When Do Fish Sleep? (36 page)

Mail

first class versus priority

translation of foreign

Mail-order ads, six-to-eight week delivery promises of

Manhole covers, round shape of

Martinizing, One Hour

Mayors, keys to cities and

Medicine bottles, cotton in

Memorial Day, Civil War

Mickey Mouse, four fingers of

Military salutes

Minting of new coins, timing of

Money, U.S.

color of

stars on

Monkeys, hair picking of

Moon following cars

Mountains, hills versus

Murder scenes, chalk outlines at

National Geographics
, saving of

Navy and Army, Captain rank of

9 as number to get outside line on telephones

98.6 degrees Fahrenheit as comfortable ambient temperature

Noses, clogged nostrils and

Nostrils, clogged

Numbers, Arabic

Oil, automotive, grades of

Olive oil, virgin

Olives, pitting of

One Hour Martinizing

Pain, effect of warmth upon

Paper, legal-size

PBX systems

Pencils

color of

numbering of

Pennies, vending machines and

Periods in telegrams

Permanent press settings on irons

Permanents, pregnancy and

Physical exams, back tapping and

Pineapple in gelatin

Plumbing, sound of running water and

Poison ivy, grazing animals and

Police dogs, urination and defecation of

Popcorn, other corns versus

Post office, translation of foreign mail and

Potato skins

Pregnancy, permanents and

Priority mail, first class versus

Pubic hair, purpose of

Punts, measurement of

Queen-size sheets

Railroads, width of standard gauges of

Ranchers, hanging of boots on fence posts by

Ribbons, blue

Rice Krispies, noise of

Roaches, death position of

Rolls, coldness of airline

Roman numerals, calculations with

Roosters, crowing and

Saloon doors in Old West

Salutes, military

Secretary as U.S. government department head designation

Shaving of armpits

Sheets, queen-size

Shirts

button arrangement of

starch on

Shoes, single, found on highways

Sidewalks, cracks on

Silos, shape of

Ski poles, downhill

Snack foods and prepricing

“Snap! Crackle! and Pop!” of Rice Krispies

Sneezing and eye closure

Snow and cold weather

Social security numbers

Socks, angle of

Sour cream, expiration date on

Stamp pads and moisture retention

Starch on shirts

Stock prices as quoted in eighths of a dollar

STOP
in telegrams

String cheese

Sugar, clumping together of

Summer, first day of

Tall people, aging and

Taste, sense of, in children versus adults

Tattoos, color of

Telegrams

exclamation marks and

periods and

Telephones

dialing 9 to get outside line

holes in mouthpiece

Telephone cords, twisting of

Telescopes, inverted images of

Tennis balls and fuzz

Television commercials, loudness of

Throat, uvula, purpose of

Throwing, sex differences in

Tickets, red carbons on airline

Toasters, one slice slot on

Toenails, growth of

Toilet paper, folding over in hotel bathrooms

Toilet seats in public restrooms

Tongues, sticking out of

Toothpicks, round versus flat

Toques, purpose of

Towels, smelly

Traffic signal light bulbs

Treasury, printing of new bills by

Trucks, license plates on

Tupperware and home parties

Turkeys

beards on

white versus dark meat

Uvula, purpose of

Vending machines

half dollars and

pennies and

Videotape versus audio tape

Virgin olive oil

Vision

Warmth, its effect on pain and

Western Union

exclamation marks and

periods and

Whistling at sporting events

Winter, first day of

Worms as fish food

Yawning, contagiousness of

Yeast in bread

Yellow Pages, advertisements in

ZIP code, addresses on envelopes and

Master Index of Imponderability

Following is a complete index of all ten Imponderables® books and
Who Put the Butter in Butterfly?
The bold number before the colon indicates the book title (see the Title Key below); the numbers that follow the colon are the page numbers. Simple as that.

