Any Questions: The Sports Illustrated Big Book of WHY

Why are footballs pointy? Why are new baseballs always dirtied up before being used? Why do we stretch at the beginning of the seventh inning?

From simple questions from fairly recent history (Why do they call the Utah NBA team the JAZZ? They moved from New Orleans) to more complex questions of physics (Why are golf balls all dimply? They fly further and straighter), the new edition of Sports Illustrated Kids Big Book of Why Sports Edition (Time Entertainment, 2012) contains more than 500 questions and answers for the young sports fan. Some questions, such as "Why do we have nine innings in baseball?" (three theories, from restless Cincinnati Reds fans to President William Howard Taft's tired backside) have conflicting stories resurrected from the mists of time. Some, such as the genesis of the term "March Madness" for the NCAA tournament, are well documented in extant video evidence from 1982.

Some factoids are funny, such as the fact that "pigskin" as the nickname for footballs is derived from the initial use of a blown-up pig bladder as the ball of choice. Some facts, such as why swimmers do that underwater somersault to reverse course go deep into physics and physiology. Divided into four basic sections--Big League Questions, All-Star Questions, MVP Questions, and Hall of Fame Questions, each with its concluding self-quiz--this handy reference book is great for sports trivia buffs and for occasional browsers who just want to know something cool, with plenty of Sports Illustrated's trademark color photos of sports in action.

Keep the Sleep! While You Were Sleeping: Fun Facts That Happen at Night by Steve Murri

When you're asleep, the fingernails on your dominant hand (lefty or righty) grow more than on the other hand! And you replace all those dead skin cells you were shedding (yuk!) all day long.

While you snooze, your brain stays on, but it cools down--as much as 2 degrees lower than its standard operating temperature and requires 25% less blood flow.. Your heart slows down about 12 beats per minute and your blood pressure drops.

What does your body do with all that energy it's saving? It fixes things! Human growth hormone (HGH) is only released during rest. Muscles that have been strained are repaired. Worn-out red blood cells are recycled to make fresh new ones. And kids do most of their growing in the somnolent state. So even though staying up late may get you to the next level on your favorite game, it won't make you tall and strong and smart enough to do big things in the real world, so GET YOUR ZZZZZs!

And while the human body is recharging itself on this side of the date line, all kinds of things are going on on the other side of the earth with folks on the diurnal swing shift, in Steve and Matthew Murrie's latest compendium, While You Were Sleeping (Fun Facts) (Scholastic, 2012) This latest includes chapters about the nocturnal side of the human body, sports, pop culture, space, and the animal world. This sequel follows the Murries' companion book, Every Day On Earth: Fun Facts That Happen Every 24 Hours (Scholastic, 2011), another of those fun factoid collections that are the nonfiction analog to eating peanuts--fun for light browsing and yet filled with food for thought.

Reference This! Time for Kids BIG Book of Why

WHAT DOES http mean?

WHY WAS HARRY POTTER AN ORPHAN?

WHY WAS SECRETARIAT THE FASTEST RACE HORSE IN HISTORY?

WHY ARE MOVIES CALLED "FLICKS?"*

Bet you can't stop at just one question! And the 2011 edition of TIME for Kids BIG Book of Why: 1,001 Facts Kids Want to Know (Time for Kids Magazine) (Time for Kids, 2011) has 1001 intriguing answers for these and many other questions that most of us, can't fully answer. Some of the 1001 questions are the sort that most of us don't ever think to ask, e.g., why does a web address begin with http? At first glance this little book seems to be just for the short-term curious: pick it up, read the answer, and that's it. Why are basketballs orange? They once were an indifferent brown, but when games began to be televised, basketballs began to be colored orange to make them more visible on screen.

But the virtue of this small volume reference book is that some of its quirky questions can inspire further inquiry in the reader. Case in point: why do golf balls have dimples? Well, it seems they didn't always. When golfers noticed that old, nicked-up balls went farther, aerodynamicists got into the act and created the dimpled ball, a form which creates turbulent flow, with differences in the flow above and below the ball which add to its flight distance. That question leads to a whole other level of inquiry about how airflow affects the flight of moving objects--curve balls, airplanes, long jumpers, missiles.

To entice those who favor one particular subject area, TIME for Kids BIG Book of Why: 1,001 Facts Kids Want to Know (Time for Kids Magazine) is divided into ten subject divisions--Animals, Earth, Space, Humans, People and Places, History, Science, Technology, Art and Culture, Sports, backed up by an appendix which includes a glossary, index, Why Facts, and a bibliography of further reading. Once into these fascinating bits of information, 1001 facts may not be quite enough for 2011!

And for kids for whom 1001 facts aren't quite enough to amaze and delight their friends, there’s always Time Editors new TIME For Kids That's Awesome: The World's Most Amazing Facts & Records (Worlds Most Amazing Facts/Records).


*Answers: Hypertext transfer protocol is the format for internet text.

As she began the first book, author J.K. Rowling's mother had recently passed away, leaving her an adult orphan.

Secretariat's heart, at 22 pounds, was twice the size of a normal thoroughbred's.

Early movie films were hand-cranked, making them "flicker" on the screen.

Cuisine a la' extreme: Bug-a-licious by Meish Goldish

Of course, not everyone eats insects. The idea makes some people sick. One eater's "yuck!" is another eater's "yum!"

Lick a cricket? Somebody must. Cricket Lick-Its are lollipops with once-live crickets encased in various sweet fruit-flavored lollies, marketed, along with chocolate-covered ants (where else?) in California. If your taste runs to the savory rather than the sweet, just zoom over the border into Mexico, where you can buy bags of fried grasshoppers or fold them into your 'hopper and avocado tacos, spiced up with lemon juice, garlic, and salt. While you're south of the border, try out their leaf-footed bug pizzas, too. After all, insects are said to be a good source of protein, vitamins, and minerals--and low-fat to boot, making leaf-hopper pizza healthier than pepperoni!

Meish Goldish's Bug-a-licious (Extreme Cuisine)(Bearport Publishing, 2009) explores the world of insect snacks--from stink-bug pate' in South Africa to wasp-rich crackers in Japan and from honey ants in Australia to roasted termites in Nigeria. After all, insects are always trying to bite us. Why not show them that we sometimes bite back?

If your taste doesn't run to Thailand's three-inch batter-fried water bugs in plum sauce, there are plenty of other delicacies in Bearport's Extreme Cuisine series, including Spider-Tizers and Other Creepy Treats (Extreme Cuisine), Baby Bug Dishes (Extreme Cuisine), and Mammal Menu (Extreme Cuisine), as well as the forthcoming Shocking Seafood and Slithery, Slimy, Scaly Treats. All are illustrated lavishly with all-too-clear color photos of these exotic foodstuffs from all around the globe. Part gross-out browser, part sophisticated educational travel book, the Extreme Cuisine series is definitely not your father's nonfiction, but well suited to the tastes of some!