

SNACK

c) nostalgic

d) sensitive

ATTACK:

MOVIE

CORRECT ANSWER:

c) nostalgic

TIME

According to Professor Wansink, if mac and cheese gives you comfort, you’re probably the nostalgic type.

Your memories of the food bring you as much comfort as the food itself. You’re low key, self reliant, and serene. Straight shooters find comfort in meatloaf and mashed potatoes, while flexible types turn to ice cream sundaes for an emotional boost. The sensitive types, meanwhile, hunker down with a chocolate

brownie that evokes nurturing feelings. Spaghetti and meatball fans are family oriented, with traditional values. Are you unconventional? Do you like apple pie? Few people choose it as a comfort food these days, but those who do tend to be creative types. If your favourite food isn’t listed, feel free to come up with your own description of what it says about you.

There are no wrong answers.

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Solar Pizza

Maybe you’re craving slice of pizza, dressed with your Q

favourite toppings, to enhance your viewing pleasure.

Here’s something to think about while you’re enjoying your special slice. What if the sun was a pizza, and SNACK

the Earth was one of the toppings? Which topping would be as wide across as our planet?

ATTACK:

If the sun were a 36-centimetre (14 in) pizza, the Earth MOVIE

would be a . . .

a) tomato slice

TIME

b) pepperoni slice

c) hot chili pepper seed

d) grain of salt

147

Solar Pizza

If the sun were a 36-centimetre (14 in) pizza, the Earth A

would be a . . .

a) tomato slice

b) pepperoni slice

SNACK

c) hot chili pepper seed

d) grain of salt

ATTACK:

MOVIE

CORRECT ANSWER:

c) hot chili pepper seed

TIME

If the sun is a pizza 36 centimetres (14 in) across, then our planet is a chili pepper seed in comparison.

The sun’s diameter is about 109 times that of the Earth. If you lined up 109 chili pepper seeds with a diameter of 3.3 millimetres (0.13 in), they’d form a row about 36 centimetres (14 in) long. If the tomato slice were the planet, the pizza would have to be about 5.5 metres (18 ft) across! The pepperoni slice is also too big. If it represented the earth, the sun pizza would be more than 3 metres (11 ft) in diameter. A regular grain of salt is way too small to be the Earth, but if we’re talking about a grain of coarse salt, about 1 millimetre (0.04 in) across, it could stand in for the moon.

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SmellyMoon_Final 4/21/08 10:31 AM Page 149

THE MEN ON THE MOON

Footprints in the Moondust

Apollo 11 was about half a minute away from poten-Q

tial disaster during the first moon landing. On July 20, 1969, the lunar module, Eagle, came close to running out of fuel while the astronauts searched for a safe place to land. They touched down in the Sea of Tranquility in the nick of time. About six and a half hours later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon. In 1972, Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt were the last. Twenty-nine astronauts flew in Apollo spacecraft, and of those, twenty-four flew around the moon, but not all of them landed. Have you ever wondered how many sets of footprints there are on the moon?

How many men have left their footprints on the moon?

a) 7

b) 11

c) 12

d) 14

149

Footprints in the Moondust

How many men have left their footprints on the moon?

A

a) 7

b) 11

c) 12

THE

d) 14

MEN

ON

THE

CORRECT ANSWER:

c) 12

MOON

A dozen men have left their footprints on the moon.

Of that lucky 12, six also got to ride in lunar rovers.

Their footprints and moon buggy tracks should still be there now, and could remain intact for millions of years to come, barring unforeseen cosmic or lunar events, or moon tourists. The men who left tracks on the moon were Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, Dave Scott, Jim Irwin, John W. Young, Charlie Duke, Gene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt, who was the

only scientist of the 12. If all goes according to plan, humans should be back on the moon by 2020, about 50 years after the last astronauts left their footprints behind.

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Moon Buggies

Can you imagine being the first to drive a car where Q

no man had driven before — on the surface of the moon? What a rush! It wasn’t exactly a car though. It was a lunar rover, called, somewhat unimaginatively, THE

Rover-1. Two happy astronauts were the first to drive MEN

a moon buggy to work. They could zip along at top speeds of 10 to 11 km/h (5.5 to 6 mph) on flat areas, ON

but had to slow down to half that speed on turns and THE

while driving over craters.

MOON

Who was the first astronaut to drive on the moon?

a) Buzz Aldrin

b) Neil Armstrong

c) Dave Scott