Title Key

“1/2,” meaning of, in street addresses

1040 form, numbering scheme of

20-20 vision, origins of

24-second clock in NBA basketball

3-D glasses and movies

501, Levi jeans, origin of name

7-11 Stores, lack of locks on

“86,” origins of term

9 as number to get outside line on telephones

98.6 degrees Fahrenheit as comfortable ambient temperature

Absorbine Jr., origins of

Absorbine Sr., identity of

AC, and DC

Accents, American, of foreign singers

Aches

Acre, origins of

Acrylic, virgin

Actors, speed of speech of

Address labels on magazines

Addresses and ZIP codes, on envelopes

Addresses, street, half-numbers on

Advertising sales in TV programming, overrun live programming and

Aerosol cans, shaking of

After-shave lotion, stinging and

Age of majority, 21 as

Aging and effect on voices

Agitators in washing machines, movement of

Air mail and “Par Avion”

Air temperature, versus water temperature, perception of

Airlines

chime signals on

cold rolls at meal service

dearth of female pilots on

honey roasted peanuts

inflation of oxygen masks

tickets, red carbons on

Airplanes

coffee bags in lavatories

dimming of interior lights

ear popping and

feet swelling and

numbering of Boeing jets

“Qantas,” spelling of

red and green lights on

Airplanes (
cont
.)

seat belts

shoulder harnesses

U.S. flags on exterior

Alarm clocks, life before

Alcohol

in cough medicine

proof of

Algebra, X in

“All wool and a yard wide,” origins of term

“Allemande”

“Alligator” shirts

Alphabet, order of

Alphabet soup

distribution of letters

outside of U.S.

Aluminum cans, crushability of

Aluminum foil

and heat to touch

two sides of

Aluminum foil, on neck of champagne bottles

Ambidexterity in lobsters

Ambulances, snake emblems on

American accents of foreign singers

American singles, Kraft, milk in

“Ampersand”

Amputees, phantom limb sensations in

Anchors, submarines and

Angel food cake and position while cooling

Animal tamers and kitchen chairs

Ants

separation from colony

sidewalks and

“Apache dance”

Apes, hair picking of

Appendix, function of

Apples, as gifts for teachers

Apples and pears, discoloration of

Apples in roasted pigs’ mouths

April 15, as due date for taxes

Aquariums, fear of fish in

Arabic numbers, origins of

Architectural pencils, grades of

Area codes, middle digits of

Armies, marching patterns of

Armpits, shaving of

Army and Navy, Captain rank in

Art pencils, grades of

Aspirin

headaches and

safety cap on 100-count bottles of

Astrology, different dates for signs in

Astronauts and itching

“At loggerheads”

Athletics, Oakland, and elephant insignia

“Atlas”

ATMs

swiping of credit cards in

swiping versus dipping of credit cards in

transaction costs of

“Attorney-at-law”

Auctioneers, chanting of

Audiocassette tape on side of road

Audiocassette tapes on roadsides

Audiotape, versus videotape technology

Audiotape recorders

counter numbers on

play and record switches on

Automobiles

batteries and concrete floors

bright/dimmer switch position

bunching of, on highways

cardboard on grills

clicking sound of turn signals

cockroaches in

Corvette

cruise controls

day/night switch on rear-view mirrors

dimples on headlamps

elimination of side vents

gas gauges in

headlamp shutoff

headlights and deer

holes in ceiling of

key release button on

keys, ignition and door

“new car smell”

oil loss after oil change

oil, grades of

rear windows of

rentals, cost in Florida of

side-view mirrors

speed limits

speedometers

tire tread

weight of batteries

white wall tires

windshield wipers, versus buses

Autopsies of executed criminals

“Ax to grind”

Babies

blinking

burping

hair color

high temperatures, tolerance of

sleep

Baby corn, in supermarkets

Baby pigeons, elusiveness of

Baby Ruth, origins of name

Baby shrimp, peeling and cleaning of

“Back and fill”

Back tapping during physical exams

Backlogs in repair shops

Bad breath, upon awakening, in the morning

Badges, marshals’ and sheriffs’

Bagels, holes in

Bags under eyes

Bags, paper, jagged edges and

Baked goods

Pennsylvania and

seven-layer cakes

unctuous taste until cooled

Baked potatoes in steak houses

Ball throwing, sex differences and

Ballet, “on pointe” in

Balls, orange, on power lines

Balls, tennis, fuzz and

Balsa wood, classification as hardwood

Banana peels as slipping agents

Bananas, growth of

Band-Aid packages, red tear strings on

Bands, tardiness of, in nightclubs

Bands, marching, formation of